Housing

African pygmy hedgehogs are a solitary species and should be house alone,saying this there are always exceptions to the rule and i have successfully housed females together and know other keeper/breeders who have done with no problems also,to do this you need to know your hogs and always supervise when first introducing them and never house 2 males together as this will almost certainly lead to fights,

The best type of housing is a indoor rabbit or guinea pig cage like a zoozone2, I personally use the zoozone2 cages and find them easy to clean and move when needed,

Good ventilation is a must as pygmy hedgehogs can suffer respiratory infections, If a vivarium set is been used extra ventilation is a must,

Any cages with bars are not a recommended a suitable cage from a hedgehogs, It is possible for young hoglets to escape through the bars or an adult to get there head stuck, A hedgehogs will also try to climb the bars and if they fall it can cause any number of problems,

There cage should be kept out of drafts,direct sunlight and generally anything that may cause stress,It is important not to let your hedgehog try to hibernate as it may well have fatal consequences a temperature of around 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit (18-27 degrees Celsius) must be maintained at all times 365 days a year

I provide wood shavings as the substrate altho they can be litter trained i never have and also feel a litter tray takes up to much room in the cage,I spot clean daily with a full clean once every week or a little more often if more than 1 hog is been housed in the cage, You will also need a nest for you hedgehog either a shop bought plastic type or a wooden box with a lift off lid and 4" hole to allow your hog in and out will be fine,

Diet

A good staple diet for a pygmy hedgehogs is a good quality dry cat biscuits with at least 30% protein  and under 10% fat this diet should also be supplemented with small amounts of many other items such as:

meat based tins of cat food: chicken / beef / duck etc...

cooked meat: chicken / beef / lamb / mince / turkey

boiled or scrambled eggs / cottage cheese

livefoods: mealworms / crickets / earthworms

fruit & veg: apple / plumb / papaya / mango / peas / broccoli / mashed and sweet potato / tomatoes / beans ect......

Water should also be provided at all times either by a water bottle or bowl, I find a water bottle to be best as my hedgehogs fill any water bowls with shavings

Handling

If a hedgehogs is worked with from a young age, normally from around 14days old but this can vary depending the mother they have no objection to been handled and make wonderful pets, All my hoglets are worked with from as soon as i can get into the nest without any stress been caused to the mother,

When getting  hedgehog its a good idea to source 1 from a breeder who puts the time into socializing them as a huffy hog can take a lot of time and patience to bond with, if you are looking for info on socializing a huffy hog check out my forum for some tips (link on home page and links section)

Sexing