Yes, hedgehogs can and sometimes do eat their bedding, which is dangerous as it can cause internal blockages, often due to curiosity, hunger, or nutritional deficiencies, making safe, non-ingestible options like fleece or certain pelleted beddings crucial. While they naturally collect nesting material like leaves, ingesting wood shavings (especially cedar/pine) or fluffy paper bedding is risky, so veterinarians often recommend fleece, vet-approved paper products, or pelleted bedding that breaks down safely.
Self-Anointing—Many hedgehogs will ingest new bedding to create a froth to self-anoint with it, this is normal. Hunger—Hedgehogs with drastically reduced or inadequate diets may eat bedding in an attempt to satisfy their hunger.
Check if the hedgehog:
Hedgehogs will make their own nests from materials in the surrounding environment so the best thing to do is ensure there are plenty of leaves near to the box. You can also put bedding inside the box to give them a head start, such as leaves, straw or hay.
A recycled newspaper bedding (Carefresh or similar product) should be used as a substrate for your hedgehog. Make the bedding several inches thick as hedgehogs like to burrow. The bedding should be replaced at least weekly, and changed more often as needed.
Signs of stress
Many hedgehogs are busy and want to try to explore but a stressed hedgehog will be much more persistent and not easily distracted. The stressed hedgehog may also twitch or shake its head nervously. It is almost as if the hedgehog is saying “Sensory overload. I can't take it anymore.”
Only solid bottom cages are suitable for hedgehogs, any wire bottom cages could trap their legs or rip off toenails. Provide a soft bedding free of dust, such as recycled paper pellets or if you use wood shavings use only kiln dried pine or aspen. Do not use cedar shavings as they could irritate your hedgehog's lungs.
Hedgehogs will not usually eat and sleep in the same place so it's best not to offer food inside the home (except perhaps to tempt them in initially). Once there is a resident, move food away from the box so as not to attract predators or rival hedgehogs to the site.
Hedgehogs like to burrow so the more bedding the better for them. Recycled paper bedding and towels or blankets are often used inside the enclosure.
🧽 If the house is empty – and has been for a week or more, you can clean if needed with plain hot water & a scrubbing brush & provide clean nesting materials. 🍂 🦔 But don't worry about cleaning out your hedgehog residence on a regular basis - they will often reuse nests in the wild and do add new bedding themselves! !
If your hedgehog is unusually still in the evening—sleeping in short, restless bursts, waking and dozing repeatedly, or staying sluggish when they would normally explore—it can be a sign of unhappiness or even illness.
The breeding season for hedgehogs typically starts in May, with most young born in June and July. We now see a later one in September and October but in our experience if there is food and water and a safe place to sleep hedgehogs can breed all year. Their gestation period is around 35 days.
Hedgehogs are naturally insectivores (eat insects). Their life expectancy is about four to six years but some live for eight to ten years. Males and females tend to be solitary and territorial except when breeding and raising their young.
This decline is partly due to a loss of natural habitat, which provides both shelter and food for hedgehogs. Fencing, pesticides, garden hazards (like ponds, strimmers and netting) and development and construction also have an impact. And of course, cars are a major threat to hedgehogs, killing thousands each year.
Hedgehogs often comfort their owners with cuddles, licks, and offer their paws or cuddly bellies for rubs. Their defences completely drop if they are able to form a close connection with their hedgie parents.
Eventually, you might notice your hedgehog is losing quills, is losing weight, has less energy than usual, has seborrhea (dandruff), or is frequently biting, licking, chewing, or scratching itself. Quill loss may also be caused by flea infestation.
Does the hedgehog house need a base? You can decide whether to build your hedgehog shelter with a base or open at the bottom. The priority is to keep the hedgehog and filler material dry throughout winter – so if you opt for an open floor, don't place the house in a ditch or on low, damp ground.
They reduce their body functions to a minimum. With the energy reserves they have piled up by eating, they can survive for up to half a year without food.
Acceptable bedding materials include shredded paper, newspaper, recycled pelleted/absorbable material, and wood shavings, such as aspen or untreated pine. Avoid corncob bedding as it tends to grow mold when wet.
As pets, hedgehogs can recognize and remember their owners' scent and voice, making them a loyal and affectionate companion. They can also quickly learn routines and habits, such as when it's time to eat or play.
Our observations show that nesting Mums often leave their young ones to rest elsewhere. That rest is often through the first and last part of the night but can also be in the day time. Routinely we expect to see hedgehogs come out in the evening around 9.30pm and go back to bed by 5am.
As opportunistic eaters, hedgehogs will readily consume food left out in your garden. The best foods to provide are: meat-based cat or dog food. specially-made hedgehog food.
What should I never feed a hedgehog? Foods that are toxic to hedgehogs...
Negative Aspects of Owning a Hedgehog
Adult Hedgehog Looking Busy - Leave Alone
And nursing mothers may take a break from the nest during the day to go and look for food and water. So, if you see a decent-sized adult out and about looking busy during the day it is probably fine and you should leave it to go about its business.