A Baby Hedgehog: From Birth to Weaned

A domesticated baby hedgehog has an unstable life, from their birth until the time they are weaned. There are many things that can go wrong during this time. And hedgehog breeders must provide diligent care to ensure the babies thrive. In fact, a baby hedgie's life can be in danger from mama hedgehog at the moment they are born. If they survive the birthing experience, the newborn hoglet, usually has up to six siblings in the litter that hungrily compete to suckle on mama hedgie.

This video gives you a glimpse at the traumatic way that a hoglet enters the world. Sadly, some mama hedgehogs will eat or reject their young. There are several schools of thought on why that happens. Some hedgehog breeders believe that it happens when the mother thinks that her and her baby hedgehogs are in danger. But other breeders believe that it's a natural occurrence with no explanation for what causes it.

Here at Heavenly Hedgies, we believe that the mother and newborn baby hedgehogs should not be disrupted for at least a week, or maybe even two. Hedgies are sensitive to anything that looks or feels like a threat. So for their sake and the safety of the hoglets, it is better to let them adjust. During this volatile time, mama and the newborns should be inspected only visually. After one week, the cage can usually be spot-cleaned, but definitely not near the nest.

A baby hedgehog is born blind and their eyes won't open for about 2-3 weeks, according to the Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital. If a hoglet has the misfortune of being a runt in the litter, often they won't be able to compete against their siblings for their turn to nurse. And, if they don't get to nurse, they'll likely die of malnutrition or get injured to the point of death. Another situation that sometimes occurs is the mother stops eating after giving birth. This doesn't happen frequently, but isn't outside the realm of possibility. A mama hedgehog that isn't eating can't produce milk for her baby hedgehogs, which places them in jeopardy.

In some cases, when a mama has rejected all or some of her babies, alternative measures must be taken. The baby hedgehogs will need to be hand-raised or a surrogate wet nurse can be used. A baby hedgehog suckles every 2-3 hours around the clock, so hand-raising them should be a last resort. If there is another mama hedgehog, the abandoned babies may be accepted by getting the surrogate's bedding scent on them. Sometimes abandoned hoglets refuse to be hand-raised. This is more common with wild hedgehogs than it is with domesticated hedgehogs. Below is a video of an unconventional, but heart-warming surrogate wet-nurse. The mama hedgehog was killed by a lawnmower and the wild baby hedgehogs refused to be hand-raised, so this mother cat was able to fill the void.

The nutrition of mama is very important while she is nursing. After all, the mother hedgehog's nutritional intake is passed to the baby hedgies via nursing. If you want the list of the best food to feed a hedgehog, you can check that out here. In the beginning, hoglets obtain their nutrition solely from nursing. And as they begin to gain weight, their odds of survival increase dramatically. Baby hedgehogs usually begin teething around 3 weeks after they were born. As you can imagine, this can be irritating or painful for mama hedgehog as they nurse, so she becomes anxious for them to wean.

Once the mother hedgehog begins to show signs of nursing weariness, breeders will usually begin offering solid foods and socializing the hoglets more and more. These are good milestones that indicate the baby hedgehogs are maturing and beginning to thrive. As the mother grows tired of the hoglets nursing, she will begin to pull away from them and even flat out avoid them. In an effort to stave off hunger, the baby hedgehogs will begin to take food from mama's dish. This behavior increases as the mother avoids them for longer and longer periods as the little ones grow. The length of the weaning process varies from litter to litter. Sometimes it can take up to twelve weeks for a baby hedgehog to wean.

The mother may huff protective warnings when the socializing process begins. Even though she has grown weary of nursing, she is still very much a protective mother that may get quite upset about her baby hedgehogs being picked up and removed from her care, even for short spells. Nevertheless, the hoglets must be handled several times per day for short periods in the beginning. By just holding them a few minutes and then returning them safely to their mother, mama begins to trust that her babies aren't being harmed. And then she becomes more relaxed about humans handling them.

When they are nearly weaned, they are typically held for periods of 30 minutes or more several times a day. This prepares them to be a loving and cuddly pet when they are sold. A baby hedgehog that hasn't been sufficiently socialized may not bond with their new owner, which can lead to abandonment. Some breeders may separate the litter sometime between four to six weeks, while others will keep them together as long as they play nicely together in the cage. However, baby hedgehogs don't always like sharing space and sleeping quarters. A hedgehog is a solitary animal and doesn't mind being alone in a habitat.

It's really amazing that a baby hedgehog makes a complete transformation from ugly to adorable in about six weeks. Survival odds aren't in their favor at birth. And with each day that passes, they grow stronger and stronger. Once a baby hedgehog enters the world, is socialized by caretakers, and weans to solid food, they are ready to capture your heart. All they need is a loving home. Perhaps yours?

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