A Hedgehog Happy Birthday Party: Ideas & Recipes

It may sound kind of corny, but us hedgie parents often look for great ways to throw a hedgehog happy birthday party for our quill babies. If you're looking for ideas for your ouch mouse's birthday celebration, look no further. And if your hedgie's birth date is unknown, then many hedgehog owners will celebrate their “gotcha” day instead. Whether it's their birthday or gotcha day, read on to get tips on how to make it special.

The time that we are gifted to have with our hedgehogs is precious to us who love them. We know that they have a limited lifespan and we need to make every moment count. But before we go on, we would like to acknowledge and thank everyone that granted us permission to use their pictures of their hedgehog's happy birthday party. Their willingness to share their pictures truly makes this article a special read.

Feature Picture Acknowledgement: A special thank you goes to Zita Ile Onckule‎‎ for sharing her picture of her hedgehog Ezitis (Frida).

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While some would disagree, we think that no hedgehog happy birthday celebration is quite complete without a cake. If you've ever had a birthday party thrown for you, what was the final touch to the festivities? The highlight…or as the French say, pièce de résistance!? For me it was the cake! And for our children it was the cake! Who doesn't love cake?!?!

Now you may be questioning, “Can hedgehogs eat sweets?” We all know that hedgehogs shouldn't have sweets, right? If you don't know it, take a look at our guide on hedgehog nutrition. But who says that your hedgehog's birthday cake has to be made of wheat flour and sugary icing? Shouldn't it be made of special ingredients that hedgehogs love? Absolutely! And about the sweets…a little smidgeon of sweetness isn't going to make your hedgehog keel over suddenly. So don't be afraid to use the very small amount of honey you'll find in one of the three following recipes.

Cake Recipe #1

This is the simplest of all cakes and looks similar to the cake pictured to the right. It's actually layered pancakes.

1 banana
2 eggs

Blend the ingredients together thoroughly
Use olive oil to help prevent sticking
Make multiple pancakes and layer with whatever treats would make it a special birthday cake for your hedgie.

If you don't already have a baking tray for making mini birthday cakes or the liners, we recommend these:

Cake Recipe #2

1 cup (16 tablespoons*) rice flour**
1 tsp* baking soda
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons*) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons*) olive oil
1 cup (16 tablespoons*) shredded carrots
1 tsp* vanilla
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons* + 1 teaspoon*) honey
1 egg = 3-4 tablespoons* depending on egg size

Mix dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients to it. Bake in an oven preheated to 350º Fahrenheit (177º Celsius) for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. If you want, you can use unsweetened yogurt in place of ‘icing' and garnish with freeze-dried insects that your hedgehog loves.

NOTE (*): If you'd like to scale the recipe back to a quarter of the amount, just divide the recipe by 4 and use a fourth of the egg beaten or 1 tablespoon of Egg Beaters. Also, you may need to reduce your cooking time, so keep a close eye on it.

NOTE (**): To make your hedgehog's cake REALLY special, you can substitute the rice flour with this cricket powder. Cricket powder is a protein rich way to give them something they love.

Our sincere thanks to Sarah Hubler for sharing her hedgehog pictures of Piper's Happy Birthday celebration!

Cake Recipe #3 (Variation of cake Recipe #2)

1 cup (16 tablespoons*) rice flour**
1 tsp* baking soda
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons*) peanut butter
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons*) olive oil
1 cup (16 tablespoons*) shredded carrots
1 tsp* vanilla
1 egg = 3-4 tablespoons* depending on egg size

Mix dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients to it. Bake in an oven preheated to 350º Fahrenheit (177º Celsius) for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. It's really not necessary to top the cake with anything for your hedgehog to love it.

NOTE (*): Like the previous recipe, this one can be scaled as well and also requires that you watch your cooking time as reduced recipes often bake a little faster.

NOTE (**): Cricket powder is a yummy way to give your birthday hedgie something that is closer to a species-specific cake.

If you don't have the time, skills, or inclination to bake a special mini cake for your hedgehog's birthday – that's perfectly okay! There are always alternatives to work these things out. Below are a couple of examples of how one hedgie parent handled their hedgie birthday cake alternative. We gotta say that the little yellow mini cake had us convinced it was a real cupcake rather than an egg cake. Dizzy's momma is quite imaginative!

We'd like to thank Samantha Henschen for allowing us to use her pictures of Dizzy and Enzo

A birthday hat isn't a necessity, but it does make for some great photo opportunities. When our children were young, birthday hats were always part of the festivities (at least until they were too old and protested that it was babyish). And after all, aren't these our quilldren? There were several folks, that generously shared pictures of their hedgehogs in their happy birthday hats. Aren't they just adorable?

Our heartfelt thanks for letting us use their pictures go to: Veronica Diaz (top left), Anna Krakowian (top right), Anna Frye (bottom left), and Mackenzie Hey (bottom right). They each have beautiful hedgehogs in their adorable happy birthday hats.

If you're looking for a birthday hat for your hedgie's upcoming birthday or gotcha day, here are two highly rated sources:

And if you need any suggestions on great hedgehog presents, we made a few recommendations in an earlier article around the holidays. The gifts for hedgehogs in the first half of that article are great for anytime. You can read more here.

We've covered all the elements that are typically part of a festive and memorable birthday party for your hedgie, but those things aren't what MAKE a party special. What makes for a truly happy birthday for hedgehogs, or anyone else, is being surrounded by those that love them and want to celebrate their life. A display of love is what makes your hedgehog's birthday great! Everything else is, as they say, icing on the cake!