Hedgehogs make cute pets. In fact, they’re fast becoming a popular exotic pet here in the States as well as overseas. Wildlife centers often take in orphaned hedgehogs. In some cases, hedgehog-owners are left with orphaned young pups when the mother dies while giving birth or from post-delivery infections. Either way, they are left with no choice but to hand-rear the baby hedgehogs. Below are a few useful tips you need to know if you plan to hand-raise a baby hedgehog.

Hedgehogs are lactose-intolerant. Giving them cow’s milk-based formula will give them diarrhea. Sheep’s milk is a good substitute for their mother’s milk. You can also mix them a re-hydrating fluid with sugar, water and sheep’s milk. This protein-rich milk may also be enriched with raw egg yolk as the baby hedgehog grows older. Baby hedgehogs need to be fed once every three hours or more. Make sure that you tilt the feeding bottle all the way up when feeding to prevent them from taking in a lot of air. You can also use a large dropper or a fifty cc syringe to give them their milk. If sheep’s milk happens to be scarce in your area, you can make-do with kitten milk formulas sold in most pet stores. Should that also happen to be unavailable, you can always opt for soy-based baby milk formulas as a last resort.

The digestive system of newborn hedgehogs may be a bit slow on the uptake, so to speak. Stroking their belly after a feeding will help stimulate their digestive processes and keep them from getting bloated. Check if they urinate or void after every other feeding, this means their digestive organs are all working as they should. Baby hedgehogs need to be fed every half hour or so. The gap between feeding time lengthens as they grow older but they’ll be having milk as their primary source of nutrition until they’re fully weaned.

Baby hedgehogs will exclusively live on their mother’s milk for the first three weeks of age. Once they start growing teeth, you can slowly wean them of the milk formula by giving them mashed, ripe banana as well as minced meat. You can still keep giving them milk but switch to a shallow dish instead of a bottle, dropper, or syringe. Egg yolk, boiled or raw, will give them an additional source of protein. You can also start giving the baby hedgehog some high-protein canned dog food at this time. They’ll also love like mealworms which you can easily obtain from fish shops. Chewy insects like crickets should be given later when they have a full complement of teeth. Try not to give them too many egg yolks as this could lead to a Vitamin B deficiency.

Like human babies, baby hedgehogs are sensitive to the cold. Wrap them snugly in blankets during feeding and make sure their cage or den is free from drafts. Their formula should also be warmed first, before giving it to them.