Bathing & Supplies
THINGS NEEDED TO BATHE YOUR HEDGEHOG
SOAP FOR BATHING:
You want to use an unscented or lightly scent body wash not shampoo. Shampoos are meant to strip oils and hedgehogs are already prone to dry skin issues. The wash should be creamy, and preferably a sensitive one. Baby washes are most common because they’re going to be more gentile. Aveeno unscented baby wash with colloidal oatmeal is the most popular wash used with hedgehogs. Non-baby body washes like St. Ives, Dove, and Aveeno are good too as well as any off brand washes. The only shampoo that is okay to use is the Hedgehogs & Friends Hogwash shampoo because it’s really not like a shampoo. It’s extremely moisturizing, and doesn’t strip the oils from their skin.
SOFT BRISTLED TOOTHBRUSH:
You’ll want to get a soft bristled tooth brush to use for bathing your hedgehog, the tooth brush gets in between the quills better, and scrubs the quills and skin. The toothbrush is, also, great for needing to remove caked on poop boots (poop on their feet from running on their wheel).
NAIL CLIPPERS:
Human nail clippers work well. Many like to use baby nail clippers and cuticle clippers because they’re easier to hold when you’re trying to clip a wiggly hedgehog's nails. Small animal and dog/cat nail clippers aren’t recommended to use on hedgehogs as they open up wide and you could easily cut their toe if they move while you’re cutting down. There’s much less chance of you clipping their toe with human nail clippers as they can’t go back very far on the nail.
DETERGENT TO WASH FABRIC ITEMS WITH:
Warning--all natural, dye and fragrance free, plant based kinds of detergents do typically contain tea tree oil as a natural disinfectant. But, they won’t put that they contain tea tree oil in the ingredients--they just say it’s “plant based”. Many hedgehogs have died from having their fabric cage items washed in the plant based detergents because they ended up containing tea tree oil. Tide, Arm & Hammer, and Dreft are safe detergent brands. Some feel that hedgehogs are sensitive to detergents with dyes and perfumes, but most aren’t. If they do fine with the kind of detergent you use for your own clothes then they’ll do fine having their fabric items washed in it too. You don’t want to use any fabric softener or dryer sheets with fleece, it’ll take away the fleeces wicking ability and the fleece eventually will need to be thrown out. Wicking ability is how the fleece absorbs liquid on it, without the wicking ability any liquid that gets on the fleece will stay on the surface of it and not be absorbed by the fleece.
SOAP TO WASH THE HEDGEHOG'S CAGE, WHEEL, AND OTHER CAGE ACCESSORIES:
You want to choose a soap that will disinfect the items, but won’t harm the hedgehog.
Some good soap options are:
For washing the wheel if there’s a lot of stuck on poop try using a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle or Dawn Platnium Powerwash dish spray, and spray the wheel down. Let it soak for 15 minutes and the poop should come off easily. You can, also, use the Zep cleaner in the same way except you’d wanna use a 70/30 mix with water (70% water 30% Zep).
SOAP FOR BATHING:
You want to use an unscented or lightly scent body wash not shampoo. Shampoos are meant to strip oils and hedgehogs are already prone to dry skin issues. The wash should be creamy, and preferably a sensitive one. Baby washes are most common because they’re going to be more gentile. Aveeno unscented baby wash with colloidal oatmeal is the most popular wash used with hedgehogs. Non-baby body washes like St. Ives, Dove, and Aveeno are good too as well as any off brand washes. The only shampoo that is okay to use is the Hedgehogs & Friends Hogwash shampoo because it’s really not like a shampoo. It’s extremely moisturizing, and doesn’t strip the oils from their skin.
SOFT BRISTLED TOOTHBRUSH:
You’ll want to get a soft bristled tooth brush to use for bathing your hedgehog, the tooth brush gets in between the quills better, and scrubs the quills and skin. The toothbrush is, also, great for needing to remove caked on poop boots (poop on their feet from running on their wheel).
NAIL CLIPPERS:
Human nail clippers work well. Many like to use baby nail clippers and cuticle clippers because they’re easier to hold when you’re trying to clip a wiggly hedgehog's nails. Small animal and dog/cat nail clippers aren’t recommended to use on hedgehogs as they open up wide and you could easily cut their toe if they move while you’re cutting down. There’s much less chance of you clipping their toe with human nail clippers as they can’t go back very far on the nail.
DETERGENT TO WASH FABRIC ITEMS WITH:
Warning--all natural, dye and fragrance free, plant based kinds of detergents do typically contain tea tree oil as a natural disinfectant. But, they won’t put that they contain tea tree oil in the ingredients--they just say it’s “plant based”. Many hedgehogs have died from having their fabric cage items washed in the plant based detergents because they ended up containing tea tree oil. Tide, Arm & Hammer, and Dreft are safe detergent brands. Some feel that hedgehogs are sensitive to detergents with dyes and perfumes, but most aren’t. If they do fine with the kind of detergent you use for your own clothes then they’ll do fine having their fabric items washed in it too. You don’t want to use any fabric softener or dryer sheets with fleece, it’ll take away the fleeces wicking ability and the fleece eventually will need to be thrown out. Wicking ability is how the fleece absorbs liquid on it, without the wicking ability any liquid that gets on the fleece will stay on the surface of it and not be absorbed by the fleece.
SOAP TO WASH THE HEDGEHOG'S CAGE, WHEEL, AND OTHER CAGE ACCESSORIES:
You want to choose a soap that will disinfect the items, but won’t harm the hedgehog.
Some good soap options are:
- Bleach (must let air dry for a day before putting the hedgehog in the cage so the bleach smell is out of the cage)
For washing the wheel if there’s a lot of stuck on poop try using a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle or Dawn Platnium Powerwash dish spray, and spray the wheel down. Let it soak for 15 minutes and the poop should come off easily. You can, also, use the Zep cleaner in the same way except you’d wanna use a 70/30 mix with water (70% water 30% Zep).
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"Victoria is extremely responsive and knowledgeable. I appreciate that she takes the time to thoroughly answer all questions, and no question is considered trivial. When we decided to get a hedgehog from her, she gave us frequent updates and helped make sure we were fully prepared before we brought home our hedgehog. She assisted me in knowing exactly what food, toys, and cage components were needed. As the babies grew, she did a great job of handling them and socializing them. I can't speak highly enough! We love our hedgehog!"
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