Every hedgehog owner loves their pet, most of them never find a single reason to pet these amazing creatures. Though many myths like hedgehogs are poisonous, which are not true, these myths never let Hedgehog lovers love their pets any less.
Petting an African Pygmy Hedgehog is worth every single day, however, the owners always wonder about their life span and may ask this question.
How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live? On average a Hedgehog can live up to 3-5 years. Because most of the hedgehogs get prone to cancer by the time they turn 3, however, some Hedgehogs do live as long as 5 years. While a wild hedgehog only lives for about 3 years.
How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live?
Even though their life span is limited like any other being, Hedgehog lovers certainly wanted them to live a little longer. Hedgehog’s lifespan is influenced a lot by external factors.
The food, terrarium, environment and predators all contribute to improving or deteriorating the life of a hedgehog. However, sometimes, even being petted by humans can also influence the life span of the hedgehog.
How Long Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Live?
Many owners want the answer to how long do African pygmy hedgehogs live? The lifespan of a hedgehog is influenced a lot by external factors, just like for any other pet, the food, environment, terrarium and stress among a pet becomes a deciding factor about the lifespan of a Hedgehog.
A pet hedgehog would live for as long as 3-5 years. However, many Hedgehogs develop cancer by the time they turn 3, which causes trouble to their immune system, deteriorating their mouth, gut. Other diseases include wobbly Hedgehog syndrome that can become another cause of the limited lifespan of a Hedgehog. There are some exceptional cases where hedgehogs live up to five years without developing any diseases.
How Long Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Live In The Wild?
Life in the wild becomes more difficult for Hedgehogs. Though they are wild animals and aren’t advised by professionals to be petted, Hedgehog’s life span decreases dramatically, when living in the wild. In the wild, A hedgehog lives for around 1-3 years. The reason for a shorter life span in the wild is simply because hedgehogs are more exposed to predators, limited food and water resources, more exposure and risk to bacterial infections.
Furthermore, many studies have shown that wild Hedgehogs are killed by humans in road accidents or by fire when a Hedgehog is hiding under the leaves stack and a human puts fire to it.
Are African Pygmy Hedgehogs Good Pets?
African Pygmy Hedgehogs, just like any other Hedgehogs are adorable pets. They are cute, cuddly, and friendly. All types of Hedgehogs are also easy to take care of. They are natural insectivores that only need a small bowl of food each day, In general, they don’t need a lot of vet trips or vaccinations, and they don’t require any special supplies or cages.
African Pygmy Hedgehogs can be good pets for people who live in apartments or homes without any other pets. They can also be good for people who aren’t able to take care of their pet because of long hours at work because hedgehogs don’t require much attention and can regulate their body temperature so it’s not necessary to be home to provide the animal with warmth during cold periods.
How Long Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Live In Captivity?
Many owners worry about their favorite pet African pygmy hedgehogs and may ask: how long do pet African pygmy hedgehogs live? If a hedgehog stays in a relaxed and healthy environment, where it gets plenty of good food and water, it can thrive in that environment.
On average a healthy hedgehog would live for around 3-5 years when they live as a pet. In the wild, their life span is decreased due to risks and stress involved but in a safe environment, they can live up to 5 years on average. Many hedgehog owners have shared that their hedgehogs lived for as long as 7 years.
However, life can get short even in captivity, if the hedgehog gets an illness. The most common symptoms of a Hedgehog having a health issue includes lack of appetite, Weight loss, swelling on the face or around the body, change in their stool.
Are African Pygmy Hedgehogs Good Pets?
Hedgehogs are wild animals but many people consider them to be domesticated because they are harmless, cute and social pets. African Pygmy Hedgehogs just like any other Hedgehog make a good pet. Just like any other hedgehog they also require good care and they require a dedicated terrarium that is suitable for their needs.
If tamed with care and love, just like any other pet, hedgehogs can also make good pets. However, hedgehogs are known to create a lot of mess around. If the owner has provided them with their terrarium, the owners would be required to clean it every day or once in two days.
How Long Do Pygmy Hedgehogs Live For As Pets?
How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live as a pet? Pygmy Hedgehogs can live up to 5 years in captivity on average, however many owners tell that their hedgehogs have lived up to 7 years and sometimes even more.
The life of a hedgehog depends majorly on two factors, first how well they are cared for and how good their environment, food, water is and second, that hedgehogs get diseases.
To get the hedgehog to live a longer life, it is recommended that the owner gets its hedgehog vet checked regularly. The food that a hedgehog should eat should be checked and evaluated by the owner very diligently.
Why Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Have A Short Lifespan?
After understanding how long do African pygmy hedgehogs live, many owners ask the reason for the short lifespan of hedgehogs. Many factors can contribute to a shorter life span of an African Pygmy Hedgehog. First is the stress, a hedgehog can get stressed a lot in the wild as well as in captivity due to poor living conditions, lack of good food and water, and predators.
Another reason is again wrong food and water, if the hedgehog doesn’t get proper food or water that can kill them of starving if not by eating infectious food. Predators in the wild contribute towards the shorter life span of a hedgehog in the wild. Many hedgehogs are hunted before they turn 3.
Furthermore, many hedgehogs get ailments like cancer, Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome, tumors, Gastro-Intestinal Diseases, Urinary Tract Infections, dental problems, bone disease or blood Infections that substantially decrease their lifespan.
Can I Buy African Pygmy Hedgehogs For Sale?
Buying a Hedgehog in the US is illegal. Many US states like California, Georgia, Hawaii, New York, Omaha, Nebraska, Washington DC don’t allow pet hedgehogs. It is illegal to own them and many other states also have restrictions and they do require the owners to have a permit to pet a hedgehog.
In general, hedgehogs are wild but harmless pets. They can become pets but still, there are many difficulties that a hedgehog may face when getting used to abound environment. As hedgehogs are used to roaming here and there and everywhere. It can also be difficult for hedgehogs.
How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live?
How To Prolong African Pygmy Hedgehogs Lifespan?
The best way to prolong the life of a hedgehog is to provide it with as much natural terrarium as possible, together with good food, water, vaccinations, if recommended by a vet and a stress-free environment.
Some of the small tips, that can be very effective to give a relaxed environment and that can promote healthy living among a hedgehog are:
Avoid loud noises while handling it.
Don’t let your shadow fall on the animal. Since hedgehogs do not have good eyesight, they are more sensitive to bright lights and shadows. When you grab it you have to be careful that your shadow does not cover it or you will scare it.
Avoid giving them too many treats. Hedgehogs can get fat very quickly, which is why the owner needs to make sure that they don’t give them too many sugary treats.
Get the hedgehog checked at the vet regularly. As the risk of cancer among the hedgehog’s increases when they turn three, it is best to get them checked regularly to catch any early signs.
Can African Pygmy Hedgehogs Live Together?
No, Most of the time hedgehogs live alone. In the wild, hedgehogs don’t live together neither in groups nor as a couple. Hedgehogs come under the category of solitary creatures.
Hedgehogs spend most of their life alone, hunting and roaming alone, except for mating, the females raise the baby hedgehogs on their own, who also get separated from their mothers after some weeks of staying together.
How Long Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Sleep?
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, meaning they sleep in the day and go on their adventure at the night. On average an African Pygmy Hedgehog or any other hedgehog would sleep in between 16 hours to 18 hours. The sleep can vary, it can be less or even a little more. The owners can interact with their hedgehogs during the evening or nighttime.
The sleep pattern of a Hedgehog is the major reason why they become an ideal pet. For people working 9-5, it often gets hectic to care for a dog or a cat. However, in the case of a hedgehog, an owner can work Knowing that their pet is sleeping.
How Long Do African Hedgehogs Live?
In wild, African hedgehogs live for around 2-4 years while in captivity they can live up to 6-8 year’s.
Final Verdict – How Long Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Live
Many hedgehog owners want to ask how long do African pygmy hedgehogs live? Hedgehogs are environmentally sensitive animals. Environment affects their life span a lot. Food, stress, predators, and other factors like exposure to bacterial infections through food or other hedgehogs also contribute towards the lifespan of a hedgehog.
In the wild, hedgehogs are more prone to getting eaten by predators or at risk of getting a disease in their earlier lives. A wild hedgehog lives for as short as 3 years at max. However, some wild hedgehogs may live more than that but that is not common.
A hedgehog kept in captivity has better life quality, it gets good food, water and environment and when in captivity they don’t get killed by predators. However, getting a disease is still an issue even when a hedgehog is kept as a pet but keeping a hedgehog as a pet improves their life span.
How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live? How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live as pets? How long do African pygmy hedgehogs live in the wild?
To conclude the question, how long do African pygmy hedgehogs live? The average life expectancy of a wild hedgehog is around one year to three years while some may survive for longer. The average life expectancy of a hedgehog kept in captivity is 4 to 5 years. Many hedgehog owners have shared that their hedgehog lived as long as 10 years. It can only become possible if the hedgehog is well cared for and doesn’t get any serious diseases.
Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️
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