How to Bathe Your Hedgehog
September 3, 2008 by Kimberly
In my opinion, every pet you have should be cleaned at some point in time.
When I clean out the cage for my African Pygmy Hedgehog, Kokonut Kreampuff, every week, she also gets a bath.
Photo left: Kokonut Kreampuff having her bath
She wouldn’t voluntarily go into a small pool of water and clean herself off…She’s more concerned with trying to get under her blanket to sleep, so I have to give her a push in the right direction. Plus, it is just too cute!
Hedgehog Bath Checklist:
No Tears Baby Shampoo + Conditioner in 1
Washcloth
Nail brush – only to be used for your hedgehog baths
Handtowel (possibly 2)
Bathroom or Kitchen Sink with drain plug
Photo right: Kokonut getting clean in her bath
How to Wash a Hedgehog:
1. Thoroughly clean kitchen or bathroom sink with a mild soap (like Ivory dishsoap) and hot water, rinse thoroughly.
2. Fill sink with about 1.5-2″ of warm water – not too hot, not too cold.
3. Mix into water about 1 quarter-sized amount of tearless shampoo into the water to make bubbles.
4. Fetch your hedgehog and gently put them into the water. Be sure, if they’re in a ball, to not put them into the water with their face-side down…They may drown or get water in their lungs.
5. Once they hit the water, they should come out of their ball immediately and are usually only concerned with finding a way out. So, their quills are back and relaxed for you to be able to work with easily.
6. Often, they’ll have “frothed” themselves during the week with any new and interesting food you fed them, so they may have “spots” on their quills of any color from the food.
So, if you feel after soaking for a few minutes in the water, that these spots need some extra work to get them off, put some extra tearless shampoo on the nail brush and gently rub the quills in one direction to get them off.
Photo left: Kokonut soaking in a relaxing bath
7. Be sure to wash their bellies, feet and private areas gently with your fingers or washcloth.
8. Take the washcloth and gently clean their face, trying to keep too much water out of their ears.
9. Pickup your hedgehog and hold them while you empty the sink of the bath water. Quickly rinse the sink of excess bubbles and dirt.
10. Making sure the water is at the right temperature coming out of the faucet, I then rinse the hedgehog directly under that water, ensuring I move the quills around to get all shampoo off of them.
* Tip: Hedgehogs can have sensitive skin, so be sure to completely rinse off the shampoo from all parts of their body.
11. Immediately dry them off in a hand towel, preferably a warm one.
* Tip: Never let your hedgehog get too cold. As such a small mammal, they can get colds, even pneumonia, quickly and can perish even within a day or so. Be careful!
12. After drying as best you can, they will still be damp, so you ideally should put them into another hand towel that is dry and they will want to snuggle into it to warm up and dry off.
* Tip: This is a stellar opportunity to cuddle with your hedgehog. They are more calm and wanting to warm up. Just leave the towel on your lap while you watch TV, work on the computer or just relax yourself!
Now you have a clean Hedgehog!
***
I hope you enjoyed this Exotic Animal Tips & Tricks post from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…
Live Exotically,
Kimberly Edwards 
P.S. This is a really good choice for a 2-in-1 tearless shampoo + conditioner for your pets! Check it out:
Technorati Tags: African pygmy hedgehog, hedgehog, exotic pet, unusual pet, bathing a hedgehog, tearless pet shampoo
Similar Posts:
- Picky Hedgehog? Not Mine…
- Out of Hedgehog Food at the Pet Stores
- The African Pygmy Hedgehog: A Delightful Ball of Thorns
- Looking for a Male Albino African Pygmy Hedgehog
- Awesome Ground Cover For Aquariums
Popularity: 12% [?]
There are a lot of good points. Thanks for the post good read.
Thanks for the information. I thought you had to clean a hedgehog with a tooth brush, so im like how do u do that? So i never tryed cleaning him till now. off i go to go clean my beautiful hedgehog “Oliver” <3
LOL…I guess you could use a toothbrush, but if I need to, I will use a nail brush – it’s bigger so it covers more area, and it gives you better control.
I really only scrub them if they have been frothing themselves a lot and have a rainbow of colors on their backs! LOL…
Otherwise, I let them soak in the shallow water to clean out their nails and wipe them gently with a wash cloth…
Just be sure the water is the right temp – too cold and they could get sick quickly – too hot and well, they will really not like you anymore!
Then, be sure to towel dry and keep them warm until they’ve finished drying…
I find my hedgies are most behaved when in the bath. They’ll spend all their energy trying to climb out of the sink, but keep sliding down, that you’ll be able to clean them without them really paying any attention to you.
I also take the opportunity to check if their nails are too long and will nonchalantly cut them carefully while they’re not paying attention. Works well!
You and Oliver have fun, Cailyn!
Kimberly
[...] to know How to Bathe a Hedgehog? Click that [...]