How To Make A Hedgehog Cage At Home?

If you are trying to raise a pet, you need to build a proper place for it to live in. Making a cage for your pet is not only fun, but it can also save you money and give an opportunity to be as much creative as you want.

Likewise, you can build your cage for your hedgehog. No animals want to be locked up and stay in a tiny place and especially if they are stuck in there for the whole day.

You have to make the cage spacious so that it is comfortable for your pet to move around inside the cage and will adapt to your house sooner. If you have enough space at home, you can be creative with the cage and also make it bigger.

Basics Of Building A Hedgehog Cage

Making a hedgehog cage, either indoor or outdoor, always requires a safe living space.

The very first thing to consider is what type of materials you would like to use to build the cage.

You can either use scraps of wood available at your home, or you can buy new wood from the market.
Materials like steel, metal, and plastic PVCs can be used depending on the availability of materials and your budget for making the hedgehog cage.
Usage of plastics instead of wood is also a good option for making a cage. You can use a plastic tube or container. Plastic enclosures are usually inexpensive and can be made quickly.
You can also connect two or more plastic bins or container to make a larger cage for your hedgehogs.
Cubes and Coroplast cages are also a practical choice for making hedgehog cages. These are very easy to use, clean and even rearrange.

Measurements Of The Hedgehog Cage

There is no standard size for making a cage of the hedgehog. Usually, hedgehogs are the kind of wild animals that require a lot of plain ground for probing their food. So, making a bit bigger cage for your pet can be very comfortable.

Types of Cage

You can build it at any size you want. Making a cage by yourself is exciting, and it is also very cheap. You can even design it however you want it to be.

In general, a cage for hedgehogs has to be a minimum of four square feet, but you can certainly make a bigger cage for your pet hedgehog at a low price using the right materials.
Two square feet cage can also be considered as the bare minimum space for a hedgehog given you’re letting it roam outside the cage for a lot of hours.

Prerequisites Of Building A Cage

Down below is a list of all the things that you will have to keep in mind before you start building your own case.

Openings

While making a cage for your hedgehog you need to make sure that all the openings are adequate for the hedgehog to get in and out of so that it does not get stuck while roaming from room to room within the cage.

Floor Plans

One of the important factors you should consider while making the homemade cage is the flooring plan for the hedgehog. A flat-surfaced cage is better than a wired-surface cage because all hedgehogs have tiny feet compared to other animals.

Remove Sharp Edges

They can easily get trapped in the wires while walking or running and can get wounded.

You should also make sure that there are no sharp edges that can be harmful to the hedgehog and get it injured. In most cases, hedgehogs don’t climb upwards but can climb up on top of things and can get to the top of the cage.

Weather-Friendliness

Weather conditioning is also essential for the hedgehog. These animals cannot stand the cold.

So if the room temperature is not warm and suitable, then you can use extra bedding (with cloths or cotton or any other forms of soft threads) for making a comfortable arrangement for the hedgehog to take rest of sleep at night.

Hedgehogs do not hibernate in most of the cases but making a cozy, warm and comfortable cage is a must requirement for them to be safe in the winter season.

Check For Health-Hazardous Materials

You can even use wood chips for making small bedding for your hedgehogs or even can use recycled paper or even newspapers depending on your choice of materials for the cage.

But you should always remember to avoid any form of aromatic materials that could cause breathing problems for the hedgehog.

Ventilation System

A good ventilation system is also required to keep the moisture level down to prevent ammonia from the urine of the hedgehogs to circulate in the air. It has to be kept safe from any forms of odor within the cage.

In general, cages with wired materials provide the best ventilation system. But you can certainly use both wood and wire to make your cage not only look good but also have enough space and flow of air to make the cage as liveable as possible for the hedgehogs at your home.

Space For Food And Water Bowl

Like any other animal, hedgehogs also require fresh food and water for its sustenance. As the hedgehogs are a tiny animal, choosing small dishes can make it comfortable for them to eat and drink in the cage.

Now for placing the water, you can either use a small bowl you can cut a water bottle to preferred height and can easily attach it at the side of the cage wall or place it in a particular place that does not mess up the cage for your hedgehog.

Cleaning-Friendly Cage

Frequent cleaning of the cage is also essential for hedgehogs. Therefore, you should avoid using materials that might make the cage heavier or troublesome for you to clean properly.

Wheels

In numerous surveys on the hedgehogs it is seen that these animals can walk or even run up to 12 miles or more per night. But it might not be possible for domesticated ones.

In that case, you can put in a wheel either made of plastic or wire (plastic is recommended)

Building A Homemade Hedgehog Cage

Now that you will gain the knowledge of the prerequisites, you can now start building your own cage. Down below the information will provide you will the ultimate guidance.

Proper Materials

Making a cage using wood is always smooth and inexpensive.

For the wooden cage, you can easily use 2 by 2 feet or larger wooden crates. You can also use an old wooden box or container for quickly making a homemade cage for the hedgehog.
If you don't have wooden crates or wood in your home, then you can certainly find it or buy it from your local grocery store or the hardware store. But whatever form of wood you use, make sure that it is cleaned or chemical stains removed.
For the ventilation within the coop, it will be better to use crate boxes that have an opening between the wood pieces. If you are buying separate woods slates, then you can keep small gaps within the woods slates while making the cage.
You need to use proper measuring tools like a ruler and pencil.

Steps for Building a Cage

Here are the steps that you will need to follow.

Step 1: Create The Opening

You have to chalk the preferred dimension for the opening in the wooden cage. After drawing out the lines to specify where the opening will be, you can cut through the slates or the woods with a hand saw to make the opening line.

You can either make two openings on either side of the crate or the wooden box or can only make one opening at one side as you prefer.

Step 2: Ensure Surface

It is always preferable to work on a flat and strong surface to avoid any cuts or mishaps for your little animal.

Step 3: Make The Tunnel

Now to make a tunnel from the opening of the cage, use three pieces of wood together. Whether you use old ones or new ones, you have to place two of the pieces side by side and put the third one on of top of the other two in a way that makes a tunnel.

Now use nails or superglues to stick them together so that they can stand firmly. You can also use bricks to build this tunnel. But this might be a bit risky and harmful for the hedgehogs since the bricks can fall on them.

This tunnel is not just for the hedgehogs to make a pathway to the cage, but it will also serve the purpose to protect them from wild animals.

Step 4: Ensure The Sturdiness

You should also put some weights on the side or on the top of the cage so that the cage does not flip over or break from external factors like wind or someone unforcefully hitting the cage.

Decorate the cage with lime rocks or even wooden logs and use them to support the cage to stay strong. But keep in mind to use light things so that the cage can easily bear its weight.

Step 5: Natural Elements To Enhance The Cage

Use tree leaves, straw sticks or even hays in the cage to make it more comfortable for the hedgehogs to live in. Your hedgehog will feel homely in the organic environment. It will help them to adapt quickly.

Step 6: Keep A Litter Box

You need to keep a litter box inside the cage placed low enough so that the hedgehog can reach it. The litter box can be made out of anything; metal, plastic or coroplast. You just have to ensure it does not have any sharp edges.

Step 7: Choose A Quiet Place

It is better to keep the cage in a secret place in the house. Hedgehogs are the kind of animals that likes to avoid the interaction and also aren’t too fond of open places.

Final Words

Having a good cage will help your hedgehog to be in a stress-free mood which will enable you to handle them more easily. Building a clean and nature-friendly cage is not everything though.

You have to keep it clean and maintain and check its sturdiness for the safety of your hedgehog. Make the cage fun for your hedgehog by putting some toys in it which will enhance their mental health and ensure a good life.