African Pygmy Hedgehogs

[Tomcat]

Hello

Currently thinking about getting some APH's

Can two females live together?

I may go into breeding late next year if im happy with it... Is there anything that i should know about breeding them?

Ive bred guinea pigs and rats before.

Would a 6x2 be suitable for a pair of females if they can live together?

[AeonFLux]

APHs are typically solitary animals and although two females will sometimes tolerate each other it is not always the case. I would suggest if you wish to keep two that you house them seperately and maybe allow them out together supervised.

I haven't bred myself but from research I did before getting my Xena it seems that breeding is not simple. Some hedgehog mothers seem to have a tendancy to destroy litters if disturbed including noise around the cage. Also if you plan to breed then each hog would require her own cage to allow her to care for young un-disturbed.

Female hogs should be over 6 months before breeding and the first breeding should occur under 1 year as the pelvic bones may fuse making birth dangerous.

If you breed you should also ensure the hogs you select for breeding have been registered so you can check their ancestary as inbreeding is very detrimental to hedgehogs!

Pygmy hogs forum is a good place for info on hogs and the best place to get some advice on all things hog

Due to the recent media coverage alot of breeders are not selling hoglets before christmas and are understandably being cautious of who they are selling to.
If you are serious about being a hoggy parent tho a little bit longer won't hurt

[Athravan]

Excellent information above there.

I was actually talking to my vet this morning with a hedgehog and she was saying she is hearing more and more about short lifespans and health problems in APH, similar to what she sees in chinchillas, because obviously there was a very small original import of the animal from the USA and apparently a great deal of inbreeding went on in the beginning of the 90s when the APH was first marketted as a pet. Because of this it is become increasingly more vital that you do everything you can to ensure that if you are breeding you do so from as unrelated lines as you can find.

Breeding hedgehogs can be very rewarding and very heartbreaking. They can be prone to stress and can make excellent mothers or really really bad ones, so be prepared for that and any vet bills that may be associated with fighting, abandonment or hand rearing. Some females just don't make good mothers.

I would not sell two together and whilst some people do keep females together I really think they are happier as solitary animals. They're not social animals and they are happier on their own.

[Tomcat]

Fair enough then

So i would have to have 2 or 3 females in seperate cages and then a male seperate aswel for when i breed.

Is there much more to it than guinea pigs and rabbits regarding breeding? Both will eat young if they feel threatened etc

[LauraandLee]

Great comments from others^^^^^^^

Im not sure bout breeding as I dont/wont breed mine.
As for housing min is 3ft x 1.5ft viv thats been adapted or another popular one is a zoo zone.
Aph must also be keep indoors as if to cold they will hibernate and die.
Again I recomend the pygmy hogs forum