There are a lot of inquiries about hedgehogs nowadays since so many people are increasingly interested in having exotic animals as pets. Unsurprisingly, one of the most frequent questions we hear people ask is, “Do hedgehogs smell bad?”
We’ve all heard horror stories about other kinds of cute-looking but smelly pets, so this question isn’t really a weird one if you think about it. Also, one of the many things to consider when purchasing a new pet is the animal’s odor. You need to know if, why and what makes a particular animal stink before you get them into your home. At least you’ll be prepared for the smell and won’t be caught unaware if they really do smell bad.
There’s a lot of false information available online pertaining to hedgehogs and their smell. While some people claim that hedgehogs do smell really bad, others disagree.
So do hedgehogs smell bad or they don’t? Read on to find out the truth.
Do Hedgehogs Smell Bad?
Hedgehogs are becoming popular well-loved house pets since their adorable looks are just quite difficult to match. Hedgehogs also don’t have a particular odor, so your hedgehog shouldn’t smell if you remove any potential odor-causing environmental elements.
Hedgehogs are naturally odorless creatures because they lack scent glands, unlike other animals like ferrets and skunks. Skunks will always smell an awful lot, regardless of how clean their habitat may be. Though hedgehogs don’t have scent glands, they can still get smelly if you don’t take good care of them. Fortunately, as their owner, you have complete control over all the variables that can make them stink. So that implies that you are primarily to blame if your hedgehog smells awful.
Why Do Hedgehogs Smell Bad?
The first thing that springs to mind when considering “why hedgehogs smell bad” is their habitat. Although this is usually the main reason, other elements can make a hedgehog stink. Check out our detailed breakdown of these factors below.
Habitat
Pet hedgehogs usually relieve themselves in their cages since that’s where they spend most of their time. Consequently, poop and urine accumulate and become lodged on everything in the cage, including on the hedgehogs. Hedgehogs don’t smell, but their habitat can begin to reek because of their poop and urine. Hedgehogs will spend more and more time in waste if you don’t frequently clean their habitat.
Food
Poor diet is also another factor that may contribute to a hedgehog’s unpleasant scent. Hedgehogs may start to smell if you don’t give them a healthy diet with the correct ratio of protein to fat. Additionally, foods with a high-fat content may make your hedgehog’s poop smell even worse if they eat them regularly. For this reason, you should give your hedgehog the proper diets to keep them healthy, strong, and less likely to stink.
Poop And Urine
The odor emanating from a hedgehog’s poop is one of the main reasons it may smell terribly. Also, compared to stale and dry excrement, the fresher the stool, the stronger the scent. The odor of hedgehogs’ urine is another factor to consider. However, hedgehog’s poop smells far worse than their urine, which doesn’t really have a pungent stench.
Although it doesn’t smell as terrible when compared to a hedgehog’s poop, urine can produce a strong, unpleasant odor if it soaks into the hedgehog’s bedding.
Sickness
Take your hedgehogs to the veterinary doctor if you notice all the other factors stated above are not the cause of their smell. Hedgehogs may begin to smell foul due to various diseases and infestations, so be sure to act fast if you believe their cage, poop, urine, and food are not the cause of their smell. Vets can help decide whether medical attention is required when they eventually do a check-up.
Neutralizing A Hedgehog’s Smell
As you may have read from the section above, there are several reasons hedgehogs might smell awful. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take as a hedgehog owner to minimize or eliminate undesirable smells.
Clean Your Hedgehog’s Cage.
One of the most crucial things you can do to ensure your hedgehog never smells unpleasant is to perform routine cage cleanings.
Hedgehogs will smell amazing and stay healthy if you give their cage a simple spot clean daily. To do this, simply search their cage for areas that need to be cleaned up of excrement or pee whenever you have the time. This requires a few minutes and should not be a hassle if you want to keep your hedgehog healthy. Spot cleaning includes picking up poop, changing wet bedding, and swiping dirty accessories.
Each week, you should perform a more comprehensive clean that includes the bedding, liner, and cage. This should take a little bit of time too. To do this:
- You should remove everything from the hedgehog’s cage, including the toys, wheels, chews, to thoroughly clean them.
- Then scrub the cage floor with a soft-bristled brush and soapy water.
- Wipe the cage clean, and rinse it with clear, soap-free water. By all means, ensure that the cage has no chemical residue.
- Remember, to only use trusted wipes for cleaning to ensure you’re not coating the cage with harmful chemicals.
Change Your Hedgehog’s Bedding
Hedgehogs can smell when their bedding is not changed often enough. The bedding often gets soaked with urine and poop quite often, so you should change it at least three times a week.
Buy High-Quality Bedding For Your Hedgehog
Consider these factors below when you want to buy bedding for your hedgehog.
- The bedding for a hedgehog should easily absorb both odor and moisture.
- The bedding should be washable. In addition to being secure, getting washable bedding considerably lowers the cost of taking care of a hedgehog.
- The bedding should be unscented. Sharp-smelling chemicals have no business in hedgehog’s products since they usually don’t like them.
- Don’t buy wood bedding if your hedgehog is male. Wood bedding can easily harm male hedgehogs if splinters from the bedding get stuck in the hedgehog’s penile sheath.
Feed Your Hedgehog High-Quality Food
Hedgehogs may start stinking up your house if you give them an inappropriate or unbalanced diet. Consider changing your hedgehog’s diet to see if it will help if you notice they smell awful, especially if you regularly clean their cage.
Bathe Your Hedgehog More Often.
You can remove any poop or pee your hedgehog may have been covered in by bathing them. Poop can quickly become trapped on their feet, quills, and underbelly, which is why bathing your hedgie is crucial. While taking a bath is vital, it’s also essential to avoid washing them too frequently, so you don’t dry up their skin. A hedgehog’s dry skin might result in skin infections.
It would be best if you only bathed your hedgehog twice a month at most. To remove any dirt, you should wash your hedgehog with mild soap, such as baby soap, castille soap, or a mild, unscented hand wash. Hedgehogs enjoy swimming and are proficient swimmers, so making the bath deep enough will allow your little buddy to enjoy some fun swimming while you’re cleaning them up.
Clean Your Hedgehog’s Exercise Wheels
Hedgehogs frequently enjoy being on exercise wheels whenever they get the chance. They can easily spend hours running on their wheel, which they will often poop and pee on, leaving the surrounding area smelling awful.
Take the exercise wheel out and clean it if the cage has been thoroughly cleaned already. If both the exercise wheel and the cage are dirty, do a thorough cleaning.
You can purchase a second wheel to be placed in the cage if you notice your hedgehog’s exercise wheel is frequently getting dirty.
If you don’t have the time to clean the wheel, you can pull it out and put it in the garage or another place where you don’t have to perceive it until you’re ready to clean it up.
Litter Train Your Hedgehog
If you have the time and patience, litter training your hedgehogs is a great way to reduce the probability of them smelling bad. This can be a challenging process, and so you know, it doesn’t work 100% of the time. But if you can pull it off, it will definitely make a big difference.
Simply isolating the area where your hedgehogs’ poop will significantly reduce the potential stink. This also makes their cages easier to clean!
Conclusion
Hedgehogs are usually clean and odor-free unless they are sick or improperly cared for, so ensure you always keep their environment clean and feed them the right stuff to reduce the probability of them getting smelly.
