Stages of baby hedgehog development

Newborn: The babies are born without quills and have a thin membrane covering them. Check out pictures of newborns here. Soft white quills emerge within the first few hours, as seen in the photo below. Mama almost always fiercely guards them so we seldom get to see much.

Week One: At this stage, we may not have looked at them for more than just a peek, but can usually hear them squeaking and chirping! They are funny looking, squirmy, hairless little things with the ears and eyes closed. They have very sparse, thin white spines covering their naked bodies.

Week Two: At the end of the two weeks, we can generally take a good look at the babies and maybe even handle them. We try to determine the sex of each hoglet, but sometimes it isn't well defined yet. The boys are the ones with the "belly buttons." The baby spines will be giving way to more adult spines that can have colored bands. The ears are open but the eyes aren't. The squeaking and chirping continues, but is now louder. The fur is starting to grow; though they still look mostly naked. As you hold them, they may start to lick your hands and self-anoint! It's really cute, since they don't have sharp teeth yet!

Week Two and a Half: Eyes are opening, fur is growing in nicely, and it's time to start playing with them! They are wobbly when they try to walk, but try very hard to get going.

Week Three: The little hedgies are looking more like miniature adults. They are more stable in walking and want to explore farther. They love to self-anoint and may do it at the slightest new taste!

Week Four: The baby hedgehogs now look like a miniature version of their parents. They can walk just fine and start crawling up arms as we lay on the floor. They may be interested in moistened dry cat food and canned food. The first time we give them some, they often self-anoint it all over themselves! On the second try, they actually start eating it.

Week Five: The hoglets are starting to be more independent. They spend less time with mom and more time exploring, though they may still nurse a little. At this time they may be extremely grumpy due to quilling (big adult quills growing in, causing discomfort).

Week Six to Eight: Somewhere between age six and eight weeks, the babies are fully weaned and ready to live on their own. They are eating hard food, exploring, drinking from the water bottle, and no longer relying on mom for milk. By eight weeks, they are quilling less and typically less grumpy.

Antigone Means

Iola, KS

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This page last updated by Tig on 11/10/18