Weight: the hedgehog that cannot roll up
The pet hedgehog most owners keep, the African pygmy, is built to roam long distances at night and gains weight readily in a cage when fatty insects and treats outpace exercise. The clearest home test is the one vets use: a hedgehog at a healthy weight can roll into a complete, tight ball. Fat building along the sides leaves a gap she cannot close, and you may also see fat deposits around the legs and a hedgehog that tires quickly on her wheel.
Obesity is not a cosmetic issue in this species — it strains joints, discourages the exercise that keeps the gut moving, and complicates any anaesthetic she might need. A solid-sided running wheel every night, measured staple food, and insects as treats rather than a main course keep the balance. Weigh weekly on a kitchen scale and treat a steady climb as a diet conversation to have early, not a crisis to fix later.
Skin, quills, and mites
Dry skin is common in hedgehogs kept in dry indoor air, showing as light flaking at the quill bases. Mites are different: persistent scratching, heavy flaking, crusty skin around the face and ears, and quills falling out in numbers, leaving thin patches. Because mite irritation and fungal skin infection can look similar, and because home remedies like oils can make assessment harder and skin worse, a hedgehog losing quills and scratching constantly needs a vet diagnosis rather than a bath experiment.
Check feet weekly too. Fine threads and human hairs wrap around hedgehog legs and toes and cut circulation unnoticed under the quills; a swollen foot or a toe that looks pinched needs prompt attention, and thread still wrapped tight is urgent.
The cold hedgehog: a genuine emergency
Pet hedgehogs kept indoors can attempt hibernation if their environment cools too far, and unlike wild hedgehogs they are not built to survive it. The signs are a hedgehog that feels cold to the touch, is wobbly when she does move, refuses to uncurl properly, and stops eating. Warm her gradually — against your body under a fleece, or with your hands — never in hot water or under intense direct heat, which shocks a cold animal. Then contact a vet the same day even if she perks up, because the attempt signals her housing is too cold and her body has been stressed.
Prevention is a steady warm room temperature and a thermometer at cage level, checked in cold snaps and when heating fails overnight, which is when attempts usually happen.
Appetite, droppings, teeth, and lumps
A hedgehog that leaves food untouched two nights running, produces green or runny droppings, or loses weight steadily is telling you something is wrong — dental disease is a common hidden cause in this species, along with gut upsets. Bad breath, dropping food, or chewing on one side adds to the dental picture, and mouth checks belong to the vet, since hedgehogs ball up rather than cooperate.
Run your hands gently over an uncurled hedgehog weekly: tumours are unfortunately common in older hedgehogs, and a new lump, a mouth mass, or blood in urine should always be examined promptly — early assessment gives the most options. Keep a simple log of nightly eating, wheel activity, and weekly weights in your hedgehog's KinsLe Pet Passport, so the vet sees the trend behind the one quiet night that finally worried you.