While 50% of the population owns pets, the other half is reluctant to own one. Studies have found that most people do not own a pet or are not fond of animals because they stink. But have you heard about hedgehogs?
Hedgehogs belong to that category of animals that do not have any particular odor. This trait of hedgehogs is also one of the reasons why they are growing in popularity as pets. So, if you think hedgehogs smell like other animals, and they stink, you are mistaken. The answer is the opposite.
Do Hedgehogs Stink? No. Hedgehogs do not stink. However, there may be times when a hedgehog might produce some odor.
Let us discuss this in detail and understand them better.
Do Hedgehogs smell, and if not, Why?
Hedgehogs are popular due to their odorless trait. They do not have any distinguished smell as other pets as dogs and cats do. So you can say that they do not stink.
Why is that so? It is because hedgehogs are a kind of animal that does not have scent glands. Due to the absence of scent glands, they do not have any dominant body scent or odor. It is why we can say that a hedgehog is odorless and will not make much of a stink.
But if you get too close to a hedgehog, you will realize a very mild smell coming from its body, but it is definitely not a smell that you would consider “bad”.
It is important to note that, although odorless, hedgehogs can sometimes smell or stink under certain circumstances. Let us learn about it in the next section.
Can Hedgehogs Smell Bad At Times? If Yes, How to Neutralize It?
Most animals stink because of the ammonia present in their feces and urine. While other animals have a strong presence of ammonia, hedgehogs are different. Hedgehogs only have a little amount of ammonia in their urine, and the odor of their feces depends basically on their diet. Therefore, they have a milder smell than other animals.
But if a hedgehog is not cleaned routinely, the urine and fecal matter might build upon the fur of the hedgehog and can produce an odor. It is a fact that hedgehogs usually excrete and urinate very often, and the urine and fecal matter get stuck onto the fur in their belly almost every time they do so. Therefore, hedgehogs can start to smell if left unclean for several days.
Another reason for hedgehogs to smell is when their cage is left dirty for several weeks and months with the presence of their urine and feces.
So, it becomes clear that it is necessary to clean it routinely to prevent a hedgehog from stinking. But one needs to be careful as regularly washing a hedgehog might dry up its spines and cause negative effects. So it is important to only routinely wash them.
Another step to prevent a hedgehog from stinking is to provide a proper diet. With vital nutrients present in their diet, the feces of a hedgehog will contain less ammonia and will not produce a strong odor. And of course, cleaning their cage and keeping it neat is a vital point to keep in mind, that is if the hedgehog is habituated in a cage.
So we can conclude that hedgehogs are odorless, and they do not stink. But if they are not looked after properly, they can produce results that would state otherwise.
