{"topic_id":"exotic_enrichment_hedgehog","category":"exotic-enrichment","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_enrichment_hedgehog\ncategory: exotic-enrichment\ntitle: \"African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"RSPCA pet care advice (rspca.org.uk) and Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic — non-Open-Access; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/owner-care/hedgehog_enrichment_combined.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-02\ntokens_estimated: 560\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 12\n  passed: 12\n  date: 2026-08-02\nrecovered: false\npath: exotic-enrichment/exotic_enrichment_hedgehog/01_exotic_enrichment_hedgehog.md\nsource_document: \"Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic / RSPCA pet care advice\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic / RSPCA pet care advice\"\n  title: \"African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors)\"\n  url: \"https://www.birdexoticsvet.com/hedgehog-care-guide ; https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/other/africanpygmyhedgehogs\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-02\"\n  ref: \"African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors) (first-hand)\"\n  doc_type: \"veterinary-clinic / animal-welfare-org\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source RSPCA pet care advice (rspca.org.uk) and Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic is copyrighted and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T4\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T4:welfare-org\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n\n# African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors)\nSource: RSPCA pet care advice (rspca.org.uk) and Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic — both copyrighted, non-Open-Access. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* They climb, dig and swim, and often cover miles on night-time runs.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The cage needs enough room for an exercise wheel and a hiding place where the hedgehog can retreat and sleep.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Otherwise it will keep you awake at night running on its wheel or playing with toys.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Without enough time to roam inside and outside the enclosure, the hedgehog risks becoming overweight.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* If you are testing whether your hedgehog will drink from a bottle, keep a water bowl in the enclosure during the trial until you are sure it is drinking from the bottle.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* After making the area hedgehog-proof, let your pet roam outside the enclosure for exercise.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The enclosure must therefore be large enough to permit the animal's natural behaviour.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The exercise wheel is an important part of keeping the hedgehog healthy.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Because the pet is nocturnal, siting its enclosure away from your bedroom is sensible if you are sensitive to noise.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Sadly, many pet hedgehogs are fed a diet too high in fat and get too little exercise, leading to obesity and other health issues.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The wheel should be solid rather than wire: feet can catch in the wires and suffer broken limbs.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Liver disease and obesity often stem from poor eating habits, an unbalanced diet and too little exercise.\n---\n## License & attribution\n\nSource: RSPCA pet care advice (rspca.org.uk) and Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic — copyrighted, non-Open-Access. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\n\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]*","sources":["exotic-enrichment — African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors) (retrieved 2026-08-02)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-enrichment","title":"African Pygmy Hedgehog — enrichment & exercise (wheel, space, natural behaviors)","url":"https://www.birdexoticsvet.com/hedgehog-care-guide","retrieved":"2026-08-02","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic / RSPCA pet care advice","verification_file":"pdf-raw/owner-care/hedgehog_enrichment_combined.txt"},"source_document":"Long Island Avian and Exotic Veterinary Clinic / RSPCA pet care advice","source_file":"pdf-raw/owner-care/hedgehog_enrichment_combined.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T4","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"C"},"tokens_estimated":755,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}