but hi, I'm new (: My name's Hartleigh, I'm in the UK. Currently I'm keeping 3 rats (the remainder of what was once 12), but once they pass away I'm thinking of buying a pygmy hedgehog.

I'd like to gather as much information on hedgehogs as possible before I buy one so I joined this forum : D Any advice or tips or anything is much appreciated.

Atm I have two very very large rat cages I could keep a hedgehog in with suitable bar spacing, one not as tall as the other to prevent any accidents, but I'd rather invest in another cage as I've read that they can harm themselves climbing the bars etc. Do you guys think that this is a suitable living area for them ? Or do they need more space and perhaps a more ventilated cage ? Will a basic guinea pig/rabbit cage do, with closely spaced bars ?

I also heard some people keep them on heatpads but I'm not sure if this is a necessity ? If it is, I have a headpad we used for our giant African millipede a while back, which is about 30cmx20cm. Do you just slip it underneath their cages around where they'd make their nests ?