Average Life Span: 3.5 years
Maximum Life Span: 9 years
Common Life Span: 4-6 years

All of those numbers are from this website. If you go to the home page and click "Care" on the top, it gives alot of great info. I got the answer for your question in "Simple Hedgehog Facts". Gotta love hedgehog central!

 

What's the difference in the average and common lifespans? :? That may have been a stupid question..

 

The common life span is the range that hedgehogs usually live. The average life span is well the average :lol: Sorry if that doesn't make any sense! Sometimes I'm just awful at explaining :roll: :lol:

 

Average takes into consideration all the hedgehogs that have died as babies and the hedgehogs that have lived to be old grumps. Common just means typically. Common is what most people would see.

 

Average takes into consideration all the hedgehogs that have died as babies and the hedgehogs that have lived to be old grumps. Common just means typically. Common is what most people would see.

Thanks for explaining that!! You did a much better job than me :lol:

 

Is there any way to age them with any accuracy? Pickle was said to be 1yr old when I adopted her, I've noticed that every single hedgie on craigslist says the are 1yr old. :roll:
Can vets age them by their teeth like horses and dogs?

 

One of my hedgies was a rescue too and I was I told he was under a year. When I took him to the vet, he couldn't tell me how old he is. The vet was able to give a range from 8 months to 2 years but impossible to tell. Perhaps he gave me that range because of his teeth but not sure.

 

Based on my own experiences, I tell people 4-6 years, longer if they don't get cancer. Most of my hedgehogs have passed on in their 4th year. However, I have known quite a few that have lived to be over 5. A friends recently passed at 6.5 years. I also know of one that was 10, he was a rare "case" though.

So while age 4 seems to be a rough year for many hedgehogs, there are some that do live to be older. Between 4-6 years has been what I see reported most often though, but there are those that can and do live to be older. Hopefully with careful breeding our little ones will meet the 8-10 years that we originally were told they could live.

 

thank you its sad they do not live long

poke a roo is 2 years old now... well never too late to make their life a good one, right? been wanting to make her life better, but its never too late to make a difference