There’s no denying that hedgehogs make extremely adorable pets, but they have a few different requirements that set them apart from most pets. Making sure you meet your hedgehog’s needs will keep them happy and satisfied.
Hedgehogs love to forage and dig for their food, and in the wild, hedgehogs will travel several miles each night, so it’s important to provide enough opportunities for exercise and foraging for your spiky pet.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best DIY plans that teach us how to make hedgehog toys. From large bucket wheels to help them get their exercise safely, to forage boxes designed to encourage them to dig for their dinner, there’s a wide range of different options to choose from.
What’s even better is that you don’t need any special skills or equipment to make most of these toys. So, enjoy looking through our suggestions, as you decide which one you’re going to make first!
The 8 DIY Hedgehog Toys:
1. Zara’s Zoo DIY Toys and Dig Boxes for Hedgehogs
Skill Level: Beginner
This tutorial from Zara’s Zoo on YouTube gives plenty of ideas about how to provide digging activities for your hedgehogs. Tips include using medium-sized pom poms to create a dig box for your hedgehog to burrow into, as well as how to make your own toys.
- Tupperware container
- Pebbles
- Fleece strips or pom poms
- Scissors
2. Tori Lynn’s Favorite Hedgehog Toys
Skill Level: Beginner
This detailed YouTube video from Tori Lynn has a wide range of possibilities, including bucket wheels and a cute foraging box, which features pebbles and greenery that your hedgehog can burrow through in order to try and find their food and treats.
- Cardboard or Tupperware box
- Large pebbles
- Fake greenery
- Contact paper
- Treats
- Glue
3. Hedgehog Fleece Forest and Ball Pit from Animal Babies
Skill Level: Beginner
This double-purpose toy from Animal Babies on Pinterest includes a fleecy “forest” for your hedgehog to explore, as well as a ball pit for them to dig through. You can use scrap material to create most of this budget-friendly project. Once built, you can scatter your hedgehog’s food through this ball pit and watch them as they try to snuffle it out.
- Tupperware or plastic crate
- Fleece strips
- Pom-poms or fleece scraps
- Knife or scissors
4. DIY Hedgehog Bucket Wheel on Pinterest
Skill Level: Medium
Hedgehogs need a great deal of exercise, and wheels are a great way for your hedgehog to have a run. Unfortunately, many wheels are too small for hedgehogs, but with this tutorial on Pinterest, you can figure out how to build a hedgehog toy in wheel form so your hedgehog can run to their heart’s content.
- Large bucket or circular Tupperware
- Plastic piping
- Nuts and bolts
- Craft knife
5. Nature Inspired Forage Box from Rattatea
Some hedgehogs much prefer foraging through a variety of natural ingredients, and this YouTube video from provides excellent inspiration for what to include. It’s accompanied by a blog post about how to create and maintain a bioactive forage box like this.- Natural large stones
- Large plastic crate
- Compost mix
- Bark chips
- Grasses
- Branches
- Chinchilla sand
- None
6. Large Silent Hedgehog Wheel from Instructables
Skill Level: Medium to Advanced
If you’re looking for a large wheel to help your hedgehog exercise but want one that’s as quiet as possible, this tutorial from Instructables is a great choice. The designer cleverly uses a rollerblade wheel as the basis of this bucket wheel to provide smooth movement minus the noise!
- Large bucket
- PVC piping
- PVC elbow joints
- PVC end caps
- Three-way joint
- Rollerblade wheel
- Ball bearing
- Washers
- Nuts
- Cable ties
- Carriage bolt
- Dremel or craft knife
7. LifeLetters DIY Hedgehog Dig Box
Skill Level: Beginner
This budget hedgehog dig box from LifeLetters can be made for less than $10 and includes a range of textures designed to provide plenty of enrichment for your hedgehog. Ideas include hiding mealworms inside plastic eggs and using fleece strips to add interest. You can easily adapt the ideas within this video to suit your individual hedgehog’s preferences.
- Fleece strips
- Pom-poms
- Marbles
- Plastic eggs
- Large jar
- Scissors
8. DIY Pet Play Pen From Emma Lynne Sampson
This YouTube tutorial from Emma Lynne Sampson includes details of how to make a large playpen for your hedgehog or other small pet. This is designed to be a temporary playpen and not a permanent house for your hedgehog. You can let your imagination run wild with this playpen and include any number of interesting places for your hog to explore. Include ramps, food hidden in tunnels, and corners for your hedgehog to explore — they’ll love it!
- Presentation boards
- Duct tape
- Popsicle sticks
- Cardboard
- Hot glue
- Colored paper
- Cardboard tubes
- Craft knife
- Hot glue gun
If you looking to learn how to make hedgehog toys of your very own, we hope that you enjoyed looking through our selection of DIY hedgehog toys that you can make today!
No matter what your level of DIY skill, there’s sure to be a plan here that can show you how to make a hedgehog toy with ease! What’s more, most of these projects can be completed quickly and with minimal materials and equipment.
Your hedgehog is sure to be happy with their new toy, and you can’t ask for more than that.
For more DIY projects check out these posts:
- 15 DIY Guinea Pig Toys You Can Build Today
- 10 DIY Chinchilla Toys You Can Build Today
- 9 DIY Hamster Toys You Can Make Today
