<p>Anyone know anyone who has had a hedgehog as a pet? My daughter has got it into her head that she wants one. She lives in her own apartment so but I know who will get stuck with the hedgehog if she is away or anything. Darned ferret finely went to ferret heaven last year. Now a hedgehog?</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. Even more nocturnal than cats 
It means you’ll be waking up at 3 am to check on funny noises.</p>
<p>And H adds: their poop is really sticky and it is almost impossible to scrub it off the floor if it dries.</p>
<p>Bottom line: hedgehogs do not make good pets.</p>
<p>I did not think they would. It’s not like you can snuggle with them! And she already has a cat. </p>
<p>How does H know about hedgehog poop?</p>
<p>
So is my daughter :rolleyes:</p>
<p>When we were dating, H caught one in the woods to impress me since I thought they were cute H kept it for a few days and that’s how he discovered the superglue-like properties of hedgehog poop.</p>
<p>I had several years of dealing with ferret poop. I don’t want no hedgehog poop.</p>
<p>Ferret poop - ewwwww!!! I feel your pain, swimcatsmom. Luckily for me, pet-crazy D lives in the dorms where the whole floor has to vote if someone decides to get a hamster, and no more than one hamster per floor is allowed.</p>
<p>I’ve had hedgehogs in the shop … before the USDA decided they were so exotic that I would need a very expensive license to continue to sell them! They are cute … but not incredibly friendly or cuddley. Their poop is stinky and not fun to deal with. Their diet includes things like bugs, cat food, blue and other berries, worms etc. They are amusing – but I think there are better pets. (Think chinchilla, ferret, if you want to think beyond bunny, guinea pig, hamster.)</p>
<p>BTW the ones available in pet shops are generally African Pigmy Hedgehogs. They come in a variety of colors. I am particularly partial to the white ones. I think they are running around $200 retail at the moment, but I admit I am not totally current on price.</p>
<p>Be sure to hide your copies of ‘Christmas ■■■■■■’ and ‘Trouble with ■■■■■■’ by Jan Brett.
Wonderful books, but the hedgehogs in there look like terrific pets… Is that where your D got the idea?</p>
<p>They are so cute!</p>
<p>see: [African</a> Pygmy Hedgehog](<a href=“http://debonaireexotics.co.uk/id1.html]African”>http://debonaireexotics.co.uk/id1.html)</p>
<p>swim, you might tell your D that having a hedgehog and a cat isn’t nice to either one of them, because the hedgehog will smell predator in the house, and the cat is likely to learn something he doesn’t want to know about hedgehogs! (They are cute, though!)</p>
<p>If your D is interested in getting a new pet and can keep the cat away from the cages (or at least keep the cat from getting into or knocking over the cages), I’ll suggest gerbils. They are very easy to keep, really interesting to watch, and darn cute, too. Ours never seemed to mind the cat, even when the cat was draped on top of one of the cages peering in with great interest and evil (but completely natural) intent in his eyes. If the cat put his nose up to one of the cages with bars, the gerbils would come over to sniff the cat.</p>
<p>(The gerbils are why we took in a three-legged cat which needed home; we figured this cat was at least 25% less likely to be able to get into the cages than a four-legged cat.)</p>
<p>Gerbils are desert animals and produce very little urine, so don’t smell (unless cages aren’t cleaned in a long time, of course), are diurnal, social, and make excellent pets. Best to keep them in pairs or more.</p>
<p>We had a hedgehog in the past. He lived in a glass cage, and used a little litter box (at least most of the time), so it was a pretty low maintenance pet.</p>
<p>The kids were excited to get him, but then no one played with him most of the time, since he truly was not very friendly, and did not “appreciate” interaction…</p>
<p>I have some neighborhood hedgies that live across the street in a vacant lot with lots of grass and trees and they come out in the middle of the night. I have seen them leaping and dancing around. They must have burrows over there.</p>
<p>I am not a big fan of wild animals as pets. I think hedgehogs are cute. I saw one a few years ago while visiting my father in law in Sweden. I was told they are mite and lice magnets ( not sure if this is just because they are in the wild )
I think too many people get pets like this and grow tired of taking care of a pet that doesn’t interact with any kind of affection…then they try to find a source to rid themselves. Only so many zoos !
I would keep it domestic.</p>
<p>What a lovely image of the hedgehogs leaping and dancing around! I think of Wind in the Willows.</p>
<p>I am also not a fan of hedgehogs as pets. They need to roam to be healthy. If she is home every night and prepared to continually redirect the little darling away from cracks and such, then maybe.</p>
<p>But overall, I think it’s cruel.</p>
<p>They are not friendly and not snuggly. They are hard to give away when you are done with them. There are few vets for the which means that vet visits are expensive. they also require the house to be warm, so if you save $$ in the winter by turning down the heat, you will be paying $$ for running a light for their warmth. They like to eat crickets, which will fill your house with cricket sounds, but require another aquarium for the cricket to be stored until feeding time.</p>
<p>Having been there, done that, I’d suggest something else.</p>
<p>One of my S’s best friends has a Sugar Glider, and now he’s convinced that it’s “the best pet ever”. If you think a hedgehog is cute, you should see (and touch) a sugar glider (extremely soft!), but even a cursory search online will reveal that these animals are not easy pets. Like hedge hogs, they are nocturnal, but they are also very active and vocal during their waking hours (which is, of course, when most humans are trying to sleep). They take a great deal of time to socialize, and can inflict many painful and deep bites (some of which might require stitches), before they become “tame” and use to being handled. They require a much larger cage than a hamster or other common pet, are somewhat “stinky” due to the scent glands they use to mark their territory, and they pee and poo frequently (on you, your clothes, your furniture, and wherever else they might take a fancy). It is also strongly suggested that you have more than one sugar glider, as they are very “social” animals, and are likely to become stressed/depressed without interaction with their peers (human contact is, supposedly no substitute). Oh, and they can live upwards of 15 years. Needless to say, there will be no sugar gliders coming to this house. No hedge hogs, either:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I don’t do sugar gliders either. They are adorable … but they are not domisticated animals. According to my sources, they are pretty wild until they are tamed – and then they need nearly daily handling to keep them that way. </p>
<p>(And they require the USDA pet shop license, along with hedgies, prairie dogs, and degus. We are not doing that …so we are not doing the sugar gliders. We are fully licensed by our state Dept of Ag as a pet shop – but the USDA has its own set of expensive and useless regs if you want to sell exotics.)</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Hedgehogs in the Closet: Joan Carris, Carol Newsom: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Hedgehogs-Closet-Joan-Carris/dp/0397322348]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Hedgehogs-Closet-Joan-Carris/dp/0397322348)</p>
<p>May not be important in your decision, but a good book for kids who are moving, esp. to the UK.</p>
<p>Bad pets:</p>
<p>hedgehogs
sugar gliders
gray squirrels (dad rescued one and we kept it until it got healthy - what a messy animal!)
flying squirrels (ditto)
chinchillas
hamsters
sparrows (also a rescue)</p>
<p>good pets:</p>
<p>dogs
cats
calico cats
white cats
tabby cats
orange cats
hairless cats
longhair cats
shorthair cats
ANY cats!!!</p>