Hedgehogs as pets?

Long story short I die a little because of the sheer cuteness of hedgehogs, and was wondering... how are they with being handled? Any advice from hedgehog owners would be greatly appreciated.

You get pricked, a lot. They almost always hiss and ball up when you reach in to pick them up, but if you get a friendly hog, it will un-roll once you have it in your hand.

Definitely not for children.

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Originally Posted by Alexandra V

Long story short I die a little because of the sheer cuteness of hedgehogs, and was wondering... how are they with being handled? Any advice from hedgehog owners would be greatly appreciated.

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Personally I have never met anyone who kept them as pets, but I think Vinny from Jersey Shore had a few! Myspace or Facebook message him : ) lol

My stepsister had one for a while. He was mean as all get out!! He especially didn't like her mom. Anytime she went to try to hold him or anything, he would do that jumping thing they do and try to prick her and hiss. He got her good a few times. They ended up getting rid of him because it wasn't quite the animal they thought it would be. Not quite sure what they expected, lol, but he wasn't it. They are really cute, but I don't wanna risk being pricked everytime I try to hold it, lol.

If you wear a pear of garden gloves to pick them up, you won't get pricked. Thats what we always did, then once they are out they come out and are social and SO CUTE. I had mine for 4 years until be finally passed away. They have an average life span of 3-5 years, so he had a good life :) Mine used to give kisses and loved to ride around on my sons tractor toy lol They are great as long as you get one as a baby and hold them everyday. Good luck, hope that helps

Oh and a side note: watch out for their spines on the floor if you like to walk around barefoot. They don't shoot them, but they shed them, so either keep him off the floor, or wear shoes ;)

I had one female who was as sweet as can be and a male who was the spawn of satan. It depends on the hoggie. But I tend to prefer females. My little girl was so clean. She consistently used her litter box. But the little boy... He pooped everywhere!

They are nocturnal, but they crack me up with their antics. There's nothing funnier than a hoggie playing with a toilet paper tube!

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Originally Posted by spygirl

There's nothing funnier than a hoggie playing with a toilet paper tube!

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I would have to agree 100% on this hahaha :rofl:

I agree with the others...you will get prickled (and it doesn't hurt as much as it startles), but overall hoggies are the best :D I co-own one with a friend (I got it for him and help with the advice and care and he keeps her) and she's the cutest little thing. I used to care for them at the zoo and fell for them there. We had an adult female and two new babies - the adult girl was a pricklepuss, but we handled those babies every day and the survivor (one died suddenly) was as sweet as could be. I picked them up without gloves and carried them around while doing chores or around the zoo to show off. :D

If you decide to get one, you'll need a nice cage with good floor space and a solid floor (ie no open wire). Enough room for a nice igloo house, large running wheel (they're so cute when they run), tubes, and litter box is minimum. More than that is great extra running space.
They love worms and crickets, and we used to chill crickets (to make them sleep) then place them in toilet paper tubes or egg cartons with hay and let the hoggies 'find' the crickets as they awoke. It was a blast.
They can be wonderful little pets if you get a good young one and aren't afraid to handle it. :D

This is 'Koosh', my little co-owned hedgie, held by her other owner. :D

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...eKooshwhat.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...acecloseup.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ooshheadup.jpg

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Originally Posted by Argentra

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...eKooshwhat.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...acecloseup.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ooshheadup.jpg

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She is SO stinking cute!

mine is a hellspwn it bites and spikes every chance it gets! =(

OMG they are so cute it almost makes my head spin!!!!! When I worked at the zoo with small mammals we took care of hedgies from Madagascar. He said that those make the best pets as they are a lot more mellow and responsive to interaction. Unfortuantely...they are not legal to keep here in AZ and I don't think the ones from Madagascar are legal period without some special type of license.

I can attest though that the ones at the zoo I took care of were super sweet and hardly balled up. I just cant take those cute little faces. I would probably have to stay home all the time just to kiss it on the nose...lol:P

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Originally Posted by Alexandra V

Long story short I die a little because of the sheer cuteness of hedgehogs, and was wondering... how are they with being handled? Any advice from hedgehog owners would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi I am 15 year old Cadena and i had a hedgehog for 5 years and well they love to be played with only if it gets its sleep. Don't have it to cold in the room or it will go in to hibernation and you don't want that. If you take him/her out of the cage keep an eye on them because they will run in to a corner and go to sleep. If you get bit it hurts but not that bad. Mine died in the summer so if your really emotional then its going to hurt you. He use to always come and lay beside me and never run off. Hope What i am telling you is help ful.

I have 2.

Mine happen to be nice. Sure, you get poked now and then, but it's not bad.
You just have to pick them up right, no need for gloves.

I have a male and a female housed together and the female just had 4 babies.

Must post pics of babies!

I had one that just passed away last fall. He was pretty friendly. Hardly ever made his hissing noise and didn't really ever spike us. He was pretty stupid so you had to be careful not to put him somewhere elevated (He'd walk off of a table for instance). Good little guy though. Miss him.

You may want to familiarize yourself with the Hedgehog term "Poopie Boots" "Self Anointing".

The only ones I have ever had contact with were grunting, balled up and jumping to poke me every time I tried to touch it. I was near tears because of the absolute rejection from the cuteness. :tears:

I have had more than one hedgehog, got my first one in junior high... that has been about 15 years ago..... I do recommend getting one as a baby. All of them I have had learned me by sent... Anyone could try to pick them up and they needed gloves, I could put my hand down next to them and as soon as they smelled me they would climb right up and in my hand. They make great pets, and are very hardy animals, and not to bad smell wise.

I would keep them in something not made of wire, they are climbers and not overly graceful ones their little stubby legs dont work so well for climbing. My first hedgehog actually broke his leg falling from the top of a wire cage and was ultimately what killed him. The vet couldnt do any thing with his leg and their legs are so short he could only walk in circles. I had him put to sleep because his leg was not healing and although I was moving him to his food bowl and to his watter bottle I could tell he was suffering.

Another thing I will advise on is not falling asleep with your hedgehog on a water bed.... that was a mess and my parents were less than happy...... I would gladly take a new hedgehog into my home and if you do your homework and think it is right for you I dont think you will regret it

They are awesome... like has been said before, the pricks don't hurt and their teeth aren't sharp so they really cant do anything painful and they are funny to watch play.