Does anyone on here own a hedge-hog for a pet?

[stevenpensacola]

My son thinks he wants a hedge-hog for a pet?

Are there any "hog" fans on this board who can give the good and bad of H-hog ownership?

 

[MerMom60_94]

I don't own one but I met one at my daughter's school that I absolutely fell in love with. I fell in love with her to the point I went home and did a little research on owning one. I ultimately decided I probably didn't have the time to keep one socialized, plus they are nocturnal so be prepared for them to play at night. DD told me a couple of weeks ago, Fluffy the hedgehog has since been retired because she is getting up there in years and her school has a couple of new hedgehogs. She said one of them wasn't as friendly and hissed at her. I am wondering if they need to get him used to being handled. I have to say, though, I hedgehogs. If you get one, post a picture for me!

 

[Tiggeroo]

We had one and loved him. He was cute and fun. You should know they're not really cuddly or affectionate. If you socialize them they will be good with people. They need to run around. Ours was a bit of an escape artist. We kept him in a large rubbermade tub. As far as container pets go they weren't very stinky. Not like guinea pigs.

 

[browneyes106]

My friend had one and as another poster mentioned hedgehogs love to play at night and ocassionally the racket would bother my friend. I also remember him saying that stool sometimes got to him because it has fruity smell.

 

[Geoff_M]

We had a neighbor that had several of them before they had kids. They were African hedgehogs. They lived in an inflatable kiddie pool in a spare bedroom. As far as pets go, they were fairly sociable but I don't think it was a coincidence that most of their hedgehogs were "rescues" from other owners. I don't think they're good to get for pets if you don't have prior experience with them.

One other odd thing about them. If you keep them long enough, they're all but guaranteed to die of cancer of the mouth.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

DS's friend had them, and I use the word HAD them, both passed from tumors/cancer. They are not long-term pets.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I hear that they are really fast.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I do not have one, but I would like to get one eventually and have done some research. Here are some bullet point from what I remember.

-Good at escaping from containers
-Specialized diet w/ lots of fresh fruit
-They love to swim, but you have to teach them
-Social and generally get along with other pets
-Prone to cancer and diseases, so they have a fairly short life span and can be very expensive if you choose treatment

From what I know of keeping hedgies as pets, do not get one unless you are fully prepared for the extra time required and the expense.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...
-They love to swim, but you have to teach them...

 

[monkeyboy]

My neighbor had one.

Ron was an older hedgehog but he still had his groove on

 

[walden]

I do not have one, but I would like to get one eventually and have done some research. Here are some bullet point from what I remember.

-Good at escaping from containers
-Specialized diet w/ lots of fresh fruit
-They love to swim, but you have to teach them
-Social and generally get along with other pets
-Prone to cancer and diseases, so they have a fairly short life span and can be very expensive if you choose treatment

From what I know of keeping hedgies as pets, do not get one unless you are fully prepared for the extra time required and the expense.

All of the above, not that great with very small children and not legal in every state.

They are darn cute though. As to the swimming, I always think of Rudyard Kipling' Just So Stories. You might end up with an armadillo!

"THE BEGINNING OF THE ARMADILLOS
THIS, O Best Beloved, is another story of the High and Far-Off Times. In the very middle of those times was a Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, and he lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon, eating shelly snails and things. And he had a friend, a Slow-Solid Tortoise, who lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon, eating green lettuces and things. And so that was all right, Best Beloved. Do you see?

But also, and at the same time, in those High and Far-Off Times, there was a Painted Jaguar, and he lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon too; and he ate everything that he could catch. When he could not catch deer or monkeys he would eat frogs and beetles; and when he could not catch frogs and beetles he went to his Mother Jaguar, and she told him how to eat hedgehogs and tortoises.

She said to him ever so many times, graciously waving her tail, 'My son, when you find a Hedgehog you must drop him into the water and then he will uncoil, and when you catch a Tortoise you must scoop him out of his shell with your paw.' And so that was all right, Best Beloved. . ."