Hedgehogs

BUT IT DIED!

*weep*

If I can't have a pet meerkat, do you think I could at least get a pet hedgehog?

xoxo

They tasted very strong much stronger than say Smokey Bacon and Beef crisps.

the fact that St Tiggywinkles even exists makes my day happier. hedgehogs (does anyone call them 'hedgepigs'?) are great, the spiny little critters!

It is easy to see the appeal of hedgehogs, they are cute but at the same time are capable of defending themselves. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction sometimes though. Is it true that they are learning to run when traffic approaches, rather than curl up into a ball? Is it true that the traditional bread and milk is very bad for them and so they should be fed dog food imstead? And are they really the most flea-infested animals of all?

There are no hedgehogs in the US, btw.

By co-incidence, the same thing happened with the duck-billed egg- laying animal. It's discoverer named it Platypus meaning 'flat-footed', but when he got home he discovered that this name had already been used for a flat-footed beetle, so instead he opted for Ornithorhynchus, which means 'bird-billed'. Platypus remained in common use.

"Hey ladies. They call me TACHYGLOSSUS."

Hedgehogs are darling and lovely, especially the four utterly cute hedgehogs in the one _Bob the Builder_ episode I saw, who scuttled about the ground and in a shovel and drank milk from a saucer. :-)

hedgehogs are cute

NYC in a little over 24 hours

I wrote a song about hedgehogs. It has only ever been heard by a hedgehog though.

I call all hedgehogs "hedgy".

BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD

DIMSDALE!

http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/mammal/hhog.jpg

Hedgehogs!

I wonder if there's anything we can do about this.

What can we do to make hedgehog havens?

http://zeke.tzo.com/rpgww/misc/yalogank/zznonrpgww/animals/hedgehog.jpg

My ex boyfriend used to be obsessed with hedgehogs. Then again, he sort of looked like one.

Thanks for taking in the kittens, aimurchie - it's really horrifying what people do to animals. And yes, rescue work is expensive - and anyone who wants to provide good care for their animals knows that food, vet bills, and providing a safe habitat (complete with requisite stimuli) can be taxing, but the reward is beyond measure. At this point, even with rescue discounts of up to 50% on exams, surgeries, and meds, my vet bills are over $700 just for the hedgehogs! Factor in the other animals here (reptiles, rodents, lagomorphs, felines) and my vet bills average about $1400 a month. That's not counting food, habitats, etc.

As far as hedgehogs in the US are concerned: yes, there are no hedgehog species native to the US, though there are 14 species throughout the world (for more info, see here: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/world.shtml). The ones being bred in the US, Canada, and in certain other places throughout the world for pets are a combination of the Atelerix albeventris and Atelerix algrius. At this point they've been interbred to the point where most "pet" hedgehogs are no longer purely one or the other species.

These two species were imported to the US in the early '90s as a fad pet for less than two-years. Then there was the monkeypox outbreak and importation was outlawed, so all of the hedgies here now are descended from those original animals - they've been severely inbred (not just for numbers, but also for color: http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/colorguide.shtml ) and as a result some horrible things have been bred into them, especially a likelihood of cancers (out of 14 hedgehogs that've been through here in the last six-months, 11 have had cancers of one kind or another) and the Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome. Right now I've two with WHS and another three that are likely to develop it thanks to their lineage.

One of the issues being dealt with now is WHS - we're (researchers, caretakers, rescuers, breeders) are about 95% certain that WHS is genetic (I have one female who had two litters, both with the same father - out of those two litters, all but one of the babies have had WHS confirmed by necropsy). However, there's a segment of the breeding community, and one mass breeder in particular, who swears it's not genetic and continues to breed lines that tend to develop WHS.

This breeder also, single-handedly, managed to introduce WHS to the African hedgehogs now being bred in England as pets, as she sent over "breedable" animals that had the WHS lineage. Which is not to say that if you were to purchase a hedgie from a British breeder they'd have WHS, as other lines have now been sent over, but depending on the lineage, it's possible. The Hedgehog Breeder's Alliance and the Hedgehog Welfare Society and the International Hedgehog Alliance now jointly maintain a registry database of hedgehogs being used for breeding and try not to breed from "bad" lines.

And, sadly, yes, many idiots release their hedgehogs (and other "pets") into the wild, where they tend to die - this is true of most exotics, to say nothing of birds, cats, etc. In fact, someone released at least one male and one female hedgehog around Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and periodically the4 rescue groups in that area get calls about "wild" hedgehogs wandering around neighborhoods.

Hedgehogs are difficult animals to keep as pets - we don't even know what they eat in the wild, so we've no idea if we're meeting their dietary needs. It's scary. They're fascinating, but I hope to live to see the day where they're no longer being bred - and yes, I did purchase my first hedgehog not knowing what I was getting into - there's just so much to learn about these little ones.

And now I'll get off my soapbox - I love these animals and am thankful that they're in my life, but my heart breaks a little with each one that comes into my world, regardless of how long they stay.

Well, if you ever want to see one, just let me know :)

I know who to go to.

your point...?

This building is a menagerie (we live in an apt.), with the (legendary on ILX) neighbor who has an eleven foot albino python, two boas, five (maybe four now, no fault of the snakies) kitties, lizards, rats, and a jack russell terrier. In a two bedroom apartment, with three humans.

Not right. NOT RIGHT. I don't care how much you love animals, you have to be considerate of the space and attention they need. People who collect animals like they're trinkets for their filthy hippie shelves do not deserve any animal at all, let alone many.

Do you have any hairy companions? let's meet on the critters thread - or maybe we can just stay here!

Hedgehogs, the perfect weapon.

What a prick!

*rimshot*

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/Sonics.png

To raise a hedgehog (or 60).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/29/a_hedgehog_gets_its_closeup.jpg

Death by hedgehog was also "not a nice way to go" as hedgehogs lacked "killing teeth".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4369957a4560.html

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/expatrica/HH.jpg

WANT.

you can't have that AND a sloth tattoo.

(actually, i think you prob can :))

I babysat a friend's hedgehogs for a year and they were a pain in the ass. They shit like dogs, have really stinky pee and they hate to see you! Their interactions with the cats were pretty classic, though.

x-post YAY!

Maybe I should just get a tattoo of a sloth who is best friends with a hedgehog who can lick his nose (the hedgehog's own not the sloth's) and look very cute while doing so.

Kate - how did you know they hated to see you!?

THEY HISS.

:-( That kind of changes everything.

They also spike-up, furrow their little brow, and do these little jumps in an attempt to stick you.

On the other hand, THEY SWIM.

Maybe I should just get a tattoo of a sloth who is best friends with a hedgehog who can lick his nose (the hedgehog's own not the sloth's) and look very cute while doing so.

Pls ask Abbott to draw this.

Good idea. I'm going to speak to Abbott about this ASAP.

I think I'm over hedgehogs now that I know they hiss and also since deciding that they're not that cute once past the baby stage. I will, however, take this french bulldog puppy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAyQ8AM_pqY&feature=related

Damn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAyQ8AM_pqY&feature=related

can I get the tattoo then?

Hmmmmmm . . . OK as long as you make sure to tell everyone that it was my idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZS1fLK4DYM

OK, this is amazing. ^^^

Hurrah!

http://warrenmars.com/poetry/ribald/hedgehog.jpg

And once more:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/377895_10150480926263303_9171233302_9036104_811934650_n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ia8Pt.gif

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/250861_3749083080282_1315463703_n.jpg

Oh, they come in strawberry flavour now eh?

Just add frosting.

so many dead hedgehogs on the road this week

:(

I had a wallet with a hedgehog on it and it just died. P{robably for the best because I would say "sweet hedgin' hog" every time I took it out of my purse. My new wallet is plaid and I can't say a damn thing about that. RIP road hogs. <3 @ strawb hog.

Story on BBC radio about how there were 36m hedgehogs in the UK in (I forget; 1940?) but there are now only 1m. :(

i ran over one last year and i was ;_; for a week dammit hedgehogs use the safe cross code

I actually saw one of these dudes walking along the pavement towards me two weeks ago in a fairly urban environment. Was sooo glad to see them, even stopped for a quick chat with them too, but I was a little tipsy at that point. Hadn't seen a non-squished one in the wild for 20 years or something up until then. Think that the wet summer here has been good for their numbers as it's easier for them to find worms and slugs and stuff.

I have never seen a hedgehog (alive or not alive) in the wild! I do have a sweet hedgehog drawing by one Ms. Abbott though. :)

People keep these as pets, right? I wonder if you could find one in the wild and just keep that as a pet or if there are special domesticated hedgehogs. I mean you probably could just go get one but I suppose that's not very nice because it might miss its family.

we had one used to come to the door and eat bread and milk we'd leave out for it when we were only gasuirins but it's been years since i've seen one up close in a garden.

Foxes, now, i can't move without trippin over a rascal bastard fox

https://vine.co/v/Oe3n51x6UVB

I just found 2 of them in my back garden, they are adorable and I don't mind them knicking the seed that I leave out for the birds. I just wish they wouldn't shit where they eat ffs.

Hedgehogs are fairly vocal and communicate through a combination of grunts, snuffles and/or squeals, depending on species.

Self-anointing
Hedgehogs occasionally perform a ritual called anointing.[6] When the animal encounters a new scent, it will lick and bite the source, then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue. The purpose of this habit is unknown, but some experts believe anointing camouflages the hedgehog with the new scent of the area and provides a possible poison or source of infection to predators poked by their spines. Anointing is sometimes also called anting because of a similar behavior in birds.

dammit these guys are cute! Nature was having a good day when hedgehogs were evolved!