Hedgehogs?

ZEKE · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 436

now that my lizard has died Sad

i am looking for a different kind of animal to get for my birthday. i was thinking a hedgehog would be cool. does anyone know of a good place to get a hedgehog? and the care requirements for them? does anyone here have a hedgehog of so can you post pics please?

Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

Zeke, I'm sorry about your lizard. Are you sure you want a hedgehog? They are very cute animals, but are nocturnal and stay hidden all day. You will never get to see it, except of the cleaning times. Unless you stay up late at night. Also, even though they get pretty used to you and don't mind being handled they poop a lot while you hold them. So you will probably get discouraged from taking it out very often.
Other than that they are easy to take care of. Easy to breed.
They will need a hide, an exercise wheel, and of course daily water and food. There is a special hedgehog food out there for them. If I run out I give them cat food. It is not good for a regular feeding but once a while it is OK. They would also eat crickets and some types of vegetables. At least they are supossed to. Mine don't care for veggies, but so far they are perfectly well and healthy - the hedgehog formula is pretty good.
Not sure what else you want to know. I breed hedgehogs but I'm pretty sure you live very far from me. I don't know about any breeders in your area. You may try to ask in a pet shop. If they don't sell them, they may know of someone that does.

I only have older pictures, hope you'll like them:

ZEKE · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 436

so they will never be out during the day? from what you said i probably dont want one.

i want something that i can let out and run around my room sometimes and can hold and stuff. i would get a rat because i really like them but my mom says no rodents. she said maybe to a hedgehog because she thinks they are interesting.

what state do you live in?

what other animals could i keep in my room that arent rodents? i want somethin not cold blooded.

Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

No, they will never be out and they would poop all over your carpet too.
I really don't thing you would like one.
Any kind of rodent will be pooping all over your carpet or hands. So would a rabbit. They are cute, though.
Have you thought of a bird? They are affectionate and smart. Are not rodents and would enjoy your company.
You would probably like ferret a lot too. But they stink!
I suposse dogs or cars are out of question.
Squirels, sugar gliders, opossums and all the rest of cute small animals are either nocturnal or would destroy your bedroom.
Why don't you want anything cold blooded? Something like a bearded dragon or blue tongue skink would be a perfect bedroom pet. And you would be able to hold it or let it out for a while(considering you would keep an eye on it).

ZEKE · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 436

we already have a bearded dragon in our living room. he is cool but i want somethin small and fuzzy. we also have 2 cats and a dog.

my mom doesnt like birds becuase she says they are dirty and they stink. i would love a bird.

i may look into a blue tongue skink. or maybe even a water dragon. do you know the cage sizes i need for a blue tongue skink or a water dragon? i prefer Australian watter dragon over the Asian ones. do you know where i can find a CBB Aussie water dragon?

Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

Hon, water dragons are awesome, but they are not as much fun as beardies. They are more to watch, than to play with. As far as where to get them, I can ask my friend. He used to sell them in his store. They didn't sell too well, so he doesn't have them any more. But may still have his contacts. I'll let you know this weekend.
The size of the cage depends on the age. Lil babies can be kept in 10G or 20G, adults at least 4 ft high, 3ft wide, 2.5ft deep.
The set up looks pretty - they are really nice display animals. You would need lots of branches, a water fountain and a lot of fake greens + uvb light of course. So the cage would look great. I personally love the australian water dragons. I wanted one myself. Just didn't have a room for it.

If you took care of the bird it wouldn't sting and hedgehogs are not any cleaner than birds.
I'm not sure what your mom means by dirty.
As far as I know, people are way dirtier than animals - animals clean and groom themselves several times a day, unlike some people. The argument about dirty animal doesn't really stand in my eyes.
If you are worried about a mess around the cage, get yourself the hand held vacuum cleaner and vacuum the mess every day - trust me it will only take a minute or two - that is the least problem you would have.
If I were you, I would find a privately owned bird store and take your mom there. The only problem is that the really cool ones are pretty expensive. And they can be noisy. But there are some that are reasonably quiet and reasonably priced.
Some are extremely smart - just as smart as dogs. They can learn to "go" only in their cage. They need a lot of care and attention but are well worth it. Bird would love you and would show it to you too.

Here is a picture you can show to your mom. Maybe she'll change her mind. It's my friend's picture and since he is not online I cannot ask him if I can use it. I know he will not mind, but I will probably take it off tomorrow until I'll have the chance to let him know I used it. I just wanted you to see what I mean, lol.

ZEKE · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 436

i honestly dont know what her problem with birds is. i think the only people she knows with birds didnt clean their cages very often so they smelled bad. also about them being dirty. i do not think she is saying the animal is dirty. i think she means they make a mess and poop everywhere and make the house dirty. but when i even mention getting a bird she always says "no birds"

what kind of bird is that?

if i got one i would probably get something small but still trainable, like a lovebird or a cockatiel.

Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

I it's a Cockatoo. Those birds are awesome, but pretty expensive too.
The birds you have mentioned get pretty loud. Your mom would probably go nuts. I used to have a lovebird when I was a kid and that thing was driving my parents insane - eventually they got rid of it. My son used to have a cockatiel and a budgie. The budgie was awesome. It would sit on his hand and climb his fingers as a ladder every time he said, "step up". The cockatiel was driving me insane the whole time he was at school - It was quiet only if he was in his room.
Really cute and pretty quiet is a parrotlet. And it is trainable and not too expensive. I bet you would love one of those. And your mom would probably too.
It takes some work to get bird used to you and you would need patience. But you would have a friend in it that will love your attention and will miss you if you are not there.
To be honest birds do not smell anywhere close as bad as ferrets, rodents, rabbits or hedgehogs.

TamanduaGirl · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 35

Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

LMAO, I never said a rabbit is a rodent. Very Happy

I guess not every rabbit is the same. Mine pooped on the floor with no problem. And I used to keep hamsters, actually quite few of them. They wouldn't poop in my hands but would do that if in my pockets. They are not as bad as mice and rats. I used to keep degu too, they seemed smarter.

TamanduaGirl · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 35

I thought you probably knew but they were sort of lumped in with the rodents there.

The problem with my rabbit is he chews on everything so can't be out unsupervised but no poop problems. When I had my store he got to run free in the store all day. Was good about not chewing feed bags normally and only chewing boxes but did have to watch any cables. The one time I tried moving his box was the one he found his own special place to go instead. They don't like you messing with their stuff.
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Naia · Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 53

Well I didn't keep the rabbits for a long time. They were supposed to be food for my snakes. Just the snake wasn't interested.
And they were really cute so I kept them for a while. They were quite smart and would figure out how to escape from their cage (wasn't very good cage), would follow me everywhere, poop all over my carpet and eat my house plants too. I liked them, but they were destroying my house. So I took them back to a pet store after few months.

TamanduaGirl · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 35

Did you have a litter box in the cage or just litter the whole cage? That is usualy te first mistake. They need a litter box in their cage and not the whole ting littered.
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Cynthia · Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 26

I really enjoyed Jocko my hedgehog. When he was a baby he was quite active and would love to crawl in the sleeve of my long-sleeved shirt---I really don't remember him pooping all over the place and he would run around during the day but, yes, preferred his exercise wheel at night--the only time he would puff up was if you startled him or the cat or dog encountered him--as soon as he smelled me, he would unpuff and resume walking around---he self-annointed alot and that was interesting to watch, lots of exciting smells I guess. I bought him from a breeder here in Florida. It was a great experience owning him.