African pygmy hedgehogs

[wildliferescuer]

Originally Posted by Marcia

One positive outcome that I hope that could result from the popularity of the African Pygmy Hedgehogs is that more researches and studies are made to develop proper medicines, vaccines and treatments for hedgehogs in general so the European Hedgehogs could benefit from that.

There are plenty of medicines available for hedgehogs now without the need for specific hedgehog ones. They are not licenced specifically for hedgehogs but most everyday companion animal antibiotics, steroids, wormers etc can be used. We successfully use many different treatments for hedgehogs. Most problems occur when the animals are not given treatments, especially antibiotics soon enough.
Sorry, this is off topic a bit.

[RobynRainbow]

Hello,
I am currently looking after a baby hedgehog over the winter, and he is just adorable. When I found him, he had fallen in a hole that my dog had been digging in the garden (to australia I presume) and could not get out. That morning my dog ran into the garden and was delighted with his new living football. Luckily I managed to retrieve the frightened little hedgie and he was unharmed but a little shaken. He weighed in at just 150g, much too small to hibernate, so I wrapped him up warm and made use of a spare indoor ferret cage with plenty of room and warmth and quiet.

I'm friendly with a guy who runs our local hedgehog rescue sanctuary, but they were full and only taking emergency cases, so he entrustred him to me with a bit of advice and it has worked out very well. A month on and he is happy to come out of a ball when around me, let me pick him up and is eager for his dinner every night (which i suppose is breakfast to him). He has put on 50g, been treated for his ticks and fleas and had his first bath two days ago which he actually really enjoyed, though I was not able to clean his tummy as he is still a little grumpy. We have contact every evening and it's delightful to see the progress he is making in beginning to accept me and feel safe around me.

At the hedgehog sanctuary there are plenty of hedgehogs that are too small to hibernate, and a lot who have come into contact with dogs or even strimmers, and have lost so many quills that they can never be released back into the wild. I would say to anyone who is considering a hedgehog as a pet- cotact your local hedgehog sanctuary as there are probably many looking for homes.

[wildliferescuer]

If you are talking about the European hedgehog & not the African Pigmy, then it should NOT be kept as a pet but should be released back into the wild as soon as it is heavy enough (& the weather is better). Hedgehogs which lose spines will regrow them & can be released then. No reputable hedgehog rescue will allow you to keep one as a pet, & it is illegal to keep a healthy hedgehog in captivity anyway.
If you are talking about an APH then that is a different matter & obviously it cannot be released.

[Alex90]

You do realise APH's have been on the pet market for almost a decade? I personally see no problem at all with keeping exotic pets provided the keeper is responsible. You CAN NOT tar all keepers with the same brush as its a minority that do iressponsible and stupid things. As a keeper of many species of exotic mammals and several species of native rodent i feel quite strongly about the criticism the pet trade gets when in reality its only a small fraction of people that as i already said do irresponsible things.

I know people keeping everything from harvest mice to lions in private collections and see no reason why they shoudltn be allowed to. i don't see how you can differentiate between domestic animals such as hamsters, dogs, cats and ferrets etc and more exotic species... EVERY animal has a set of specific needs and provided the keeper can meet those care requirements then there is no problem at all.

As for the alien species arguement, true this has been a problem with soem species such as mink etc but i must remind you that these did not escape from private collections, they escaped from wildlife parks and fur farms... the only recogniseable species that has escaped from private keepers are large cats which ave had little if any effect on the environment.

African Pygmy Hogs are never going to be a problem for european hedgehogs as even if you did release hundreds of them into the wild they wouldnt survive very long, as the name suggests they are from africa and of a relatively small size meaning their metabolism is much higher, its likely the winter would wipe any out that were to escape.

I appreciate the thread has diverted slightly from this topic, however i felt the need to have a rant LOL

All the best

Alex

EDIT: with regards to bassetts query about registering you're hedgehog... you are after the UK African pygmy hedgehog registry.... if you google it the site will come up. its the new owners responsibility to do this with african pygmy hedgehogs not the breeder. to be hoenst itsn ot really worth registering as althoughi shouldnt really be saying it, the registry is a bit of a sham, people can fudge information for their hog and all in all it doesnt actually help the species at all.

Another registry program i am working with is a much better system where only animals whom ancestory can be traced back to wild caught specimens are allowed to be registered therefor ensuring the purest possible genepool of that species. Species form this program will be used in a captive breeding to ensure a captive population in the event the wild population might crash. This program is for all species of exotic pet rather than just Pygmy hogs.

[RobynRainbow]

Originally Posted by wildliferescuer

If you are talking about the European hedgehog & not the African Pigmy, then it should NOT be kept as a pet but should be released back into the wild as soon as it is heavy enough (& the weather is better). Hedgehogs which lose spines will regrow them & can be released then. No reputable hedgehog rescue will allow you to keep one as a pet, & it is illegal to keep a healthy hedgehog in captivity anyway.
If you are talking about an APH then that is a different matter & obviously it cannot be released.

Hedgehogs that are badly hurt and have lost the top layer of thick skin will never regrow their spines. My local hedgehog sanctuary does not believe in putting an animal down when it could still have a great quality of life, so instead is prepared to look after them for the rest of their lives. They know what they are doing- what difference does a couple of missing spines make when there are no predators around? In the wild however, big baldy patch makes for hedgehog dinner.

Can I point out that I am not suggesting going and catching a hedgehog for a pet, but overwintering one first to see if you can put up with being poked and the stinky hedgie poo etc., and possibly helping out your local shelter as its true that there are some hedgehogs that can never be released into the wild, not suggesting to boycott APH or anything. I don't know if you've ever seen a strimmed hedgie before, but its not nice.

[RobynRainbow]

And I completely agree with Alex90 that all animals have a different set of needs and the keeper has to meet them. In my opinion, if you think looking after your animal is easy then you're not doing as much as you could be, really. I have nothing against exotic pets, I personally don't have the time or the money for pets like monkeys etc, but if I did I would be living in a zoo

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi RobynRainbow, well done for rescuing the hoglet, it certainly wouldn’t have survived hibernation at that weight, so your dog inadvertently saved its life!

One concern I would have with this hoglet is the rather slow weight gain. On average, I would expect to see a 50g weight gain in one week, not one month (average weight gain for a healthy hoglet that size is generally 5-10g every night, sometimes a lot more!). If the hoglet is otherwise in good health (no puncture injuries sustained from your dog/infections/obvious parasites, and normal poos), the two most common reasons for slow weight gain imo are either not being given enough to eat, or intestinal worms. As a rule of thumb, to gauge whether the hog is being given enough food, there should be a little food left over each morning. A young hoglet of that size in captivity would also normally come out in the daytime to snack until it reached a good weight, before establishing a nocturnal pattern, so food and water should initially be available for him 24/7.

With regards to keeping disabled hedgehogs as ‘pets’, I’d like to take this opportunity to dispel any beliefs that our native wild hedgehogs can be kept as pets in the same manner as exotic African Pygmy Hedgehogs. They have totally different needs/requirements. All the hedgehog rescue centres I’m aware of (including the infamous St Tiggy’s), and myself, certainly do not advocate keeping non-releasable hedgehogs indoors, or even locked up in hutches outside; they are all placed in secure, wildlife-friendly (no pesticides/insecticides) enclosed gardens (i.e. walled gardens where the hedgehog cannot dig under, or escape under gates, etc), with a waterproof hedgehog house and bedding provided (and checked regularly for any dampness) and supplementary food and water provided every day. The disabled hedgehog would also need to be checked over regularly for any signs of ill health/ticks etc, and weighed at these regular checks to ensure all is well. This type of placement allows the disabled hedgehog to live a semi-wild life in a safe, monitored environment, whilst still being free to forage and root around as our native hedgehogs love to do.

Good luck with your little hoglet

[RobynRainbow]

Yes i agree, african pygmy hedgehogs will certainly need a different environment to live in, mostly due to the fact that they need a much higher temperature. I don't believe my local centre locks hedgies up and I wouldn't advocate that, but then I don't agree with giving an APH too small a space either.
Just because the hedgie is in your garden doesn't mean that you can't interact with it, and yeah i didn't really consider the difference when I posted, but anyone considering getting any kind of pet should do their research first.

I know the weight gain was slow but I am still pleased with it. He was so very tiny when we found him. However he is definitely eating more and more as he puts on weight, the amount he eats in a day has doubled, and there is some food left in the bowl every morning. He also gets regular snacks whenever we find something good in the garden so I'm hopeful he will start putting on weight more quickly.

Question for anyone who knows, how much weight can I expect him to put on over the summer when he is no longer living with me? I know he should be 600g to hibernate. x

[tomwilson]

Originally Posted by Stefan

a Hedgehog's for life not just for Christmas

As a pet owner you have a responsibility to look after that pet and give it all the treatment needed. I don't understand why people just "throw then out".

This could be disastorous, if the African Hedgehogs are bigger or more aggresive then we could have even less hedgehogs than we already do. The case of the Crayfish for example shows how even here the ecosystem is delicately balanced

They are terribly cute though! :P

sorry but the clue is in the name pygmy they are small. also it is a hybrid species between the egyptian and (i think) a middle eastern species. it cant survive hibernation but if the weather is cold like our winter it will atempt hibernation but it will die. so god forbid if they where to get loose they would have no effect on wild populations