African pygmy hedgehogs

[Kayleigh]

These little cute hedgehogs are being bred and sold for the pet trade.
Do you agree with it.
I can see problems for them, people will get fed up when the novelty wears off and just let them go in the wild. As they do with all other alien species. So the only one who will suffer is the poor little hogs.

http://www.geocities.com/africanpygmyhedgehogs/

[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

[Jez]

Lets just leave at gerbils and hamsters etc they make good pets! Do we really need another edition-no need at all!!!

[monkey]

If they make them too expensive for young children to have as presents just on a whim it might help but I agree there are already enough choices for pets.

By the way I see something has happened to Jez he doesn't look the same!

Linda

[Jez]

Originally Posted by monkey

If they make them too expensive for young children to have as presents just on a whim it might help but I agree there are already enough choices for pets.

By the way I see something has happened to Jez he doesn't look the same!

Linda

I forgot to shave!

[demicav]

I heard this myself earlier. I'm against it because I think it will be a craze that wears out and they will then be dumped in an environment which they're not meant to be in. I'm not saying that they will all go to bad homes but I think it's risky and the animals could once again be the ones to suffer.
On the other hand we have creatures such as Giant land snails on sale and foreign Snakes but sadly they too often get discarded.

[Gaina]

I sincerely hope I'm wrong but I think you'll get the same thing happening that I see with my friends' rats (she rescues them). Pets shops could start using the equivalent of a 'Puppy Mill' to meet the demand which results in badly bred rats that die young or are so mass-produced they are too cheap and end up being bought by people on a whim who don't do their homework.

I scares the life out of me to know that I could go to my local garden center and buy a snake without being required to show ANY proof that I can look after the animal before they will sell it to me.
This is why I'd like to see people being required to attend a short husbandry course on the animal they wish to keep as a pet (held as a night class or weekend course at a local school or college). Once they pass the course they take the certificate to their local council who issue with them with a license to keep the animal.

As an animal lover I would be prepared to go through that process to have the right to share my life with a living creature.

[hogqueen]

African pygmy hedgehogs make fantastic pets that are adorable.
they are nothing like our native hedgehogs weigh less than a quater of the natives weight. if released into the wild they would not survive as they need to be kept at a constant temperature. they would pose no threat to our native hedgehogs.
it is easy for people to post their opinions on things they know nothing about. these are not new pets to the uk and some breeders have been breeding them for almost 10 years in the UK, i myself have been breeding them for 4 years. there is a registry similar to that of the kennel club, and any responsible breeder will be registering their litters. we already have over 600 african pygmy hedgehogs registered.
unfortunately as with all pets there are people who think there is money to be made and will sell to anyone, what they dont realise is they are not easy to breed and there is NO money to be made from them. Over the years i have been breeding they have cost far more than i have made.
luckily not everyone is a bad breeder and most do have ethics, the ukaph registry has its own code of ethics which must be adhered to.

[Dogghound]

Yes African pygmy hedgehogs are actually a hybrid of the four toed hedgehog and the Algerian hedgehog. I understand hedgehogs are quite hard to look after compared to most other mammalian pets. I also understand they are illegal in most states in America. I doubt they would cause much damge to british wildlife but would definately die as a result of being released here, however in southern Europe they could pose a greater risk if they are released.

[elliebrown]

I have two, year-old African Pygmy Hedgehogs.

Thought I'd write up a bit of advice on them:

They are NOT suitable pets for any child. The only cuddling they will allow is to sit on your knee inside a blanket or they will climb under your jumper and then go to sleep. My female insists on permanently living in a pink woolly booble-hat and gets pretty miffed if you try and convince her to come out for very long. You will never be able to cuddle one like a cat or dog.

They are also nocturnal - mine don't wake up till 11pm - and then run for up to 7 hours a night (silent wheels are essential).

They can BITE. My male came from a loving home where he was nurtured and adored and he is the tamest nicest hog I have come across. My female came from a breeder who didn't socialise her, didn't give her a wheel or toys and as a result she was obese and terrified when I got her. It took 6 months of hard and persistent work to turn her into the much nicer animal she now is. I was bitten at least 40 times in the process. Hedgehog bites are very painful, they don't let go and the pressure their jaws can exert is impressive!

My female is 100% litter trained, the male is 100% not litter trained. He will run on his wheel, poo and keep running. This means that both hedgehog and wheel need washing on a VERY regular basis. Bathing a hedgehog is an interesting experience, you get wetter than they do. Hedgehog poo is very strong smelling and you will come into contact with a lot of it.

They need a LOT of space. I have a huge stacking ferret cage system that is over 5ft tall and 3.5ft wide. It's divided in two so they don't meet.

They need to be kept at a minimum of 21-22 degrees. Any less and they will start trying to hibernate which will be fatal.

On the other hand, they are endlessly amusing (especially when they annoint) and have lovely faces. However, if you don't keep interacting with them, you will just end up with a huffing ball of prickles who makes noises like a coffee percolator at you.

I've kept a range of exotics for over 20 years now. I do a lot of research before taking on a new species and so I know how to look after them, I'm also happy to spend money on their housing and am able to afford any vets bills, and so all my animals are happy and in excellent condition. Any animal I own, no matter how nasty tempered, smelly or difficult has a safe and loving permanent home with me.

Sadly, I have seen more people than I would like buying pythons, owls, and other 'cool' exotics with no idea of potential costs or correct housing and husbandry. They then get bored of them once they've finished showing their friends their new 'cool' pet. Its one of the reasons that I don't breed my animals.

As to entering the local wildlife population - no chance, they wouldn't survive for long in the wild at all. They can't hibernate and cold weather would kill them very quickly.