Why hedgies?

So why did everyone get into hedgies? How did you get your first? Do you still have him/her?

Scrat

I got him from hedgehog by vickie on april 28th 2007 and no i don't still have him he passed away 1/20/2009 I am so lucky to have had Scrat in my life.

My boyfriend wanted to get a hedgie. I guess he'd seen them before and had wanted one but hadn't had the chance to get one. I started researching them a bit more and really got interested, so I called around to a few pet stores to see how much they might cost because the closest breeder was 4 hours away. I didn't like what I heard from the pet stores, but I was willing to work with a pet store hedgie if I had to do so. Fortunately, I was going on vacation and decided to see if there were any breeders along the way. One was actually located 5 minutes down the road from where my aunt lives, so I decided to buy from her instead of worrying about hassling with the pet store. We picked him up on the last day of vacation, and he had a 6 hour car ride home through the mountains of VA and WV. Now I occasionally kind of wish I had bought from elsewhere, after I learn more about the breeder's reputation--but I would not trade my hedgie for anything in the world so it was worth it. He's the sweetest, and is so friendly. I've had him close to 6 months now, and it's been a wonderful experience.

Honestly, I got into hedgehogs because they’re freaking adorable. I love their little faces, their bulgy eyes and their little feet. When I actually did some research, I found that they would compliment my lifestyle well. When I got Hemi, my first hedgehog, I was a high school student and spent the majority of the day at school or work. A nocturnal animal sounded perfect for that routine – they’d be sleeping the entire time I was away, and would just be waking up when I got home.

In addition to the reason above, I was lonely. My dog had just died, and I’d never been without a pet of my own. I was really out of place with nothing to take care of. Since my dad was adamant about no dogs (heh, that worked well), I started looking into pocket pets. Hedgehogs won out when compared to sugar gliders, chinchillas and ferrets simply because their level of care seemed better suited to me.

I’ve owned hedgehogs since May 2005, and currently own three. Hemi passed away in April 2007, and I still miss her. She introduced me to this wonderful world of hedgehog obsession, and she was the perfect hedgehog to do it. She was unflappable, and nothing ever bothered her. She was calm, gentle and friendly… and she led me to Cuda. After Cuda, Vette came home and subsequently moved in with my boyfriend. When he moved to Edmonton for school, she came with him and I took over primary care. After Hemi’s death, Kismet came home and she has a nearly identical personality to Hemi. I firmly believe that Hemi had a paw in leading me to Kismet, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Interesting trivia: My dog died on May 3, 2005. Hemi came home on May 23. Hemi died on April 3, 2007 (exactly 23 months after Buster died) and Kismet came home on the 2 year anniversary of Buster’s death.

I no longer have hedgehogs, but I did at one time. I got them because...I thought they were cute. Saw them on animal planet one day. Did some researched, seemed like an easy enough pet to care for. Walked into the local petstore one day, he had an adult hedgehog in that was dumped. She was mean, nasty, bit, hissed, clicked, popped. You name it, she did it. I took her home. Several months later, Holly came home--and lived with Missi until the day Missi died.

Unfortantly, Hedgehogs are Illegal here in PA so I cannot own one in the future.

Scrat&SweetPea - I'm sorry Scrat has passed. I know you were asking questions about his care right around the time CnQ went down

Back to the OP - My first hedgehog is Satin Mirranda Hufflepuff. She's almost 2yo and is currently sleeping under her blanket.

I had guinea pigs for several years... Reeses, Buttercup, Tigerlily, and Dandelion. They are all very dear to me. When the last one passed, I felt like there was something missing.

A few years passed after Dandelion was gone, and while I wanted a cute little critter about the size of a gp, I wasn't prepared for another gp. I needed something different. I did research on line about small critters. And recalled a friend of a friend who had a hedgie about 12 or 13 years ago. The more I read, the more I wanted a hedgie.

I toyed with the idea for several months, lurked on CnQ, HHC, and HHW, and read through MI breeders' sites. I finally found one that seemed just right. Her site said something to the effect that her hedgies are like her family. And so, I contacted her and joined her waiting list.

Several months later, Satin come home with me. She was a wee little girl when I first met her. Now she's 3x the size.

he has gone to a better place where the mealworms are has big as a house. he's happy with God and Jesus. and I can't wait to see him again.

I have my first hedgie now, her name is Lily. I got her in August after doing a bit of research and such, and finding a breeder that only lived two hours away from me. I got her because I wanted some kind of pet, and I knew I wasn't going to be allowed any bigger animals (like a dog or cat). Hamsters and gerbils and such didn't really appeal to me, most of my experiences with them is getting bitten, lol. So I was looking at other small animals and found hedgies! As I did research I realized how well it would fit into my schedule and how easy they are to take care of. Convinced my mom and Lily was brought home!

I originally was doing research on chins and I saw this side and fell in love.. Did a lot of research... maybe 6 months or so and went to a pet shop JUST to see if I can handle touching a hedgehog. And I found Aero and he stole my heart and ran with it.

It was love at first sight. I can't imagine not having hedgehogs in my life.

i fell in love with hedgehogs after seeing them ov T.v
then my friend got one as a pet and i was so jeluse!
so i was doing my research and such, trying to learn what i could, and then one day wile at a old petshop that was closeing down i walked by the small animals and just happend to notice a little ball of quills in the corner. i instantly asked if i could hold it (the pet store worker was scared to touch her ) so i picked her up, looked into her eyes... and i was in love <3 so i brought her home and we spent a wonder 2 years togeather before she passed away i still miss her and think about her always.. but i cant wait to get another qullied baby back in my life =D

i love you Daisy! <3

Amanda, I am so very sorry about little Scrat. He was such a beautiful boy. I remember one picture of him on a table, I believe, near a candy dish or something with the cutest smile on that sweet face. I cannot believe he is gone. But you are right, he is in a wonderful place and having a wonderful new life.

i love that pic of him. he was a beautiful baby boy. he was peacefully in my arms. and he want smiling to. I loved him so much. and i still do love him and miss him.

I fell in love with hedgies after I joined here for my chins. At first I was a little apprehensive of them.. after all they have quills instead of soft fur like chins.. but when the opportunity came up over the summer to adopt a rescue hog, I went for it.
It was a rough beginning.. she quit eating, and we were at the vet every other day.. But we fought it through.

Now she's the biggest princess a princess can be.. With a wonderful princess cage (with lots of pink) and a nice big pink castle.. just like she deserves.

She sure is the diva.. which you can see by most of her photos.. She really hates baths and makes it known once she gets out.. Watch for your fingers!

And she absolutely loves her wheel. You don't ever want to mess with it.. or she'll pout..seriously..pout.

She also loves to annoint after licking my hands/fingers/arms..

She's definately different than the fuzzy boys but I love her all the same!

I first got into hedgehogs when one was abandoned outside my vet's clinic. Irwin went to the SPCA and was subjected to several weeks of substandard care by their foster people, but I finally got to bring him home and we had six wonderful months together before he had to be put to sleep due to WHS. As much as that experience tore me up inside, I knew that I would open my home to another hedgehog if one came along. And thanks to Nancy, one did! Ronnie was rehomed to me by someone who felt that she could no longer care for her. Ron was 4 years old when I got her, had never had a wheel and had never been handled. She was so dirty! I thought that because of her age, I would have her for a few weeks at most. Over a year and a half later, she's still going strong though! She has cataracts in both eyes and seems to be mostly blind, and her gums have grown down over her teeth so she can no longer eat regular kibble. I syringe feed her twice daily and she also eats RC Babycat. And the latest addition to my hedgehog family is Phoebe. Last summer Courtney posted about a young hedgie in Edmonton who needed a new home, and I decided to take her in. She wasn't eating and as it turned out, had Fatty Liver Disease. She has since recovered (although she will STILL only eat soft food) and is an eating, wheeling, pooping machine!

There's just something about these funny, spiky, huffy-yet-lovey creatures that I can't say no to. I adore my girls - they make my life complete.

One day, I was really depressed over something, so my friend sent me to cuteoverload.com to look at pictures of kittens. After the novelty of kittens wore off, I looked around the site and found pictures of hedgehogs. I absolutely fell in love with them and did research on where to get one. Unfortunately, at the time, I was living in NYC, where they are illegal, and my apartment building had a no pet policy. About 6 months later, I moved to Austin, Texas for grad school and another 5 months later, my boyfriend surprised me with one for Christmas. At first I was skeptical about having a pet during grad school, but he grew on me and I couldn't bear to bring him back to the pet store. And so Spike Littlefoot Akamine-Olivieri became the new addition to the house.

Four months later, I was searching for a bigger wheel for Spike, when I noticed a little pinto nestled among the hedgehogs at the pet store. I asked to see him and saw that he only had one eye. "A pirate hedgehog!" was my first reaction. I wanted to bring him home so badly, but my boyfriend refused. I made a deal with him that if no one had brought him home within the next week, I would give him a home. Lo and behold, a week later, he was the last one left. No one saw the value of a pinto or the cuteness of a one-eyed hedgehog. There was no question about it... he was mine. I dubbed him Captain Calico Jack Sparrow in honor of a famous one-eyed pirate and of course, the famous captain of the Black Pearl.

I have wanted a hedgie since I was about 10 or so, but the closest I got was a pair of huge slippers. Mom doesn't do well with little rodent like creatures that she can step on, or lose in teh wall to die and stink up the house. I looked into a dog a year or so ago before remembering that I'm out of the house all day, and can't walk one. Then I figured I'm old enough to have a Hedgie now, so I ended up with Winston. I'm quite proud of Mom, cos she's even petted him once

Kendra

I got into hedgies by chance. My fiance and I were looking for a pet to purchase together, but were unable to have another cat or a dog. We researched various caged pets, and Paul found a photo of a baby hedgie. We both just melted and began researching.

We purchased Marty from a breeder in Oshawa, Ontario. He was the tiniest little guy when we brought him home. He's currently still tiny lol, and is just over 2 years old. We had then purchased a female (as a pet only) from Nancy in Ontario. We fell in love right away and she was my sweetheart. Sadly she got sick when she was less than 6 months old and passed away. Our time was short, but wonderful. We then got Gus from Nancy. Hes my big guy now and is just adorable. He's just over 1.5 years old now. I can't believe time has flown by so quickly.

I have wanted a hedgie for years but my fear of bugs kept me from it. I saw some pictures again a few years back and started researching like crazy. I even went to the pet store and asked to hold a mealworm. After I realized how easy that was and how their dietary needs were so much more diverse, I was sold! Now I can't stop......

Rob has always been in love with hedgies and always wanted one. When we found out that it was possible that I wouldn't have an allergic reaction to them, I wanted one. We can't have cats because I can't breathe around them. Occasionally I have a reaction with the girls, but it isn't NEARLY as bad as with cats or dogs.

And they are super cute and so funny!