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We have recently added a new pet to our family - an African Pygmy Hedgehog. A beautiful animal, with a very cute face, and a lovely nature made even more endearing by their shyness.
They are an unusual pet, but are getting more and more common as time goes by. The African Pygmy Hedgehog comes from northern Africa, and was first domesticated in the late 1980's - that's almost 30 years! I only became aware of them being pets a few months ago. They aren't so much pygmy as a little smaller than the standard european hedgehog, and they come in many different colour variations at a price that is not too reasonable - shop around though and you can get som real bargains!!
"Don't they have fleas?" was the first thing my mother asked, when I broke the news that we had another pet. They don't! Wild ones do, but captive bred domesticated animals are free of these pests. Obviously if another animal in the house gets them, a cat or a dog maybe, then the parasites will latch on to your hedgehog.
As pets, they are fantastic. They make some very strange noises - they "humph" and "pumph" as you disturb them, curling themselves up and making their sharp spines rigid to the touch. Word of warning: handle your hedgehog with care, as the spines are extremely sharp and hurt, so use a towel or glove to handle your animal and avoid injury. This said within about a minute of protesting, your hedgehog will come round and curiosity will get the better of it (if it takes longer than this, then your hedgehog could be stressed or ill) and it will uncurl and begin sniffing. Put it down on the carpet, and let it explore. You need to keep your eye on where your animal is going - as hedgehogs are nocturnal, they will seek out the darkest spot they can find and curl up in!
The spines, like baby teeth will fall out at around 3 months old, and then again a few months later. This is nothing to worry about. They replace their spines like we replace teeth, but they are slightly thinner when they fall out and therefore sharper! Speaking of teeth, hedgehogs have a nice full set of teeth which are rather sharp and when they bite they will latch on! To make them let go, there are a couple of things you can try - blowing a sharp burst of air directly into their face can work, as can dowsing them in cold water.
You can keep a hedgehog indoors in a relatively small cage (36" x 24" x 18"), although some people prefer to go to town. They are very inquisitive and intelligent creatures who need to keep their minds occupied - a tube (old carpet roll), a ball, a toy with a bell in it are all welcomed. At around 3 months of age you can also introduce a large wheel (for rat or chinchilla/degu) to allow your hoglet to exercise - they will walk around 7 miles each night!!! Easy to feed too - they will eat fruit, vegetables, dry cat food (bet quality), wet cat food, minced unseasoned chicken, beef, turkey, mealworms, morioworms, crickets etc - so pretty much anything! Just make sure that you add essentials to their diet like vitamins and essential oils which can be purchased at your local pet store.
With regular handling, your hedgehog will become used to you, used to the sounds and smells of the house, and venture out when you least expect it! They become less "huffy" and more social, and will happily take mealworms from your hand (watch the teeth) and allow you to stroke them without spiking you! This is great and you will very quickly fall in love with your new pet, as they are so adorable. They will be bathed, although they are not too keen on the process, with baby shampoo and warm water, followed by a quick dip in olive oil and warm water to condition the skin - otherwise they suffer with dandruff.
One final thing to tell is that they are easily litter trained - it took 2 days to litter train ours. The secret? Line the litter tray with soft paper towel, the first time that they poop (which they do a lot), move it and put it in their litter tray. They will associate this then with the toilet, and within 24 hours you will find your hedgehog uses its toilet and nowhere else.
They really are great fun to own, and once you have one you wont look back. Ours is called Pink - because like the singer she has blonde spikey hair and is full of attitude and boy does it suit her!!!!
With best wishes whatever pet you decide to own
Dale Preece-Kelly
More from me on the blog at http://www.critterishallsorts.co.uk
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