# A warm welcome to VITA!!!! And me, Britney :)



## britpeters (Feb 6, 2011)

Hey everyone! My name is Britney and I'm new to the forum and a proud owner of an 8 week old girl named Vita! A little background about myself... I'm a junior in college, I'm studying psychology and environmental studies so I'm very earth-conscious . When I was younger I [unfortunately] worked at a pet store for 4 years. That is when I came across the cutest creatures in the world-- hedgehogs! After doing some research I was extremely disappointed to learn that Pennsylvania's state law states that owning a hedgehog is illegal . I gave up all hope of ever owning my dream pet! Now, 6 years later, after repeatedly getting turned down by breeders, I found a couple that would let me adopt! I'm not too sure how everyone on here feels about my situation (I've seen on some websites that they will not even ship products to illegal states), but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I personally don't think that anything is wrong with what I'm doing, because as long as my baby gets the proper care (vet, food/water, shelter, LOVE, and attention) that she needs, everything WILL be okay ! I live about 15 minutes away from the bridge to New Jersey (where I purchased her), and have already taken her to a vet who says she is perfectly healthy (besides a case of mites, ....!) I look forward to hearing more about everyone's prickly pals and gaining all the useful information I can about the world of hedgehogs! With that being said, here are some pictures of VITA!!! [[Excuse the bad picture quality, I took them with my iPhone]]









































It was *obviously* such a rough tiring day, hahah








You can see where she has lost some hair and scratched her nose from the mites , poor baby!

The Romans were the first to domesticate hedgehogs in the 4th century BC, and were bred for meat and quills. The quills were used for card paper, dissection pins, and the training of other animals. 'Vita' is Latin for "life," and I only saw it fit that she bear a name native to those who were the first to make our babies domesticated


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## HedgehogsAnonymous (Dec 30, 2010)

britpeters said:


> Hey everyone! My name is Britney and I'm new to the forum and a proud owner of an 8 week old girl named Vita! A little background about myself... I'm a junior in college, I'm studying psychology and environmental studies so I'm very earth-conscious . When I was younger I [unfortunately] worked at a pet store for 4 years. That is when I came across the cutest creatures in the world-- hedgehogs! After doing some research I was extremely disappointed to learn that Pennsylvania's state law states that owning a hedgehog is illegal . I gave up all hope of ever owning my dream pet! Now, 6 years later, after repeatedly getting turned down by breeders, I found a couple that would let me adopt! I'm not too sure how everyone on here feels about my situation (I've seen on some websites that they will not even ship products to illegal states), but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I personally don't think that anything is wrong with what I'm doing, because as long as my baby gets the proper care (vet, food/water, shelter, LOVE, and attention) that she needs, everything WILL be okay ! I live about 15 minutes away from the bridge to New Jersey (where I purchased her), and have already taken her to a vet who says she is perfectly healthy (besides a case of mites, ....!) I look forward to hearing more about everyone's prickly pals and gaining all the useful information I can about the world of hedgehogs! With that being said, here are some pictures of VITA!!! [[Excuse the bad picture quality, I took them with my iPhone]]


When I got my first hedgehog (in high school) it was right after they were made illegal in Vermont--I had no idea. But I also had no problems, I lived on the MA border and had easy access to a good vet. The rationale behind banning some animals (like hedgehogs or ferrets) is ridiculous to me.

Happy to say that after like 10 years, hedgehogs are now legal again in Vermont 

_
*Edit: I think the laws are ridiculous, not saying I would break them if I were a breeder or whatnot._


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

You might feel differently if your beautiful little girl is caught, confiscated and euthanized. PA is not a state to mess around with as they will euthanize if they find them. It used to be they frequented the forums to find out who had them. Not sure if they still do that or not.  I suggest you remove where you are located just in case.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Congrats on Vita and welcome! 

I suggest you remove your location as Nancy said. Just to be on the safer side.


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## britpeters (Feb 6, 2011)

Nancy said:


> You might feel differently if your beautiful little girl is caught, confiscated and euthanized. PA is not a state to mess around with as they will euthanize if they find them. It used to be they frequented the forums to find out who had them. Not sure if they still do that or not.  I suggest you remove where you are located just in case.


Ahhh, I'm pretty sure that's extremely rare. Perhaps in other states, yes, but Wiki says this about Pennsylvania: "In Pennsylvania, hedgehogs may not be imported into the state, but hedgehogs in the state as of 1992 and their descendants are at least theoretically allowed. In practice, enforcement of this law has been rumored to be arbitrary and ill-informed." I even researched a bit on the subject before adopting her... there was a good handful of happy hedgie owners in PA who didn't have a problem, and two breeders that I found (which I think is risky talking about online... breeding is a whooooole different story lol), but one was about 4 hours away and the other was 7 hours away-- no thanks! 

But, as far as the law goes, it basically sounds like PA doesn't go around enforcing the law too much, and that it's actually not even that 'clear-cut' and defined.


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## britpeters (Feb 6, 2011)

susanaproenca said:


> I suggest you remove your location as Nancy said. Just to be on the safer side.


*removing just in case* It won't let me edit my post anymore, though. *shrug*


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Nancy said:


> It used to be they frequented the forums to find out who had them. Not sure if they still do that or not.  I suggest you remove where you are located just in case.


Maybe we should find them something better to do. Jeesh. :roll:


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

MissC said:


> Nancy said:
> 
> 
> > It used to be they frequented the forums to find out who had them. Not sure if they still do that or not.  I suggest you remove where you are located just in case.
> ...


Yes, that's the U.S. Government for you. So much time and money spent on controlling everyone's lives.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

First off, welcome to the forum! You'll find a ton of useful information and really friendly, knowledgeable people too!



britpeters said:


> But, as far as the law goes, it basically sounds like PA doesn't go around enforcing the law too much, and that it's actually not even that 'clear-cut' and defined.


Also, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. You're probably right, and it probably won't be enforced, but I would really hate to see you be the exception to that. If I were you, I'd change my user name just to be safe (I'm assuming Peters is your last name). Just a thought. Anyways, welcome!


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

She's adorable  Pennsylvania is very strict so be very careful. I remember reading awhile back about them seizing a bunch of hedgehogs from all over the state. I am from up North originally and if I ever have to travel I will probably have to be like the many others that loop around and have to make a 400 plus mile detour to get around it. It is a very stupid law in my opinion too but unfortunately the law is there so just be very careful and be careful about which friends you share it with because sometimes the first thing people will do if they get in a fight is try being mean and turn you in. I just say out of concern. I agree and wish they would find better things to do with there time instead of imposing such a ridiculous law on an animal that would never be able to survive there if it was released, I hope one day to see the law change because even though I don't live there I know there is a ton of people that would make great hedgie parents and it makes me sad they can't do so.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I agree with hedgieonboard...the chances of being caught may be slim...but the consequences...yikes....I would be very secretive about your new friend. I can't imagine having to give Snarf up.


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