# Oh how I pity the animals on CL! Must See Hedgie!



## AidansMom25 (Oct 24, 2012)

Okay so as you all may know I've been searching for a female hedgehog and I did state that I would like to rescue a hedgie from Craigslist.. well I live about 15-20 minutes from this place on CL called clarksville it's actually the next county over.. I seen this little girl and I debating if I want to meet my breeder tomorrow and get a weanling or do I want to give this poor 1 year old baby a forever home just look at her! The stupid owner has her in some kind of wire bird cage with multiple levels like a ferret would be in the bottom of the cage is clearly wire bottom.. and the poor hedgie doesn't even have a wheel! I doubt she even has seen a wheel since she is 1..I'm so torn on what to do the owner is wanting 200$ for her and that god awful cage..I know I can give her a wonderful life but then again I think to myself what if she's really troubled and not socialized.. any input would be great..I'm sorry I wear my heart on my sleeve.. http://clarksville.craigslist.org/pet/3401172673.html


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Poor girl.  I'm personally for rescuing animals, but it's totally your choice since...you're right. She might be huffier, or she might have health problems. My best suggestion would be...if you think you might want to give this girl a good home, maybe postpone your breeder visit just a few days? See if you can set up a meeting to go see this hedgehog - Handle her and see how she acts. Who knows, maybe she'll be a friendly girl, despite her environment. There's been plenty of people before that have gotten rescues and had them be surprisingly friendly and loving, so it's possible! If she is pretty friendly, or at least not outright terrified or aggressive...perhaps you could offer something like $50 for her and her alone, and let the owner resell the cage on its own? I don't think the cage is worth buying, since you'd still need to make it safe for her, which would be time/money, and you could make a bigger C&C cage for $50-75.

However, I can completely understand if you end up preferring to get a baby, especially if she ends up being a very scared or aggressive girl, especially as a first-time owner. Hopefully if you decide on getting the baby, someone else from the forums or another good owner will end up taking her. Either way...good luck!


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## AidansMom25 (Oct 24, 2012)

Hi Lilysmom I'm glad you agree I've loved animals since I was a little girl I would take in any kind of stray I could whether it be a cat dog turtle lizard frog it didn't matter to me my mom used to call me EllieMay from the Beverly hillbillys lol. My heart just shattered when I saw that ad I actually texted the owner and offered her 75$ for just the hedgie and told her my story of wanting a female hedgehog and also that I had everything all ready for her to come home to and she refused me saying she had to sell the cage with her and her parents wanted her to sell it all for the 200$! I just can't do that this close to Christmas.. I really wish I could have given this poor baby a forever home but I guess that's just not what fate had in store for this baby..


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm sorry.  Hopefully at least the high price means that someone else also willing to take good care of her will pay that much...Fingers crossed for the little girl.


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Being so close to Christmas, this person just may think twice and text you back with a change of heart. I feel so sorry for her That cage is an accident waiting to happen with all those ramps.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

The possible cons of getting a hedgehog from somewhere like craigslist: possibly not well socialized, don't know the history, no guarantees of any sort, possible health issues. For someone willing to accept the risk of health problems, the best way to decide is to visit and handle the hedgehog and not commit until then. It completely depends on the individual person and the individual hedgehog, but for first time owners taking in a rehome from an unknown or not-so-great situation is generally not the best idea. A lot of first-time hedgehog owners end up feeling overwhelmed or uncertain in the first few months, even when getting a healthy, well-socialized baby from a good breeder. Rehomes come with that, and then some. It's definitely something to think over and not jump into just because of the instinctive reaction of needing to "save" a hedgehog you see on craigslist.

Despite the enclosure not being ideal in some ways, I certainly wouldn't call this a "rescue". She appears to be in good health from the photos. The bottom of the cage is a plastic tray, not wire. There's no wheel; substrate is used instead of liners, which is fully acceptable; the owner feeds her cat food, but doesn't specify the kind. The ramps aren't particularly good for a hedgehog, especially not ones that tall, but unless she's already sustained an injury from it (which the post makes no mention of) the fact that they're included as part of the cage doesn't automatically mean she's suffering. Even without the ramps/lofts considered, the amount of floor space is fine - not huge, but also not tiny and cramped. She has hideaways, she has a water bottle. These aren't the choices that would be made by a more informed owner, but nor do they indicate that it's a rescue situation.

It would be nice for her to go to a new home where she'll get more handling, a wheel, and a more hedgehog-friendly enclosure, but her quality of life isn't necessarily awful. Not the best, but not terrible. She's probably bored from lacking a wheel. Hedgehogs aren't social by nature, so they don't "suffer" the way dogs suffer for lack of attention and being ignored. They might not be friendly toward people if they're not handled, but they can be perfectly happy on their own. I've seen many worse-off hedgehogs on craigslist. Most of the hedgehogs posted on craigslist are from owners that aren't well informed or just lose interest or don't have time, and it's always great if the owner is willing to part with them for the sake of the animal, for little or nothing in the way of money. Offering that is the best you can do. You should never pay "full price" for an adult hedgehog that comes from an unknown background and a questionable living situation. Maybe in a few weeks this person will have no one interested and be willing to lower the price.


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