# oh noooooo!



## zoologist (Sep 2, 2008)

Max is so popular with my roller derby league and the kids at my university...... now EVERYONE wants to get a hedgehog  

They think they're just as easy to take care of as a hamster. I put a lot of time and effort into Max, especially to socialize her, and no one understands that they need time and affection. No one wants to research.

I also don't want to be that person that tells them NOT to get one and list off all the things they have to do to take care of them. then you sound like a know it all.

My cage has a hidey hut, a hidey tube, a wheel, litterbox and fleece liners..... I feel like that's the bare minimum. I know a hedgehog who lives in a fish tank on aspen bedding with no covers, no toys, no nothing. And the owners wonder why he isn't friendly :?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I have had a number of people ask me why I keep hedgehogs after they ask me about them. I tend to concentrate on the negative things with anyone who finds out I have them in my home. Its become a bit of a bad habit. Years ago I only talked about the good, but over time, I have started to only concentrate on the negative. I figure if you are still interested after learning how nasty their wheels are to clean, how frustrating they can be to medicate or trim their nails, and how painful quills can be in the bottom of your feet, well you just might be qualified to be a hedgehog caretaker.

I say sound like the know it all, better a know it all than to sit by and watch a hedgehog live in bad conditions. Talk to them about the bad sides, the nasty poop covered wheel, the hours of care you provide, etc.


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## zoologist (Sep 2, 2008)

Some people just don't like to listen :roll: 

I just messaged the girl with the hedgehog in the tank if she wanted my igloo since Max doesn't use it. I'm also going to be sewing her a bonding bag/bonding blanket. Apparently her hedgie used to be really nice, and then she got busy and hasn't had time to handle him and now he's mean and never unrolls from a ball  

I like that though, I'll start focusing on the negative. I tell people they have to give them foot baths every day and clean their wheel. I don't think people realize how time consuming that really is!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh goodness. When my friends ask me about my hedgehog, they say, "do his quills hurt?" "yes" "does he bite?" "yes" "is he social?" "no" "do hedgehogs make good pets?" "no" "are they messy?" "yes" I definitely don't sell anyone on hedgehogs.  I love my babies, but I definitely don't want to promote anyone getting a hedgehog because they're "cute" or "unusual".


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## mizgoldstein (Feb 12, 2011)

I am a firm believer now in "selling the negatives" on hedgehogs. it gives me anxiety to think about being responsible for a hedgie getting purchased for the "cute" or "unusual" factor and then getting neglected. but it can be very hard to get other people to understand this. for example, Lulu is my first hedgehog. I started researching them in December 2010 and didn't move forward with buying one until June 2011, after I felt that I was truly ready and after I found a loving breeder within driving distance. Shortly after I got her, my boyfriend's little sister also wanted "something different" so she purchased two chinchillas off Craigslist, "because they had cool names and looked cute and fluffy." I did my BEST to help her prepare, get her to do research, etc. but everything bad that could have happened, did happen. they turned out to be 1-2yrs old, and therefore not at the age to socialize easily with a new family. she got them the wrong cage, wrong bedding, etc., she didn't know how much they pooped, or that their cage can cause an odor, or that they needed a wheel. but it was my boyfriend's little sister - I couldn't scold her - so I got stuck caring for them.

now, almost a year after she got them, she's finally forming a bond with them and understanding they need love and patience and care, and that even when you're tired and have homework, you have to clean their cage and feed them and love them. so don't be afraid to talk somebody out of buying a hedgehog. the way I see it - the kind of person that, after seeing one hedgehog, or seeing a few pictures online, decides to impulsively buy one, is the same person that will impulsively move on to something else, leaving the hedgie behind, neglected and uncared for.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Hedgehogs sell themselves because they are too darn cute. Its "unselling" them that is the hard part.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I usually tell them it's about $1200 to start off. That shoos them away.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm with Christemo. Go straight to the money - how much they cost on their own, how much the supplies cost, how much vets cost for exotic animals. $500+ starting investment is a great way to discourage anyone considering getting one on a whim. Oh, and the poop.


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## SquiggyTheHedgie (Jul 26, 2011)

I live in an apartment complex, and whenever I bring Squiggy outside to enjoy the sunshine I get a lot of people who interact with him and end up wanting hedgehogs too. Usually the first thing I tell them is, "ok, well do you have $600 for all the necessary supplies? A large cage, wheel, proper food, toys, hidey huts, bedding? Oh and the hedgie itself will be like up to $200, and you need about another $500 handy for vet visits" Then their eyes bug out and they realize just how expensive hedgie ownership can really be. Then I tell them how hedgies are nocturnal, so they would be asleep all day when you want to play. And be ready to handle all the poop. If they dont mind cleaning a dirty wheel every day, or if the hedgie poops or pees on them, that they are naturally grumpy and wont like you for the first few weeks or maybe ever. All this usually discourages them, but I have a few who end up asking me why I still have one despite all this, and I can only "cause I love them, and have wanted one since I was 10" :lol:


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

SquiggyTheHedgie said:


> ...that they are naturally grumpy and wont like you for the first few weeks or maybe ever. All this usually discourages them, but I have a few who end up asking me why I still have one despite all this, and I can only "cause I love them, and have wanted one since I was 10" :lol:


Depending on the person, my response is quite often, "Because I think I was a hedgehog in a prior life."


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## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

A lot of good 'balloon bursting' advice in this thread.

You can't help it if people ask for advice and then choose to peg you as a 'know-it-all'. Fact is, you know a lot. Fact is, you have actual experience. Fact is - they ask, you answer, and they would do well to listen. It's their problem if they don't. (But you're the one that will feel bad.)

I like the 'selling the negatives' approach. If I know the person, then I probably have a feel for whether they should be a hedgie parent of not. For a select few, that would make a big difference in how I answer questions. However, most people probably should not have a hedgehog. (A lot of people shouldn't be responsible for any other living thing.)

The startup costs will stop most people; all the stuff that you MUST have from Day One. The environment that they MUST have 24/7/365 with regard to light and temperature is an eye opener when (if) they start thinking about what it takes to provide it. "Will probably die of cancer" is turn-off. I accept it as a common 'end of a full life' thing, but it puts the thought of vet bills in people's heads.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I usually show pictures of poop wheels to them as well.


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## Isismommy (Nov 16, 2011)

I never really thought of "selling the bad". I usually get asked about my girls while I am out and about with them, too. I just answer question and tell people to research. I always direct them to HHC to get started on gathering information. Being a teacher I love to educate people and that''s what I always end up doing. The one thing I emphasize the most though is they are not like a cat or a dog or a hamster. They won't come when called, or be happy to greet you (in the way you expect), or play with you. What they do is just like to hang out with you on a daily basis. I tell people about how my hedgies just like to lay with me while I am on the computer or watching TV. That usually gets people thinking about whether they really want one or not. I do talk about all the other negative parts too but only the ones I have actually encountered...like the smell, noise at times, or the ways they can hurt you without meaning too. Most of the people I usually talk to have never seen a hedgehog or some never even heard of them so they are just curious. The ones that I encounter that what a hedgehog usually want it before I talk to them about it...in which case, I just try to inform them. 

As for being call a know it all...I agree with GoodandPlenty. They ask you answered.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Isismommy said:


> They won't come when called, or be happy to greet you (in the way you expect), or play with you. What they do is just like to hang out with you on a daily basis. I tell people about how my hedgies just like to lay with me while I am on the computer or watching TV.


And frankly, most of us aren't even lucky enough to have a hedgehog that likes hanging out with us. :lol: Most of our hogs just kind of tolerate it. Kind of like going to the dentist for a root canal... you really don't want to let the dentist get in there, but laying still and dealing with it is easier than trying to fight. 

I sell the negatives as well. Especially to younger people and people who I KNOW can't keep interest in something for longer than 5 minutes. I sometimes feel bad for trash talking an entire species of animal when I truly do love hedgehogs and actually appreciate their 'negative qualities', but like mizgoldstein said, I don't want to be responsible for a hedgehog being neglected or mistreated. I do answer questions honestly, but I also make sure to go the extra mile and give a long-winded speech about how frustrating it is trying to get them to let you cut their nails and how awful I felt for the first month of hedgie ownership because my hog hated me so much and how I don't think I will ever get used to finding quills in my underpants... I get the "Why the heck did you want one then?" questions from people as well and I always say, "Because I like a challenge".


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

hanhan27 said:


> Isismommy said:
> 
> 
> > They won't come when called, or be happy to greet you (in the way you expect), or play with you. What they do is just like to hang out with you on a daily basis. I tell people about how my hedgies just like to lay with me while I am on the computer or watching TV.
> ...


Wow...quills in the underpants would definitely turn me off hedgies. How are you getting them in your underpants? Does your baby help with your laundry?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

No... She's too lazy for that. :lol: Her quills end up in the washing machine/dryer somehow after I wash her fleece and usually end up in my underwear or bras *eyeroll*


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## jerseymike1126 (Jan 20, 2011)

The price keeps away most people from doing impulse buys. People always meet mine and want one for their kid. I tell them to get a geinie pig instead (ya i cant spell)


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