# Abondining hedgehog (please help)



## LunaSweetie (Nov 10, 2014)

Hello,everyone.
I'm a boy and i'm 13 years old,before i bore you out with my hedgehog info,please take you're time and reply! this means the world to me.

I wanted a pet,my whole life!So we got one after 10030249 years of waiting.
Since my mom is allergic to every pet we got a hedgehog and she wasn't!
and i loved hedgehogs i was happiest person alive (few months ago)
now we wen't to store and bought a wild baby hedgehog.

in my country they don't do pet sellings like that,i live in a poor country,anyways we bought this hedgehog,and i took care of it. i raised it.
it was really sad and MAD as **** in it's small cage so i decided to give it all my room space and take responsobilty.

now i know this may not be the topic,i'm really new but my hedgehog is EUROPEAN hedgehog.
anyways i love it,we all care for it.
but i don't know my heart brakes seeing it just running around and i cry alot,at nights. i just can't hold my self.his name is luna btw.
IT BITES ALOT omg,it's happy,sad,mad,HAPPIEST hedgehog doesn't matter it loves to bite.
(i think it's because it's a wild european hedgehog)

now,after a year my family is gonna move,and i need to bring my hedgehog somewhere,this isn't a country where people would adopt a HEDGEHOG they would be like daaa ****?

Anyways,it's quills are coming off once i pet it,not alot but much.
and once we're gonna move i'm planning to bring it to the "village" forest but i don't know if it'll be safe there,will it feed in or somethhing? since it was stolen from the person who sold it,from it's mother it wouldn't be able to learn much AT ALL.so i'm worried it'll get hurt.

PLEASE I BEG YOU,TAKE YOU'RE TIME AND REPLY!
I can't let my little guy be in a bad position!


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## Dgameman1 (Oct 18, 2014)

Hey, not trying me to be mean but I'm having a hard time understanding what you're trying to express and I'm sure others are too. 
If you could clear up on what the question is I would love to come back and answer to the best of my ability


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Is he trying to say he has a European Hedgehog and he's moving so he's going to let it go in the wild??


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Dgameman1 I have deleted your post. This is a family friendly forum and we do NOT allowing swearing. Your post was rude and insulting and this will not be tolerated.


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## NewHedgieOwner100 (May 31, 2014)

If you will, please clarify what you are asking. We would love to help you!


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## Dgameman1 (Oct 18, 2014)

Sorry about the earlier post. 
It'll help us if you can tell us where you live?


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

In which country do you live?

In most European countries it's illegal to keep wild European hedgehogs. They are wild animals, not domesticated and aren't meant to be pets.
Some countries have hedgehog/wild animal rescue centres. Is there something like that where you live? They might be able to take the hedgehog in.

Do you have a garden at your new place?


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## xorenaa (Jul 11, 2014)

From what I gathered (and let me know if I'm off on anything!): You bought a European hedgehog but now that your family is planning on moving, you're considering on releasing Luna into the wild but are concerned about how he would fare on his own?

To be honest, if your hedgehog is domesticated and used to receiving food from humans instead of scavenging for itself, I don't know if Luna would do well in wild. Maybe one of the admins could speak more on this, but this is just something I would assume.


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## coffeebean (Aug 27, 2014)

Please tell us what country you live in.
Please do not release your hedgehog into the wild


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## MistyDay (Oct 31, 2014)

LunaSweetie, you are a very young boy who has taken on quite the responsibility. My best guess is that you are somewhere in the European area and have taken in a wild animal. Your family is moving and you will be required to get rid of your beloved hedgehog. 

You have a few choices. You can donate Luna to a zoo or wild animal nursery. There, he will be cared for properly. You can find a local animal rescue center to surrender him to. You can locate someone with a license to house wild animals to take Luna in. Or, perhaps as a last resort, you could ship him to America to someone who can properly take care of him. 

I am not 100% sure if you can do the last option, as that would be quite the long journey for your hedgie, and someone would need to be with it throughout the trip to make sure he is safe and warm. I am not even sure if it would be legal, but if you surrendered him to an American zoo, I'm sure they'd take him in. 

If you release Luna into the wild, your are guaranteeing his demise. He does not know how to fend for himself and would surely parish. You and your family have taken on a great responsibility taking care of Luna. Now, if you can no longer care for him, you need to surrender him to humans who can take care of him. Best of luck to you and Luna.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

You can't simply ship European hedgehogs to the US 

Zoos most likely won't take in a wild European hedgehog. They have no need for them. Depending on the country, there might not be an animal rescue either.

Which is why I asked about the garden. If your new house has a garden, you could close it off so he can't get out (make sure to close it off well enough, they can climb!) and keep him outside. That way he can start learning to find food on his own in a safe environment. Don't just put him outside in a forest, that might not end well. 
This animal is not domesticated and still has a lot of its wild instincts. Plenty of Euro hedgehogs who are fostered as babies start off in enclosed gardens before they make the transition to the 'real world'.
Just keep in mind this is not a good season to put him outside. If he's not prepared for hibernation, he will die in winter. They should be fattening up right now and starting to go to sleep. You would have to wait for spring.


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## LunaSweetie (Nov 10, 2014)

*We'll release it at summer.*

We're planning to release it at summer,that's when we are going.
and we'll take care of it,and no we don't have any gardens or anything.
there's no zoo that would take it,everybody doesn't like hedgehogs.
i have no idea what to do,i'm shaking please help!


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## MistyDay (Oct 31, 2014)

If you are to release Luna to the wild, he must first know how to find food. You could try hiding live insects in various parts of his enclosure and use dirt as a form of bedding. Luna would also benefit if you were able to grow native grass in the enclosure as well. The live insects would help Luna learn how to hunt and scavenge. Be sure to have his water level with his body, and that it is a constant supply. This will help him adapt better to the wild. 

If this is impossible for you, you need to find someone in or around your area that carries a license to house European hedgehogs/exotic animals. It doesn't hurt to call zoos and ask if they would take in Luna. Some of my family members have donated their exotic animals to museums and zoos.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

In which country do you live? I might be of better help when I know it. I live in Europe myself.

Donating exotic animals is something else than donating a wild animal. I have never heard of a zoo which keeps European hedgehogs. You can always try to call them of course, but I highly doubt they will do something with it. You can however try to find a local wildlife rescue. They might be able to help. Again, please tell us where you live, we might know something.

I agree with MistyDay he cannot be dumped out in the wild all of a sudden. He won't know how to get his food if he has never learned to find it himself. If you cannot find zoos or wildlife rescues in your area, try finding someone with a garden you can close off so he can learn the life outside before being released into the wild.


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## coffeebean (Aug 27, 2014)

It would help if you told us where you are located


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## LunaSweetie (Nov 10, 2014)

I live in georgia,oh thank you all for helping!
All they do on yahoo answers is swear,and cuss at you if you do something wrong.
Everybody is so supprotive here.
(Georgia Asia-Europe) (Country not STATE)


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

If you live in Georgia, it's most likely not an European hedgehog as most people know them (the ones that live in mainland Europe and UK) but either a southern or northern white-breasted hedgehog_. _These have a big white spot on their chest and their range extends into Asia. The species are very similar and related to each other and the western European hedgehog, so it doesn't matter much, but if you want to release him into the wild it should be a hedgehog from your own country so he can survive the climate. Since you mentioned he was taken as a baby and you got him as a baby as well I assume he was found in Georgia.
It could be a long-eared hedgehog too, they're an entirely different species. They have very long ears and pointy snouts.

I know some Eastern European and Russian hedgehog people, but they are living closer to western and northern Europe than you do so I don't think they would be able to help you, unfortunately. It's still quite far away.

I think you have a couple of options;

1) finding someone else who wants to take the hedgehog as a pet
2) finding someone who has a garden or an area you can close off so you can introduce the hedgehog to living in the 'wild' very slowly
3) finding a wild animal rescue centre or zoo that wants to take him in

Not sure if I missed any options. Releasing him into the wild without preparing him for it isn't an option, he hasn't learned how to find his own food.
You still have the entire winter to look for something if you are moving next spring. Have you checked yet if there are any wildlife rescue centres or zoos nearby? Georgian is absolutely unreadable for me so I cannot help you with searching on Google, but you might find something.
Do you have advertisement websites, where people sell things on? Like old clothes, sometimes new things, and pets? You could post an advertisement and see if you can find a new owner for him.
Meanwhile you could try to hide food for him in your room, make him search for it, a more natural way. So he learns to look for his food instead of the easy eating it out of his bowl.

If all of it doesn't work out, you could try to build him something big outside (in your new village, if possible) with good fencing. Like making your own enclosed garden outside.

Could you go back to the store where you bought him from? Maybe you can ask them if they know someone who wants a hedgehog?

You really seem to care about him and I think it's great that you're so concerned and trying to find something for him


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## Katten (May 10, 2014)

I can tell you really love Luna. I don't think it would be good for Luna to be released into the wild. He won't know how to take care of himself since humans have taken care of him for his whole life.

Please keep asking your friends if they know someone who wants a hedgehog. Since you are just one person, you should also ask your parents or siblings to help find Luna a home too. Maybe someone they know will want a hedgehog. 

Otherwise, Luna is safest as your pet. Please keep reading information on taking care of hedgehogs. I think you are doing good.

If Luna seems mad or likes to bite, sometimes this is just how hedgehogs act. My hedgehog is an African pygmy hedgehog, which is a pet hedgehog, and she still likes to bite and hiss at me. If a hedgehog bites, it doesn't mean you are a bad owner. It's just a hedgehog acting like a hedgehog.


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## LunaSweetie (Nov 10, 2014)

*Thank you,one more thing.*

Thank you all for the supportive answers,but i live in an apartment so it's impossobile for me to make anything outside,full of children that will mess it and wild cats and dogs.

Nobody is willing to take care of it,but i'll keep trying and i'm not gonna give up.

Also my hedgehog is very shy and it doesn't remember me once i put it down,it forgets who i am,so it doesn't let me do much hiding or playing with it,since it gets really nervous.

Any other things i could have help with?
Thank you all for taking you're time and answering my questions.
I'd love more advice.


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