# Price check on albinos?



## Erick

Looking at getting a set 1.1 or albinos. 

What should I be paying?

3mo.


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## Hedgieobssessed

I paid $185 for my albino girl.


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## direwolf

My breeder was selling all of her hedgies at $125. I think it depends on the breeder.


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## Lilysmommy

Yeah, it depends a lot on the breeder. Most breeders sell hedgehogs at anywhere from $100 to $300. Some breeders only differ price for breeding quality (only sold to other, responsible breeders) versus pet quality hedgies. Some differ males from females. Some differ on color (but personally I don't like this practice - implies that the concern should be on color, not on personality & health of the hog), and will price albinos cheaper because people typically don't like albinos because of the red eyes. So many breeders have a hard time selling albino babies.


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## moxieberry

Breeders pricing albinos lower is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know breeders who automatically price them lower, or make some comment on the listing that indicates that albinos are less desirable, which is a silly practice if you think about it. The potential buyers see that, and they're influenced by it, which in turn makes them less interested in albinos.

The overall price will depend on the breeder, and location. I know in the northwest (where I'm located) the price is $175-$225, and $225 is really pushing it. In the middle of the country most breeders seem to price them at $150-200, maybe a little higher. On the east coast, a lot of breeders price them starting at $200-225 and it can be upward of $250.

Personally, our babies are priced at $175, though we offer a lot more in the way of extras (health/WHS guarantees, post-sale support, pedigree, items included in the sale price) compared to other breeders in our same area that charge more. Our last litter (3 babies) had two albinos. We chose to kept one and sold the other at full price without any problem at all. In fact we had multiple people interested, and the woman who put down the deposit on him was gushing the whole time when she picked him up about how excited she was to have gotten an albino. We also have several reservation forms right now where people have specifically said that they would be interested in an albino hedgehog.

So, yeah. As far as I'm concerned there's no difference, or at least there shouldn't be, but that's not the same for all breeders. Color should be the least priority when selecting a hedgehog, anyway.


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## nikki

I sold all my babies for $125 regardless of sex or colour.


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## AvahChampagne

Yep, all about breeder. My albino baby girl was $165... But I would have paid anything. She is perfect! I dunno why people don't like red eyes! Albino's are adorable, not scary!


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## Borquelle

The breeder and region do matter. My breeder has a pretty good reputation and prices range from $200 -$275. Very desirable colors / patterns are more. Pintos are hot these days. Don't care for them at all myself. Love the standard dark Algerians. Much less desirable traits, such as ruby eyes or albinos are discounted because they do not sell well. A breeder that pretends these things to be untrue is not one that I would trust (though supply / demand in specific areas also makes a difference). In some areas there are more buyers than hedgies, so albinos sell okay. In areas where the reverse is true, albinos may take months to sell if not discounted. I recently saw an albino finally discounted and sold at 8 months old. Very sad. Should have been discounted much earlier. People want what they want, which is their right. Most breeders breed for the market, which is smart. I wanted a female, solid pattern, 'traditional' Algerian, as dark as possible, and don't feel bad about that. I also wanted a headstart (above the usual) for developing excellent temperment and gladly offered (and paid) an extra $100 for additional, special handling in early socialization. Worth every penny.


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## ktdid

I paid 90 for mine because all she had left were albinos and no one would buy them. The original asking price was 120 which is pretty normal around here. When I was looking most prices were around 120-150. I don't get why people are weirded out by albinos. Honestly, an albino hedgie was my preference.


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## connorshogs

That's odd my pintos don't sell as fast as my darker solids. I don't believe in charging less for an albino I think theirs worth the same. I love my albinos


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## Nancy

I agree that the region does matter. There are still and always have been areas where albinos are popular and desired. When I was breeding, albinos were very difficult to sell and I did my best to breed away from albinos. I'm noticing now that although there are still many who dislike albinos, there are far more people like myself who love albinos. 

When I was breeding 99% of the people wanted dark quills dark masks with snowflakes with dark masks being the next most popular. Very few wanted the cotty colours.


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## moxieberry

I don't breed for albinos, but I don't really breed against them either. I'm just trying to have a lot of variety in my herd, and in the babies I produce. Our reservation form includes a section where they can check of different color traits they're interested in - dark/medium/light range, dark/ruby/red eyes, snowflake, pinto, facial pinto, etc. I get a lot of "no preference" and a handful of dark range, some medium range. Those responses actually show more interest in albino than light range. Regardless, some of my pairings are aimed at light/medium range because I personally love the reddish/yellowish colors. I'm not worried about whether apricots or cinnicots will be able to sell. 80% of the people who inquire want to come visit our hedgehogs ahead of time and basically everyone within two hours of us wants to choose their baby in person. They care about temperament, they make that abundantly clear - and since a lot of albinos seem to have a sweet streak a mile long, albinos aren't going to be a problem either. They may not be the first choice overall, but that also doesn't mean they're difficult to sell or worth avoiding.

We have three "ambassadors" who are extremely sweet and relaxed and can be handled by anyone. One is Anubis (grey pinto face), one is Vendetta (dark gray snowflake), and one is Delilah (albino). Whenever people visit is, they end up holding one of those girls, and I hear a lot of: "I want one that looks like her." Which really means, one with that personality. But if people associate certain colors with sweet hedgehogs they've met, all the better for albinos.


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