# Would you buy a hedgehog from a 19-year-old breeder?



## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

A friend of mine wants to get into breeding. I know she would be good at it, but I don't know how many "good" owners would buy from a 19 or 20 year old :| . The hedgehogs she has right now are all imported from the US and have lineages and she said she'd never breed hedgehogs with WHS in their lineages that she knew about. She also said she wouldn't breed the females that she has right now because there over a year and their (forgot the word  pelvis?) will have fused. We were talking about it a bit and I thought she was joking at first but she showed me all her plans and everything! Like how she wants to only have 6 breeders (all with lineages), how she will have the "Hedgehog Room" set up, that she'd have 2 litters per year and that she plans to start up in late 2012 to give time to prepare both in breeding knowledge and finances. On one hand I think she'd be great at it. Her hedgehogs are basically her world (they have a nicer home then I do :lol: I might move in). But on the other hand even if she is breeding top quality hedgehogs would good, knowledgeable people buy from a 19-20 year old?

_By good owners I mean you guys. People on Craigslist and Kijiji would buy from anyone. Personally I'd never want to buy from a young person (I am one myself) because I'd feel like they were irresponsible and unknowledgeable. Even though I know she's not._


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

Personally I would. You can be 40 and be a horrible breeder or 19. Depends on the person. 
So good luck to her.


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## Pokey (Aug 21, 2011)

Age is simply a number. Every person who has decided to become a breeder has started from somewhere right?
I just hope that she has had some experience or that another well educated reputable breeder has mentored her
as breeding for the first time can become very overwhelming if you have not been in the situation before. From
what you have posted, she really has a passion for hedgehogs and I wouldn't doubt that someone like her would 
be capable of becoming a great breeder. I've met some people my age (18) who act a lot more maturely than 
a lot of older people are supposed to. So I believe it totally depends on the person. I wish her the best of luck!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

ShutUpAndSmile said:



> Personally I would. You can be 40 and be a horrible breeder or 19. Depends on the person.
> So good luck to her.


I agree with you.  I know several breeders that are less than twenty and most of them are very good people. I got Storm, Emma and Xena from a great young breeder named Sarah and would buy from her again if she were still breeding.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

I agree age is a number...a preteen gal into junior handling dogs used to pick my brain all the time about the breed of dog I own. She researched like crazy for what she felt she wanted in "her" genetic line of the breed, bought her first bitch as a puppy which came from a fantastic well thought out breeder. She showed her bitch to her Championship +++ all the while handling dogs for other people... then when her bitch was done all her health testing and old enough she researched what type of traits in a sire would complement those of her bitch, chose a well known and champion sire with all his health testing done too and had a litter for pups....all before she was 17 y/o!!! By the time she was 20 she had multiple dogs and had responsibly spayed or neutered those who were not the best of what she figured bettered the breed. 

Would I have bought a pup from her....**** YA! She was an amazing responsible young lady who did EVERY little thing right. Age had nothing to do with it


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I agree that a person's age isnt something you should, or even CAN, judge a breeder on. The breeder I got Milly from was decent, but definitely not an expert by any means. His care sheet recommended temps between 68 and 80 degrees. :roll: He feeds a low quality food and uses wood shavings for all his hogs. He's about 40. If I met a 20 year old hog breeder that did all the "right" things, I would for sure get a hedgie from them!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I agree that age has no bearing on how good or bad a breeder is. When I was first considering breeding, one of my mentors was 15. She and her family had owned hedgehogs for many years and she became a small hobby breeder with full support of her parents. She was a very active involved member of the hedgehog community and was very mature in her writing. People who didn't know her, had no clue she was a teenager. 

When looking for a breeder people need to do some research. Just as there is nothing wrong with a young breeder, there is also nothing wrong with a new breeder as long as the person is knowledgeable enough. I strongly feel a breeder should have at least a full year experience with hedgehogs and be a member of the hedgehog community. This helps ensure when a new owner has questions, the new or young breeder is either able to answer them from his/her own experience, or has a support system of more experienced or knowledgeable people to ask. 

Over the years I have had countless numbers of people ask for recommendations on breeders and it is a fact that many people will not deal with a young breeder regardless of how experienced or knowledgeable the person is. 

It sounds like your friend is sensible in her plans. Starting small is definitely a good idea, not only so she doesn't get overwhelmed but because the market in Southern Ontario is rather saturated. There are so many breeders around right now.


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## anthylorrel (Nov 9, 2011)

I'd consider it. It sounds like she has a good plan in place, and has done a fair bit of research.


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## greenbeansrabbitry (Sep 10, 2008)

I have no problem buying from a younger breeder, I've bought from breeders younger than me. I started breeding hedgehogs when I was 18 (I'm 20 now). If they're good breeders and know what they're doing, I see no problem with it.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

She sounds like she has everything planned out, so I would definitely consider adopting from her.

But I do admit, I find it hard to believe that someone my age would be a responsible breeder... Your friend seems to really have everything planned out, which is great... but considering my age group, there are very few people who are like that. I guess to me, as a person of the same age, the age WOULD bother me at first, but once I am guaranteed that she knows what she is doing, I wouldn't have a problem adopting. I think having a mentor (for when she starts breeding) would also make people feel more comfortable about her age


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## farmgirl (May 15, 2011)

i am one day soon hoping to breed my hedgehog, since i breed bunnies i know how it goes, and im only 14 and i hope people would buy from me if i feel you can  ohhh i love my animals :lol:


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> I think having a mentor (for when she starts breeding) would also make people feel more comfortable about her age


I agree completely! I wanted to mention that what I wrote was in no way to encourage young people to start breeding either. It can be done responsibly but it takes a lot of dedication, education, research, parental guidance, money and yes a good mentor. Personally I'm a bit confused about the entire hedgehog breeding issue and that may be because my ethics are extremely high & have a dog background not an exotic pet background.

It seems to me many hedgehogs are bred for what I consider the WORST reasons to breed....money/sales/personal amusement! I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. In canines, reputable breeders breed only the best of the best and that is after a bunch of health testing and showing each sire/dam to their championship to prove they are perfect examples of the standard. Breeding is done for the betterment of the breed.

In hedgehogs....seems any only person with a 3-4 generation pedigree free from of WHS (even tho it's not been tested nor is a test) is considered OK to breed. No health testing, showing or other required...just "the feel like it" seems to be ok enough for most errrr.

To decide to breed "just cause" or for extra money......is not a good enough reason IMO.


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## anthylorrel (Nov 9, 2011)

Hissy-Fit-Hazel said:


> To decide to breed "just cause" or for extra money......is not a good enough reason IMO.


I agree completely with this statement!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I find many breeders now focus on fancy colours as their main objective and IMO, colour should be at the lower end of the breeding priorities.


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