# Confusing Information? "Dirty" hedgehogs?



## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Today when I was talking to my mother, she mentioned a friend of hers had told her something about hedgehogs to pass on to me. This friend has a relative in BC who has a hedgehog and apparently the vet told her relative that hedgehogs have a very serious disease that can be passed on to humans. Because of this hedgehogs should never be around young children and you have to wash everywhere they've touched. She was saying that if the hedgehog is allowed to walk on the floor you have to wash the floor afterward... 

To me this sounded ridiculous and I feel like I definitely would have heard of this before, but I thought I'd ask if anyone has a clue what she might have been referring to. My mother's friend couldn't give any specific details. 

I mean, I generally give Pepper a footbath if I'm bringing him out to play for any length of time and I always wash my hands after handling him, but I don't wash the floor if I just let him walk on it...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

pffft There was an article that came out a few years ago that said hedgehogs were a danger to small children and some people have run with it. A hedgehog is no more risk to small children than a cat or dog. Children should be taught to wash hands.


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Nancy said:


> pffft There was an article that came out a few years ago that said hedgehogs were a danger to small children and some people have run with it. A hedgehog is no more risk to small children than a cat or dog. Children should be taught to wash hands.


Thank you, Nancy, I was hoping to hear from you. 
That's exactly what I thought. It's so frustrating getting all this ridiculous information second and third hand so I can't tell the source how silly they are.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

There is some merit to this, as I've seen articles that talk about the possibility of disease being spread via our pet hedgehogs, and even for some reason I came across Petco's Hedgehog Fact Sheet..

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/small animals/Hedgehog_AfricanPygmy.pdf



> Because all hedgehogs are potential carriers of infectious diseases, always wash your hands before and after handling your hedgehog and/or the habitat contents to help prevent the potential of spread of diseases. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems should contact their physician before purchasing and/or caring for a hedgehog and should consider not having a hedgehog as a pet. For more information regarding hedgehogs and disease, contact the Center for Disease Control at http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/ and PETCO at http://www.petco.com/pet care info/companion animal care sheets.


But then you can also find this from the CDC, a reply to the concern about their article on disease and plague with hedgehogs, which kind of points more to the Euro Hedgehogs.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol11no07/pdfs/05-0115.pdf

So there's some merit behind such a comment, but I think in general its kind of BS rumors that got spread around. It says right in that second CDC article that no one has contracted (whatever the disease was) from AP hedgehogs, and that it was Euro Hedgehogs in Denmark and the Netherlands that was the main concern.

Most of our guys come from good breeders who keep clean environments and tract generations for any kind of disease, and thus would come to us clean. Its not like we're out in the woods with traps, snatching these guys up from the wild, they come from a somewhat controlled environment.

I personally won't go on a 20 page rant of what I think about how 'germs' are being depicted in the media and how house hold cleaning companies play into it, just to get you to buy a product. My favorite was always the woman preparing raw chicken on her counter near the baby toys, with the baby in a high chair, and they flash to the baby holding a raw chicken leg, so protect yourself from this and buy our product, not like, keep the toys away from the kitchen counter and or wash them frequently. But again, I don't want to rant about this, its one of my pet peeves. If we steralize our world from germs, we grow weaker, our bodies need to be somewhat exposed to build immunities. In short, I pick up dried hedgehog poop at night when cleaning and half the time don't wash my hands, but I'm not exactly sticking my hands in my mouth directly afterwards.

In the end though, not a health expert, but I haven't exactly read or heard about anyone around here getting sick from their hedgehog, and I've pretty much dug my way through the entire forum back to 2008. Its more fluff than concern. I'd be more concern with washing my floor so the hedgehog doesn't catch anything.

PS - And like Nancy said, people need to learn to wash their hands a little more often. And I'm still waiting for the N1H1 Plague to destroy human kind.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

I'm curious...did the vet say specifically what disease it was?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Pregnant women are also told to stay away from cats, because they can shed toxoplasmosis in their feces which can harm the baby. I had two cats when I was pregnant, and other friends have had cats when they've been pregnant, and I've never heard of anyone I know, or anyone that anyone I know, having come down with toxoplasmosis from cats. I was their primary caregiver, cleaned litter boxes etc., and worked in vet clinic while pregnant so I was exposed to many cats. With hedgehogs, as with any animal, as long as you wash your hands, and use proper hygeine, then you have nothing to worry about. 

Red eared sliders, a type of turtle are illegal to own in Alberta. The reason give is that they can transmit samonella. If you research it you'll find its because of a case many years ago of a young boy contracting samonella from a turtle and unfortunately the boy died. What its often mentioned is that every morning the boy had the turtle on the table when he ate breakfast and would actually let the turtle eat from his bowl. That's how he contracted salmonella.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Ya, I remember when I first got my boy, a family friend cut out some random newspaper article about hedgehogs and salmonella. 

But then again, it listed pets like hamsters too. I can't remember the article in its entirety, cause I just glanced at it, scoffed, and went to read something else.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Kids get worms from dogs and cats yet we don't see warnings about keeping them away from young children. There is far more risk of that happening than a child getting something from a hedgehog. Cats, and especially dogs are outside daily being exposed to things whereas our pet hedgehogs are only exposed to what we expose them to.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

nikki said:


> What its often mentioned is that every morning the boy had the turtle on the table when he ate breakfast and would actually let the turtle eat from his bowl. That's how he contracted salmonella.


For some reason I don't seem to be able to edit my posts...but what its supposed to say is:

What it often NOT mentioned is that every morning the boy had the turtle on the table when he ate breakfast and would actually let the turtle eat from his bowl. That's how he contracted salmonella.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

On a totally unrelated topic to this thread, the edit button seems to suddenly disappear, I think after someone else has posted after your post.

One thing I found funny from the pet co, besides the fact they recommend aquariums and wire or mesh wheels, is that the link to the CDC they give says NOTHING about hedgehogs, it lists other animals, ferrets, hamsters, gerbils and such.

On another side note, I actually had one of those turtles as a pet, my mom smuggled it into the US from Canada in her purse, BUT I was instructed to wash my hands after handling him because I could get sick, and I did, I think....I was 10 at the time.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Puffers315 said:


> I was instructed to wash my hands after handling him because I could get sick, and I did, I think....I was 10 at the time.


Puffers, you were such a good kid! :lol:


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## poetic (Nov 30, 2010)

My father is a doctor and he's never once mentioned any sort of disease that might be transmitted from hedgehogs to humans, and he's usually pretty keen on trying to terrify me with that sort of thing /blahblahannecdata.

I think, as with any animal, it's just important to use common sense. Wash your hands after handling hedgehogs, don't let people with compromised immune systems put hedgies in their mouths, don't rub hedgies in any gaping wounds you may have, etc etc.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

poetic said:


> don't let people with compromised immune systems put hedgies in their mouths, don't rub hedgies in any gaping wounds you may have, etc etc.


 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Bt6776 (Nov 15, 2008)

Well what kind of disease are they talking about? Just sounds like people are just trying to cover their @$$3$ over legal issues that could ever come up. I have actually had people tell me that they are dangerous and carry many diseases.. I usually just laugh and wipe my hand on them and tell them they have the hedgehoog plague.....


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Salmonella seems to be the one I see mentioned the most.


So..what you're saying is when I cut open my legs on rusted barb wire, I shouldn't rub my hedgehog on the wound for good luck?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

When I was on chemo last winter which compromises the immune system, I was not supposed to touch the hedgehogs or any small animal. Cats and dogs were okay but no cleaning litter boxes.


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## poetic (Nov 30, 2010)

Come now Puffers, don't perpetrate silly hedgehog myths. You obviously swallow them whole for good luck.

In all seriousness, aren't hedgehogs considered fertility charms? I wonder how that works.


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## Sunshiner (May 12, 2010)

Does that mean I can still kiss Pixel then? Because she likes licking my face and I like kissing her forehead.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Well that's no fun.....i only got Hercules so he could hang out in my mouth!

just noticed the edit button is back though!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

My husband once kissed a hedgie & he got a terrible disease!


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

poetic said:


> I think, as with any animal, it's just important to use common sense. Wash your hands after handling hedgehogs, don't let people with compromised immune systems put hedgies in their mouths, don't rub hedgies in any gaping wounds you may have, etc etc.


LOL!!!!!!!! I read this to my BF and he laughed too.

I saw a video once of a lady that trained her rat to put his head in her mouth on command. I guess in your view this would be a bad idea? lol


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## poetic (Nov 30, 2010)

No way, I think that's incredibly awesome! 
I'm totally hypocritical, I'd train any variety of small, willing animals to crawl into my mouth at will...but I walk on the WILD SIDE. Or just have a lot of free time on my hands. I just wonder what the benefits of a trick like that are? Besides immediate youtube fame, of course.

I guess the point I'm trying to make in this thread is 1. Why aren't I famous for something silly yet, and 2. Common sense and discretion benefit all hedgie owners, not only with hygiene but with all aspects of hedgie care.


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## itbrti (Dec 4, 2010)

PJM said:


> My husband once kissed a hedgie & he got a terrible disease!


    Good one


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

PJM said:


> My husband once kissed a hedgie & he got a terrible disease!


Totally amazing! :lol:


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## blanes7904 (Dec 6, 2010)

I have an immune disorder, and I have not contracted anything from my hedgie. I always wash my hands after handling my hedgie or cleaning his cage.

Bridgette


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

i have finally stepped out of the dark ages and use Ralph rather than leeches to cure my ailments. Though i'm a little scared that i might end up like PJM's hubby! :lol:


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