# Hedgies in Maine



## xsarahjox (Jul 28, 2009)

I was wondering if anyone has any information about the two permits that are needed to own hedgehogs in Maine. Has anyone ever heard of the fish and wildlife commissioner actually approving an application or am I throwing away $50+?

Here is my situation:

I'm a student in Salem, Massachusetts but my legal residence is in Maine. My permanent address is in Salem, but I need to live here for another year before I'm technically a Mass. resident. Anyhow, hedgies are completely legal here, thus I got Ivan. However, most of my family is in Maine and I find myself stuck when I want to go visit them since I don't want to take a chance of getting caught with Ivan in Maine.

I've been considering applying for the permits needed to own a hedgehog in Maine but I don't know if it's necessary or even possible for me to acquire one. The website is completely unhelpful.

I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about Maine policies or has been through anything similar in other states. I'm open to suggestions as to what I should do.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

Are you planning to move back to Maine in the future, or is this just a "for visits" issue? If it's just for when you're going to visit, I doubt you need a permit. A health certificate from the vet and a legitimate Massachusetts driver's license (I'm assuming you've changed over, or do you have to wait to get that? Where I live, you're required to switch within 30 days of moving in from another state) should be enough to prove you're not a permanent resident anymore, and the hedgie will be going out of state shortly.

When in doubt, call the permits manager at fish and game. Be sure to record the name and phone number of who you spoke to in case there's an issue when you get there, but they would be able to tell you their policy for sure. I'm betting it will be just a health certificate from the vet if it's not a "I'm moving back" deal, but it's always best to check.


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## xsarahjox (Jul 28, 2009)

I'm not looking to move back, just to visit. The issue that I'm running into is that I'm technically not a Massachusetts resident. Since I'm an out of state college student living off campus, I'm not considered a resident of Massachusetts until I graduate. So technically, I'm considered a Maine resident, attending school in Massachusetts. I have a Maine license, insurance and my car is registered in Maine. 30 days _after_ I graduate I need to switch everything over to Massachusetts and then there's a one year wait period before I'm officially a Mass. resident. I don't graduate until May. 

It's an odd, confusing situation and I don't think that the fish and wildlife receptionist really understood it either because when I called I was told that just to bring Ivan into the state I was going to need a permit for importation, which I would need to renew each year. Not only that, the permit is only applicable so long as I'm a Maine resident. As soon as I graduate and become a Mass. resident, I can no longer be the permit holder. It's all really confusing. I wish that Maine would just un-ban hedgies.

I was just curious to see id anyone knows how frequently these permits are approved, if ever. I don't want to take a chance with this. Boarding Ivan is not really an option for me over the winter holidays and I don't want to take a chance of having no permits, bringing him into the state and getting pulled over or something.


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