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Hedgehogs?
- Thread starter FunkSlap89
- Start date
I would doubt they are legal as pets in New York State. I could be wrong (often I am) but iirc ferrets are illegal without a license so I doubt you could get a hedgehog. Anyone know for sure?
agreatheight said:
According to the hedgehog central list of breeders, there are some in New York, so I'd assume they're legal to have as pets. All i know is that they just became legal in Vermont.
I have owned many hedgehogs over the years. They're very interesting creatures. I find them to be more humanoid than rats and other varmints. A hedgehog won't bond with a person in any major way, but thus far I've only experienced such a bond with dogs. They would rather be left alone most of the time, but if you wake them up, they will play with you. They do bite, but the tendency is for them to bite and clamp down. Their teeth are much more like ours than rodents' so a bite shouldn't do anything beyond superficial damage.
NOTE: The hedgehogs found wandering Europe are a different species than the ones usually kept as pets.
This is a typical African hedgehog:
Link Removed
They can get a little bigger than that, but not by much. Look at the little paws! Very humanoid.
This is a European hedgehog:
I've actually never one in person, because for whatever reason, they're not very popular as pets here. They grow to be larger than the African variety and tend to be darker in complexion.
ALSO: For whatever reason, albinism is fairly common amongst African hedgehogs. We were able to find and purchase one fairly easilly, and after breeding with our other hedgehogs, we ended up with several albinos.
CARE OF HEDGEHOGS:
It isn't particularly difficult, but their eating habbits are a little different from other rodents (errr they're not actually rodents, but whatevers!). We usually gave them a mixture of dry food made specifically for hedgehogs and live insects. They also happen to crap a lot, and while they can be trained to do so in a particular area, they will also do so freely in your hand, on the floor, etc.
NOTE: The hedgehogs found wandering Europe are a different species than the ones usually kept as pets.
This is a typical African hedgehog:
Link Removed
They can get a little bigger than that, but not by much. Look at the little paws! Very humanoid.
This is a European hedgehog:
I've actually never one in person, because for whatever reason, they're not very popular as pets here. They grow to be larger than the African variety and tend to be darker in complexion.
ALSO: For whatever reason, albinism is fairly common amongst African hedgehogs. We were able to find and purchase one fairly easilly, and after breeding with our other hedgehogs, we ended up with several albinos.
CARE OF HEDGEHOGS:
It isn't particularly difficult, but their eating habbits are a little different from other rodents (errr they're not actually rodents, but whatevers!). We usually gave them a mixture of dry food made specifically for hedgehogs and live insects. They also happen to crap a lot, and while they can be trained to do so in a particular area, they will also do so freely in your hand, on the floor, etc.
I am taking care of a little hog de la hedge right now and I must say he's about the size of a medium canteloupe, I didn't know they grew that big. Anyone know why he will honk loogies onto his side and just leave it there?
I am taking care of a little hog de la hedge right now and I must say he's about the size of a medium canteloupe, I didn't know they grew that big. Anyone know why he will honk loogies onto his side and just leave it there?
dlloyd said:The hedgehogs we have are a lot bigger than that...
The ones I usually see look a bit flatter than that, and hang around on roads.
Yeah, I've heard they grow up to 12" long. None of my African hedgehogs grew to be much larger than my fist.
Ericman197 said:
Yeah, 12" sounds pretty close.. About the size of an american football, I think. They are wild animals around here, one of the species that does well in the suburbs.
I can see them almost every night, they weight a few pounds so they can make quite a rustle in the dry bushes by the road around the twilight, usually doing a good job scaring me while I'm jogging during the late nights.
Also, they seem to be pretty smart, this one night I saw one in the downtown crossing a road on pedestrian crossing - that happened to be the shortest way between two bushes, though, but still amusing
It sounds like they're the equivelant of rabbits in the states. I bet they make pretty good road kill, since they're not all that fast... 
dlloyd said:The hedgehogs we have are a lot bigger than that...
Why is the Hulk holding a hedgehog?
