# Just got a hedgehog (with pics!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379 "2006-09-20T04:50:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/1 "2006-09-20T04:50:39Z")
for my oldest son. His little brother has had a bearded dragon for near a year now ([pic](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/donegalbob/detail?.dir=7cbascd&.dnm=5733scd.jpg&.src=ph)) and the older boy wanted his own “room pet” (one that lives in his room, as opposed to the herds of whole-house pets), much soul-searching on his part, decided against snake, rat, ferret was vetoed, so he consulted with some of the girls at school and decided on [this](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/donegalbob/detail?.dir=7cbascd&.dnm=fad8scd.jpg&.src=ph) little [guy](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/donegalbob/detail?.dir=7cbascd&.dnm=318cscd.jpg&.src=ph). Anyone have new pet pics? Or hedgehog stories? ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/2 "2006-09-20T06:24:42Z")
Wow. That is so cute. I frickin’ love hedgehogs! ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/3 "2006-09-20T06:40:27Z")
Do hedgehogs make good pet? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/edb3f5/32.png) [@Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Push_Up_Bra)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/4 "2006-09-20T06:44:49Z")
He is so adorabubble - but I gotta say I read the thread title as \*\*Just A Hedgehog! \*\* and my first thought was _just_ a hedgehog??? ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/5 "2006-09-20T14:19:33Z")
[QUOTE=ExtraKun] Do hedgehogs make good pet? [/QUOTE] I sure hope so! They’re kinda pokey, but all the online stuff I’ve found say they’re easy to keep. We’ve had hamsters and gerbils before, and they were nasty little things. Guinea pigs ([here](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/donegalbob/detail?.dir=7cbascd&.dnm=3a82re2.jpg&.src=ph)) are probably better, they really seem to like people, but I think the hedgehog will work out better than a sugar glider would. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/6 "2006-09-20T14:25:55Z")
My dearest friend (and roommate at the time) had hedgehogs for years. Things to remember: 1. They’re the next thing to blind - therefore easily startled, and if it’s on the floor, it’s up to you to be careful about stepping on them. Other small pets will tend to run for the hills if they see a large foot descending - hedgehogs, not so much. And stepping on a hedgehog is not an experience to repeat. 2. It’s not actually possible to poison one. 3. They’ll eat all manner of odd and peculiar things, although they don’t have the teeth to gnaw or bite. See number 2 above. 4. If you hedgehog is a girl hedgehog and in the family way (so to speak) chances are good she will try to eat her own young at least once. This happens to female hedgehogs in capitivity quite a lot. They tend not to breed easily for this reason. 5. Hedgehogs mating is one of the most entertaining things evah. 6. Be very, very careful about strings. They can get wrapped around an extremity and cause lack of blood flow - it’s very easy for hedgehogs to loose an extremity this way. Might be worth making it a practice to check their legs every day or so to make sure something hasn’t gotten wrapped around too tightly. Unlike cats, dogs or rodents, hedgehogs don’t have any real way to gnaw off the string - mouth is shaped wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/7 "2006-09-20T14:32:02Z")
And again I’m defeated by preview! I meant to answer **ExtraKun**! They were actually pretty good pets. At least as good as rodents and reptiles in my experience. They didn’t really bond like cats and dogs will, but the ones I lived with were friendly and interesting and fun. Plus (as a special bonus) they’re much less likely to trigger pet dander allergies than a lot of other pets. The reason my best friend kept them was because she’s horribly allergic to cats and dogs and rodents - but hedgehogs didn’t bother her allergies at all. Hers were mostly free-range, but they tolerate being caged well. Although - now that I think about it - do **NOT** buy them a hamster wheel sort of toy. Their feet get stuck and it can hurt them. Nothing with little slots, please! Their feet are tiny, narrow and prone to getting stuck in things. They’re not the most agile beasties in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Sophie\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Sophie\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophie_Z)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/8 "2006-09-20T15:05:25Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] they don’t have the teeth to gnaw or bite. See number 2 above. [/QUOTE] Oh, yes. They do. My hedgehog likes fingers. Especially my mother’s fingers. He’ll latch on and no amount of shaking will make him let go. She has to pry open his jaws to get him off. She’s threatened his little spiny little life more then once. ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/9 "2006-09-20T15:58:10Z")
Sooooo cute! Have fun and don’t walk barefoot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/10 "2006-09-20T16:07:14Z")
Congrats on the new pet. But remember: _Bestiality sure is a fun thing to do But I have to say this as a warning to you: With almost all animals, you can have ball But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. CHORUS: The spines on his back are too sharp for a man They’ll give you a pain in the worst place they can The result I think you’ll find will appall: The hedgehog can never be buggered at all! Mounting a horse can often be fun An elephant too; though he weighs half a ton Even a mouse (though his hole is quite small) But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. A fish is refreshing, although a bit wet And a cat or a dog can be more than a pet Even a giraffe (despite being so tall) But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. You can ravish a sloth but it would take all night With a shark it is faster, but the darned beast might bite We already mentioned the horse, you may recall But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. For prosimian fun, you can bugger a lemur To bolster your name as a pervert and schemer The lemurs cry Frink! as a coy mating call But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all._ ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/11 "2006-09-20T16:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Congrats on the new pet. But remember: [/QUOTE] Oh lord… That little song can be sung to the tune of [Leva’s Polka](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5380625829368596126&q=Loituma), which I’ve been listening to all day Looks like Zoran Nikolovic of Belgrade could have used your advice - ([cite](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20430739-13762,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/12 "2006-09-20T16:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lama Pacos] Wow. That is so cute. I frickin’ love hedgehogs! [/QUOTE] That’s all well and good, but be careful about [how much](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20430739-13762,00.html?from=public_rss) you love them! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/13 "2006-09-20T16:54:20Z")
Okay, two of you in a row citing that same news article? Ouch! Ouch ouch ouch!! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-hedgehog-with-pics/373379/14 "2006-09-20T17:41:58Z")
If anyone tells **Dinsdale** about this, stay well away from Luton Airport. I mean it.