What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

hedgehogs

Status
Not open for further replies.
well y dad din't want me to get a SW tank because of energy but i can keep a hamster or hegehog! Which is harder to keep? more playful? Where do you get a permit for the hegdehogs since they are illegal in CA. I really want a hedgehog but don't know where to get a permit and one. any advice on care ? I know that Clint has one.
 
Hedgehogs are not playful. You will be pricked. A lot. A whole lot. And you may be bitten. Unless you breed them, I don't believe you can own one legally in CA. That's the way it works in GA.

Hedgehogs can be sweet, and sweet is a relative term. Even the sweetest, friendliest hedgehog is hiss and snarl when disturbed and curl up in a ball. Once they see it's you (if they trust you), they usually unfurl and lay their quills down. The friendliest hedgehog will still prick you. It's what they do. They are very shy, skittish animals and the slightest thing, such as someone walking through the room, changing the TV channel, or sudden typing across the room will scare them and they'll hiss, curl up, and erect their quills. Have you ever been around someone suffering from nicotine withdrawal? They are really irritable, edgy, and the slightest thing pisses the hell out of them. Hedgehogs are like that. The slightest thing scares the hell out of them and they quill up and start to hiss and snarl. Sometimes when they're really pissed they make this barking/coughing sound. They are just as easy to care for as a hamster, but you must keep them warm at all times. I use a heating lamp AND heating mat, and in the winter she stays in the living room next to the fireplace. You can't let their environment get below 73 degrees or so. They are about as smart as hamsters, which is to say very dumb. You can cuddle with them, although they aren't cuddly. If you want to let them fall asleep under your neck or something like that, be prepared to be stuck if a sudden noise wakes them up. When you're holding a heavy hedgehog and it's quilled up, it really does hurt. Whenever I take showers, you can see the great multitude quill marks on my fingers. You can't take it personally :p She's a very sweet, affectionate hedgehog. They've only been bred domestically (meaning in the US) for just over a decade. They are bred for color and temperment, but they are still very much wild animals.

Get a hamster. You just made a huge leap from deciding you want to do saltwater, to wanting a hedgehog. It sounds to me like you just want an interesting novelty pet on a whim. That's the way most ten year old are, and at ten I was like that. Very impulsive. Even if they were legal there, I'd still tell you to get a hamster. Keep it alive and happy for a couple of years, then think about getting a hedgehog whenever you figure out if you can get a license or move. Besides, hedgehogs cost about 30 times more than a hamster. And the smell of their poop... oh God it's ridiculous. Other good pets are freshwater fish, hermit crabs, small rodents (gerbil, guinea pig, rat, etc), something like fire bellied toads, etc.
 
my sister had a hedgehog......not really a playful or truely friendly pet........the friendliest hedgies i have seen is more that they tolerate your presence.....dont care for hamsters either....hamsters have caused me to bleed more than any other small furry critter....most ppl dont realize they are naturally a solitary animal.......yeah some are nice but at one point we had a Siberian dwarf that we called the "Attack Hamster" cause every time yah put your hand in the cage it tried to chase it down and bite it........if yah can get past the stigma i HIGHLY recommend a rat for a small furry pet above all others.....they are quite literally like a small dog.....the only thing that sucks about them is their fairly short life span..........
 
You really nailed it, Sheridan. The best you can hope for is that they'll tolerate your presence. Sometimes they'll nuzzle up to you, and it's so adorable. They're really just looking for a place to sleep or warmth lol. Their moment's of affection (well, our human interpretation of it is affection. It's really nothing) make up for their bad aspects. And they look ADORABLE!

They can't see well, and if you have anything that smells good to them on you're hands they'll bite. HARD and they don't let go. They really try to eat you. They're practically blind and have no depth perception, so they'll walk off the edge of a table if you aren't watching. Falling even a couple of feet can kill one. They also anoint themselves with things they think smell interesting.


They remind me of Critters from the Critter movies :p
 
Yeah I'd have to say I enjoyed rats above all other furry little critters. As soon as I came home, mine would poke her head out of it's little nest, run up to the cage, show her belly for me to scratch and wait for me to give her a snack.

If you get rats, you're suppose to have two though since they are a social rodent.
 
I agree, get a rat. I used to have 17 at one point and they are great and very intelligent. Most parents won't let kids get rats, because well, it's a rat. But the ones you get at pet stores (or breeder) are of course nothing like sewer rats.
 
ive had most of the different small furry pets over the years, some multiple times, our house was commonly known as the drop off place for small critters that no one else wanted....bout the only common one i havent had is mice.......out of the ones i have had there are only 2 that i recommend for someone who wants a social pet sorta like a dog or a cat you basically have rats and sugar gliders......they are the only two i have come across that are truly social most of the time.....rats are great and i love them, but after about a dozen of them i have developed an allergy to them or i would still have them.......sugar gliders are a whole nother ball of wax, they need a special diet, they need special caging, they REALLY need to be kept in groups and at $100-$200 apiece they are not a cheap animal to keep in groups............

i really do HIGHLY recommend rats.....my first two were great and while they didnt come when called their names a good whistle would bring them running to me when they were exploring the room........most fun i ever had with them though is in the summer when we would get moths in the house, would turn on a lamp by my bed and they would hunt them down and catch them, fun as hell to watch, they would even jump up and catch them out of the air........
 
how about dwarf hamsters? or dwarf rabbits both legal here both cute
 
dwarf rabbits it is then they can be restroom trained and are very playful!does anybody know anyhting bout dwarf rabbits ?
 
  • #10
Th only thing aboutrats is the poop constantly! You have to keep their cage clean or it smells pretty bad, but that is with any small animal though. So be sure you will have the responcability to keep the cage clean.
 
  • #11
Rats beat any small animal in freindlyness, and playfullness. Next to a ferret.
2415211594_76bb67b4eb.jpg

2287887228_7280f11f78.jpg

2287887218_5035bcc8eb.jpg


They also require larger cages though, they NEED exercise and play, 2 rats minimum!
http://www.ratforum.com/index.php all you need to know, I also recommend getting a rat book or something.
 
  • #12
Oh yea, try finding a rat rescue! I know its weird, but store bought rats are usually breed for eating and tend to get cancer. Hairless rats are really cute too!

Females are more active, males are less active like to be lap rats. This also depends on age, and the rat its self, both my males are very active and just about 1 year old they love peas! I make their food usually too.

Rats can be litter trained, (not pee, they just pee randomly, they have no control over it, but its usually just little dribbles)
You can train them to do allsorts of little tricks they are really smart. I know some one who taught their rat too turn around in a circle, and to even come when their name is called. Best thing to do is let them trust you, let them chill in their fancy home for a day, play with them in their cage, let them get used to your hands/smell. When they climb up on your hand that means they trust you.
DONT USE WOOD BEDDING. it can cause respiratory problems.

I have two Blue hooded dumbos
 
  • #13
I really want ad warf rabbit, any info on care any expierence
 
  • #15
AK you can use Aspen bedding. It doesn't have the oils in it like pine and cedar and is safe for them. Just FYI not all wood bedding is bad.
 
  • #16
Yea, but I use fleece i think its called. Just buy it at a fabric store, it can be washed, and its cheap.
 
  • #17
hows about a flying squirrel? they'll cuddle in your shirt pocket all day, its how you ween them. only set back is that they'll eventually need a pretty large cage.

~b
 
  • #18
I'd be careful about using any type of cloth-type material for small animal bedding, especially if it's made from synthetics. Often those threads and things can get wrapped around little toes and cut off the circulation. I've seen it happen to parrots when their toys have cloth, rope, or string in them. It's likely to happen to small animals as well.
 
  • #19
I had gerbils and a couple of chipmunks when I was little. I loved 'em.

Polywer....I think it's great you have political energy....but if you are going to support the Democrats...you should learn how to spell it. :D DemOcrat.
 
  • #20
My family had a dwarf rabbit for a really long time. Seriously, it was probably one of the best cage pets we ever owned. Before the rabbit we kept guinea pigs, which although cute, are about as cuddly as a rock that tries to run away from you. Then we got the dwarf rabbit. Not only was it super cute, it always stayed small, and I was never bitten by it, ever. I used to sit with it on the couch, and it would just sit there and lick the hell out of me. Really easy to care for, except that they poo a whole lot. We never potty trained out rabbit, but I know people who have. Really fond memories of that rabbit. I would certainly recommend that over a nasty rat, yuck. (Sorry guys, but mice/rats only belong in traps or the mouths of snakes, IMHO)

And please don't get hermit crabs if you aren't planning on doing the research thats associated with them. They can live forever if you care for them correctly, but you have to realize that they like to spend a lot of time under the ground, not being disturbed. So unless you enjoy invisible subterranean pets, I would stay away from hermit crabs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top