Say hello to Spike

Lowe

Lowe

Lowe

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
6,223
Location
Newcastle Under Lyme
spike003.jpg


He's the missus' Albino Pygmy Hedgehog. Had him a while now, but not really taken a pic of him before to share. :)
 
Exotic pet classifieds. They're easy to come by though in the UK, plenty of breeders for them. Best to buy from a breeder since you know they're good stock that way. :)

Just Google for 'African Pygmy Hedgehog'. :)
 
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Dead easy to look after. Can be a bit noisy at night since they're nocturnal and Spike loves to run on his wheel! :p

They can be a bit shy at first, but if you handle them lots when they're young they soon get used to you and won't ball up or try to skewer you at the slightest provocation :D
 
ArmyofHarmony said:
can you stroke it? or is it uncomfortable
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Spike's not a fan of being stroked. If they're happy the quils fall flat against the back and they're not difficult to handle. If they're unhappy with you then they'll frown, covering the eyes with quils, and the rest of the quils stand up rigid. At this point you *really* don't want to touch him, since if you do he'll jump and if he makes contact it ******* hurts! :D If you upend him, he'll roll into a ball and frown. If you wait he'll slowly come out of the ball which is when you can get the cute pics. ;) Here's a pic of him in a mood, coming out of a ball:

Spike4.jpg



Generally he's happy enough though and will let you handle him. Just don't stroke his back :P
 
Velocity219e said:
The GF has just said that she isn't sure you are legally allowed to keep hedgehogs as pets unless they are incapable of surviving in the wild ...

Dunno if thats entirely correct, or if its something to do with them being 'forn' hedgehogs ...
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It's not true - he's not a UK domestic hedgehog (although he was bred here obviously). Perfectly legal to own :)

And Finch - no, not available in blue. ;)

I'll try to find a few more pics :)

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Spike saying hello back!
Spike1.jpg
 
Heh, their appearance can really change depending on their mood. His snout can almost change length - when he's narked and scrunched up his nose looks really short (probably an optical illusion because of the surrounding quils) and yes he can look butt ugly. But, catch him in a good mood and he'll look cuter than a barrel full of puppies, hehe. :)

I dunno what mood he's in at the moment, lazy hog hasn't got up yet!

They grow about 7-8 inches.. sometimes a bit bigger :)
 
No real health problems as such, and they respond to treatment like any other small animal so a normal vet should be able to deal with anything should the worst happen. :)

£150 is top price tbh, look around and you'll find them cheaper. Albinos tend to cost more. There's plenty of other colours and patterns available. :)
 
As I said before, we got lucky. Found him on a classified advert for £80 with the cage and gubbins. Owner had only had him a couple of months but they also had a puppy which wouldn't leave the cage alone. So, Spike came to us. :)
 
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