Meet our Hedgehog

When our oldest son was turning four, we had an animal themed birthday party for him. The traveling zoo brought to our home all kinds of reptiles, snakes, spiders, and small mammals. One of the animals we got to meet and hold was a hedgehog. I instantly fell in love with the spiny little guy and wanted one ever since.

Last month hubs and I were in a pet store and they had two babies in there. We both got to hold them and pet them. We went home and talked about getting one. The next day we went back to buy one and they were both sold. We were very disappointing but were told more would be arriving shortly. Along with our 8 year old, we have been reading up on them and watching Youtube videos on how to care for hedgehogs.

Last week we got hit with a nasty bug and did not make it into the pet store. On Saturday hubs went in and saw they had to baby females available. He came home and told me. I really wanted one but was too sick to make the drive into town to get it. The next day we called and one had already been sold. I packed up the kids, and ventured into town. We needed lunch stuff for the week and it was close to the store.

When we arrived we saw an adorable little face and spiking white body. I held him , yes him and he was quite calm. Turns out both were assumed to be females, but both ended up being male. We picked out a large cage, igloo enclosure, large tube, running wheel and other necessities. I bought him some quality kitten kibble (this is what they eat) and some dried meal worms with fruit. Almost $600 later and we had everything we needed.

The store placed the hedgehog in a box and we made the journey home. For most of the drive we could hear him scratching and exploring the box. We got home and he was quite nervous. So we let him sit and rest while we set all of his stuff up. Once calm he allowed us to hold him, but he was not as welcoming as he was initially in the store. The more time we gave him, the more he warmed up to us. We placed him in his enclosure for the night and he instantly perked up. He explored, ate, drank water and ran on his wheel before finding a spot to nap.

Being up often coughing I checked on him throughout the night. I was surprised to see he was sleeping mostly. But he was have had some awake times as there was lots to clean up this morning and he had eaten and drank more.

This morning he let us hold him and seemed more relaxed. They say to handle them daily to bond and get them use to you. My son is home from school and was helping with him.

Since his spikes are quite sharp and he quickly stands them out we used a cloth to ease him into us. He did walk off of it and directly onto my son’s hand though. He also eats directly out of our hand.

These are some pictures I captured this morning. Hoping we can name him soon but it is so hard to all decide on a name.

baby hedgehog

hedgehog

white baby hedgehog

The kids are super excited about this new addition to our family. He fits in nicely with the dogs and Macaw which too are all male.

I will be sure to share more pictures of him as we get to know him and he feels more comfortable around us.

I have an adorable snuggle sack coming I ordered from Etsy coming too. I can not wait to see how he likes it!

 

Comments

  1. He is ADORABLE! I am so jealous but I bet Cooper would be unimpressed if we got another pet.

  2. Absolutely adorable. A friend of mine had one when we were younger!

  3. How freaking adorable! I remember as a kid having a LOT of pets. We had birds, hamsters, fish etc. I loved growing up with pets. Never did have a hedgehog but they are so cute I might consider getting my girls one!

  4. He’s a cute little guy. What a great experience for your family to learn how to care for him together.

  5. Is he a specific type of hedgehog? He;s super cute. Our GUINEA PIGS passed away late last year. I am curious about hedgehogs. Lifespan similar to Guinea pigs? I would get one. We even have the cage still from the GPs. I will consider this actually.

  6. Awwww he is soooo cute! 🙂 Congrats on the new addition!

  7. Florence Cochrane says

    Oh my!! This is different and cute for a pet. Might be nice for my granddaughter.

  8. Well congrats on the new addition to the family,i am so happy for the little guy that he found his forever home with your family.Enjoy!

  9. He is so cute, I think this is the first time I seen a white one, congrats on the new family member and can’t wait to see some more pictures of him!!

  10. I’m so curious to see the snuggle snack. Will he grow much bigger?

  11. Oh my goodness that is SOO cute!!! I want one!

  12. I would love to own one! They are so cute!

  13. Well that is freaking adorable!!! What a cool pet!

  14. oh he is too cute! Will he stay white, or do hedgehogs get their colour as they grow?

    • GingerMommy says

      His brother had more black and brown. He will stay this colour as he grows from what I have read and been told . It is considered “Champagne”

  15. Treen Goodwin says

    so sweet , i have always wanted a hedgehog , never am able to find one , enjoy the lil one 🙂

  16. You’ll need to find a very tiny animal carrier to transport him in for his yearly vet check..your pet store will prob be able to tell you which vet in y our city is for an exotic animal like that (we have ferrets and only the University vets will see them because of them being exotics..we also found a very tiny pet carrier for transporting them in)

  17. We just got a guinea pig and he is just the cutest thing. But, had we known how adorable hedgehogs are maybe we would have made a different choice 🙂

  18. What a cool pet! Glad to hear he is fitting in with the rest of the family. 🙂

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