African Pygmy Hedehogs...info needed.

Hi all

My youngest daughter has been asking for nearly year now for one of the above hedgehogs.We saw them at a local horse show and she fell in love.Her latest ploy has been to prepare a powerpoint presentation to try to persuade us....

Does anyone have any personal experience that might help me? A ot of the sites show very cute pictures and at £150 they are not a cheap small animal.

I am also unsure as to the ethics of owning these as pets.....

I'm pretty sure there is someone on here who breeds them, as I remember commenting on their pictures.

Have you googled any info.
(soz you probably have)
Someone on here has them....think its someone with a pug....although I could be wrong.

Sorry no help I'm not a fan of keeping them but thats just me

I think there are a couple of people on here with them, so hopefully they will be on with more info.

I have seen a few pictures and setups on other small animals forums and they do look very sweet!

I have some, 4 adults and 2 babies, you would be welcome to come and meet them and see how they are kept to help work out whether they are the pet for you, they aren't for everyone and not good for younger children as they sleep all day!

I fine them delightful

That is very kind. Having done lots if reading though I think that one would not be the best match for. Y daughter......the sleeping all day would not matter but te 5 miles of nocturnal running on a wheel with centrifugal poop put me off a little! How do you find this aspect?

I know around 3 people with them although have only met two of them.

2 of the ones I know are quite shy. They sometimes 'chuff' when they're being handed and don't particularly seem to enjoy the interaction.
When they get them out during the day they just potter along until they find somewhere good to hide. And their poop isn't too pleasant.

However, someone else got theirs from a really devoted breeder who bred for temperament etc, they were handled loads from a young age and exposed to all sorts of situations. I think hers is much more sociable and happy to be handled although it's still a baby.

Personally I can't really see the appeal of having an animal that sleeps whilst your awake and doesn't really enjoy being handld/got out.
But as I said I dont know much about them, only met them a few times, just personally I would have thought something like guinea pigs would be more suitable for kids

I have an african pygmy hog, he's a lovely fellow but as muddi says they're not the pet for everyone.
I found that getting the set-up together probably cost me as much as the hedgehog itself.
I built him a viv myself by converting a cabinet so that only cost £30
Reptile radiator and thermostat came to about £80 (there are lots of other ways to get the heating correct for a hog but that was the best option for me)
Flying saucer wheel £12
Snugglesafe heatpad for travel to vets etc. £22
Then there was things like Aveeno oil, sleeping pouch, tunnel and toys etc.

I spent ages researching breeders as had heard lots of stories of people getting hogs from petshops that were already pregnant even though they were just babies themselves.
My hedgehog has always been happy to be handled and when I get him out loves to run up the bed and sit on my lap. I think I've been lucky though because a lot of people do have grumpy ones.
He does poo when on his wheel so I wash that every morning so he doesn't have to run on poo again in the night, I tend to spot clean his mess every day (he goes in one area) and will do a full change of the substrate once or twice a week, before it gets smelly anyway.

Sometimes he needs his nails clipping which is awful, he's a good hog and stays still but the legs are so tiny I always worry he might jerk it away and cause injury, fingers crossed we've been fine so far.

I really like him though, he's an interesting pet and very bold. He escaped from his cabinet once by pushing a vent out, he climbed off the desk onto the floor and across my lurcher. I woke up to my dog stiff as a board and quietly whimpering as the hedgehog romped away. The dog still won't even look at the hedgie two years later.

Ours are downstairs so the noise isn't an issue and I have a wheel washing system every second day so its not a big deal - they certainly aren't smelly

Mine enjoy human company and are good fun, but I think rats are way better pets for youngsters Awake whenever you want them - always jolly and not spiky LOL

Quite a bit of info about these on the web. Hedgebottom Hedgehogs has a website with info.