Please tell me all about having hedgehogs as pets

[PricklyJo]

In a flat with a 5 and 9 year old?
Are rescues or domesticated APH better?
We all love animals but always discounted pets as we both work and wouldn’t be able to dedicate enough time to them. Also worried about the flat getting destroyed.

I like the idea of sweet cuddles at dusk and dawn (DP gets up early, we both go to bed late).

But im wondering if a wheel is really enough to keep it active and happy at night?
Could this work? Anything else we should know or consider? Is it really that hard to clean the cage daily?

I think it would be helpful to make a distinction between domestication of animals and taming of animals, (Google will help you if you want to know more about this)

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with hedgehogs, very helpful 🙏

I think the main issue is that they’re naturally anti-social. I’m still not sure that doing miles on a cage wheel is a good enough compromise for what they would naturally do.

I don’t see the other issues raised as real issues:
Being nocturnal means I won’t feel bad leaving it alone when we’re at work (DP and I are night owls!)
Daily cage cleaning: I’ll be working part-time by then. I doubt they’re as time consuming as having another child!
WHS: Good breeder
Temperament: good breeder or rescue will be aware of its temperament. I can easily spare at least 30mins twice a day to interact with it. reminds me of all the grumpy cats out these who see their owners as their very own slaves! From all I’ve read regular handling affects their personality. If this is indeed the case I’ll have plenty of time to do this. If happy APH’s are as rare as some posters claim then I’ll reconsider. I wouldn’t get an animal who’s genuinely unhappy being a pet. That’s just being mean.
Smell: From what I’ve read, choice of bedding and regular cleaning make a big difference with this. I’ll have the time to do it.
Kids and pets: it will be mine and DPs pet. It will mostly be sleeping when the kids are around.
Lifespan: what is wrong in thinking about how any pet will affect our life plans?? Would it better to go for a pet that has to go to daycare and pet hotels on a regular basis?
Breeding an animal to keep as a pet: errrrr aren’t they all?
Price and costs: it will be much cheaper than having another child!

I get it most people think this is a bad idea but a lot of those comments rad as if they’re from people opposed to pets (or caged pets) in general or who think I’m going to kidnap an hedgehog from someone’s garden (I’m not!).

And thank you to all the very helpful non-hysterical, knowledgeable posters. I still don’t know if we’ll go ahead with this but your views and insight have been very helpful

I love these posts

Everyone else: Don't do it

Op: I don't see any issues, I'm gonna do it

I think the main issue is that they’re naturally anti-social. I’m still not sure that doing miles on a cage wheel is a good enough compromise for what they would naturally do.

I love it when people make things up just to prove a point

Basic common sense rather than made up?

They are wild.
They have fleas.
They smell.
They have odd spaghetti like poos and they do it everywhere.
Their defence is to roll up in a ball to protect themselves.
They are nocturnal.
They eat live worms/grubs.
You can’t replicate their life in the wild. They roam a lot.

I wouldn't OP, I can't really talk about keeping exotic animals in cages as I keep snakes and I absolutely love hedgehogs, we have wild ones right outside our house and they're gorgeous.

But, the maintenance involved in pets like this is huge. In theory you always think you'll have time to do it, but just like dogs, they require so much work and it becomes so tedious very quickly and very time consuming. We had rabbits and our lives revolved around them. Also, sorry if you've already addressed this but exotic vets can be very expensive and in lots of places they are few and far between. I have to travel over 35 miles to mine.

Also, a house with noisy children probably isn't best suited to prey animals who are easily scared and at risk of a heart attack from being frightened.

I know you said you don't like rats but they are so misunderstood. They're so intelligent and are actually like little puppies. They do stink though.

They are wild.

No they're not - these are a type specially bred to spend their lives in cages for the entertainment of humans who, like the op, want to give them "sweet cuddles" ....

No different to a rabbit, guinea pig, rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils....

Basically any caged animal

No different to a rabbit, guinea pig, rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils....
That's what I was wondering too 🤔

No different to a rabbit, guinea pig, rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils....

Exactly so. I'm sure they all just love spending their lives in a cage and being manhandled by humans and squealing children whether they feel like it or not. Though of course, in many cases, once the novelty's worn off they will no doubt be left to their own devices ...

Would YOU like to spend your life in a cage? Why do you think an animal would?

In that case no one should have pets. Ever.

Even dogs for example as they are supposed to roam miles a day

Sigh. There is a world of difference between keeping a domesticated animal like a dog if it is well looked after and gets taken for appropriate walks daily (miles in some cases; not so in others) or a cat which is free to roam at will and an animal which is bred purely to live its life in a cage and in most cases hates being manhandled/cuddled.

Dogs are able to tell you when they want to play, be with you, be left alone etc. Cats can just bugger off when they want. What choice do caged pets have?

I wonder how many caged pets would head for the hills if you left the cage door and house door open? Quite a few I imagine. My dogs and cats wouldn't.

I loved my hedgie and had her for years. That being said even with the thorough research I did, I underestimated the time she would need and the care she needed. And the poop smells baaaad!!!

I was extremely sad when she died of old age and miss her but won't be getting another.

Doesn't it depend on the species of animal being kept in captivity though?

For example, I don't think elephants or tigers belong in zoos as they need very large spaces often not provided in captivity.

But snakes, of which I have a fair few- only travel in the wild to find mates or new territory if theirs have been compromised. If they find a location suitable they are not likely to roam very far from it at all, so keeping them in suitably sized tanks, where their life span is double of that in the wild, free from the risks of predators, disease and parasites and with a constant food supply, can't be all that cruel?

Same goes for a lot of pets if cared for properly and given adequate space and habitat, whom in the wild often will only move around looking for food or to escape dangers and if you're rescuing from shelters, you aren't paying into any dodgy commercialised breeding programs, so there isn't really any harm done?

if you're rescuing from shelters, you aren't paying into any dodgy commercialised breeding programs, so there isn't really any harm done?

Agree.

I do agree about the smell

I don’t think you can really appreciate how bad it is until you smell it

And cleaning doesn’t really help....as they immediately make a mess again

I agree with others, hedgehogs really smell and are tricky to look after. I would thoroughly recommend rats. I currently have house rabbits, a hamster and rats. The rats are by far the easiest, most robust, most sociable and most laid back!

Rats choose to come home. None of this hiding under the bathroom floor nonsense you get from hamsters...