Obstacles aside, hedgehogs have been growing in popularity as pets since the early 1980’s. The domestication of hedgehogs is still in its early stages and as such hedgehogs still retain a lot of wild tendencies such as a fear of humans. As hedgehogs can be somewhat delicate, hedgehogs do not make good “buy and forget about” pets. Hedgehogs are good pets for people who are willing to be patient and learn the ways of the hedgehog as well as work towards establishing a trusting relationship.
Hedgehogs are also nocturnal animals. This means that they will be most active starting in the early evening. If you are an “early to bed” person, you could miss your hedgehog’s most active hours.
Most people do not appear to be allergic to hedgehogs. Among the few who are, saliva appears to be the main irritant. What frequently happens with people who believe that they are allergic hedgehogs (look for swelling or welts) is that the substance they actually are allergic to gets on the hedgehog’s quills and then pushed underneath the surface of one’s skin, where it otherwise would not end up. Common culprits include pet dander and cage bedding.
Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:49 pm
