I gots me a pet... and he's soooo adoreable.

Post by **abeisgreat** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:41 pm

Aww now i want a hedgehog. Id name him... SubSonic

Post by **RadarScope1** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:51 pm

lordofduct wrote:
RadarScope1 wrote:Hahaha! I toally laughed out loud when I saw that. That's awesome. No shame in naming it Sonic. Yeah, it's obvious but, come on, you know it's perfect.

My wife and I were joking last night that we "modded" our cat to our own specs. Spayed and declawed.
My friend Edd is notorious for stating the geekiest jokes known to man. I though there would be no person out there that could top how low this man's jokes go.

but alas, a competitor arises...

Ed's retort: "I'm gonna kill that man and steal his wife"

Glad I can help raise/lower the bar.

Post by **baphomet_irl** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:56 pm

I think hedgehogs are cool myself - but arent they covered in insects crawling over their skin usually?

I think its cos the poor little things cant move very fast, so loads of insects nestle underneath their spikes.

I remember in college once me and my friend brought one into the kitchen in our halls when we were drunk and let him walk around, when the more 'country wise' girl came into the kitchen that night she had a freakout cos she said they were covered in insects, I peeeled back the spikes, and the poor hedgehog was crawling with them... so I had to put him back out into the wild

Post by **abeisgreat** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:58 pm

peeled back his spikes? i bet that hurt him alot

Post by **baphomet_irl** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:43 pm

abeisgreat wrote:peeled back his spikes? i bet that hurt him alot

that was just lazy use of language on my part, i didnt know what to say, i just moved them slightly upright under the light so I could see, I didnt literally 'peel' them back...

Post by **marurun** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:01 pm

I always thought a neat name for an animal with sharp parts would be Blunt Object, or B.O. (or even Bo) for short.

Post by **lordofduct** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:11 pm

baphomet_irl wrote:I think hedgehogs are cool myself - but arent they covered in insects crawling over their skin usually?

I think its cos the poor little things cant move very fast, so loads of insects nestle underneath their spikes.

I remember in college once me and my friend brought one into the kitchen in our halls when we were drunk and let him walk around, when the more 'country wise' girl came into the kitchen that night she had a freakout cos she said they were covered in insects, I peeeled back the spikes, and the poor hedgehog was crawling with them... so I had to put him back out into the wild

I've been reading up on them, you know cause if I'm gonna own one, I better know what I'm in for.

Anyways, they are notorious for getting mites, parasites and other bugs. Especially the european ones who hybernate through the winter.

I went with the 'african pygmy' hedgehog, it's the more common kind sold here in the states because they are more active then the european ones. Seeing as you don't really allow them out and about in the wild they don't collect a lot of bugs. They are still prone to mites and parasites though. Your supposed to keep a relatively good eye on their eating habits to make sure they aren't getting ill or anything, and also it's suggested to repeatedly clean their cages at minimum once a week, but suggested to be done every 3 days.

Also a good bath is suggested every once in awhile (along with nail trimming). The bath is more or less to calm the creature down for grooming, and also give him a pretty smell. Though unless you're letting the thing live in it's own filth they don't have much for an odor. Mine kinda just smells like pine wood chips... but then that's what the shop used as bed mulch, and I am as well.

neatest part, they are easily litter box trained! And very socialable with humans once they get to know you. It's kinda like having a really small cat with spikes around.

downside I hear though, they have no concept of heights and will jump randomly off of things. My friend says he and his brother lost one that way, he fell only a foot and broke a leg and died of bleeding from it.

I don't plan on putting him up on anything when I let him roam around the house. I'll leave him to trek around on the floor where he belongs.

Post by **Mozgus** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:45 pm

lordofduct wrote:downside I hear though, they have no concept of heights and will jump randomly off of things. My friend says he and his brother lost one that way, he fell only a foot and broke a leg and died of bleeding from it.

I don't plan on putting him up on anything when I let him roam around the house. I'll leave him to trek around on the floor where he belongs.

I'm such a bastard for laughing at that.

Post by **GSZX1337** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:13 am

I always thought of naming my hedgehog Spike or Prick.

Post by **durkada** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 3:31 am

Just as an FYI, one of the nice/bad things about hedgehogs is that they enjoy "anointing" themselves in various substances. Sort of like a dog in crap -- they like to rub themselves in new things, and even lick it up and mix it with their saliva as a sort of pomade for spikes. They'll froth alot -- normal -- when doing this. The upshot of it all is that you can provide new things for the bugger to enjoy that has a good fragrance; providing that its non-toxic, you'll have a pleasant smelling hedgehog. You can generally find lots of nice chemical-free stuff at Whole Foods and their ilk. It makes the hedgehog happy, it makes you happy.

Name it Tails.