Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Never fear...porcupines are very common in many places! Some would say too common and a destructive pest. I have them all over my property as do my neighbors.
Anyone have Hedgehogs???
- Thread starter Steve C
- Start date
Never fear...porcupines are very common in many places! Some would say too common and a destructive pest. I have them all over my property as do my neighbors.
mariebaby21
New Member
I've got one. I'm in CA. her name is Zucchini. She's an albino 9 months old
asongforyou
Member
Oops meant to post a picture. Can't forget a picture!View attachment 73632
Super cute! I heard they can get aggressive though, is that true?
Echoezra
Established Member
Well, I suppose that's true of any animal, but it doesn't seem to be particularly common to hedgehogs, as far as I've read. Astrid is anything but aggressive. But, she also came from a breeder who made a point of frequent handling. I think their natural tendency is to be scared and their usual defense is to roll up into a ball, (not to charge and attack) so they are usually less aggressive than most animals because of the opportunity to use their quills as protection rather than their teeth. (actually, the tenret? However its spelled, they're a close relative of the hedgehog, the ones you see with the longer ears, They are known for being more likely to charge and bite than to roll up)
The big problem with hedgehogs, even ones from great breeders, is that, especially when they are first woken up, they are very easily spooked, so they can roll up or half up and puff up their quills at the drop of a pin, any sudden hand movement, clearing your throat, etc. - and those quills can really hurt! your hands. So, a lot of people aren't tolerant of that, so they handle them less and less, and the problem becomes worse and worse. So then an Un-handled hedgehog eventually has to be handled, for this reason or that, cage cleaning, baths, nail clipping is the big bad one.. And if they can't ball up, and theyre scared then what choice do they have as a defense? Maybe that's where you hear about the aggressive ones?
Also, as far as biting goes, I don't usually hear about defensive lunge-biting, but what you do hear certain warnings about is to watch what's on your hands - hedgies are very scent-oriented, so sometimes they will really dislike the scents of certain soaps or lotions, or nail polish is supposedly another common one. The opposite is true too, if your hands smell too good, like food, be prepared to be treated like food. They also will warn you (as do breeders of gerbils, and sugar gliders) that if you're feeding them something don't let them lick your finger clean because when the food remnants are gone, they'll try to nibble your finger to get more food to come out. So basically a good practice is to wash your hands with a familiar soap that they dont mind before handling them and you should be good.
asongforyou
Member
Well, I suppose that's true of any animal, but it doesn't seem to be particularly common to hedgehogs, as far as I've read. Astrid is anything but aggressive. But, she also came from a breeder who made a point of frequent handling. I think their natural tendency is to be scared and their usual defense is to roll up into a ball, (not to charge and attack) so they are usually less aggressive than most animals because of the opportunity to use their quills as protection rather than their teeth. (actually, the tenret? However its spelled, they're a close relative of the hedgehog, the ones you see with the longer ears, They are known for being more likely to charge and bite than to roll up)
The big problem with hedgehogs, even ones from great breeders, is that, especially when they are first woken up, they are very easily spooked, so they can roll up or half up and puff up their quills at the drop of a pin, any sudden hand movement, clearing your throat, etc. - and those quills can really hurt! your hands. So, a lot of people aren't tolerant of that, so they handle them less and less, and the problem becomes worse and worse. So then an Un-handled hedgehog eventually has to be handled, for this reason or that, cage cleaning, baths, nail clipping is the big bad one.. And if they can't ball up, and theyre scared then what choice do they have as a defense? Maybe that's where you hear about the aggressive ones?
Also, as far as biting goes, I don't usually hear about defensive lunge-biting, but what you do hear certain warnings about is to watch what's on your hands - hedgies are very scent-oriented, so sometimes they will really dislike the scents of certain soaps or lotions, or nail polish is supposedly another common one. The opposite is true too, if your hands smell too good, like food, be prepared to be treated like food. They also will warn you (as do breeders of gerbils, and sugar gliders) that if you're feeding them something don't let them lick your finger clean because when the food remnants are gone, they'll try to nibble your finger to get more food to come out. So basically a good practice is to wash your hands with a familiar soap that they dont mind before handling them and you should be good.
Very good to know! I assume it is the type of owners that give up and when they do finally try to handle them, the hedgehogs don't want any part of it. OR maybe they were always just handled too roughly. But I've seen videos of people grooming theirs and they're so calm so I figured all of them can't be like that.
Echoezra
Established Member
Not necessarily, some hedgehogs just plain don't want to be handled. So they will continue to huff up regardless of how long or how gently you've been trying. They're by nature an independent, solitary species, not prone to company or snuggling, so you have to keep that in mind and adjust your overall expectations.
For example, Astrid, once she's relaxed, doesn't mind being handled underneath, like her feet, petting her belly a little (if i sneak it into hand adjustments), and i can usually pet her chin without much of a problem. But, she does NOT like being touched on her back. That scares her no matter what, no matter who's doing it or how relaxed of a mood she's in. But if I catch her at the right moments, I can sort of sneak pets on her back by starting at her face if she thinks she's "tunneling" in between my fingers, or into my thumb pit. I personally think that if they're snuggly with you, it's probably more a desire to use your clothes or hair as a protective dark warm place than it is to really be close to you, hopefully its more than that, but hey, that's close enough for me.
For example, Astrid, once she's relaxed, doesn't mind being handled underneath, like her feet, petting her belly a little (if i sneak it into hand adjustments), and i can usually pet her chin without much of a problem. But, she does NOT like being touched on her back. That scares her no matter what, no matter who's doing it or how relaxed of a mood she's in. But if I catch her at the right moments, I can sort of sneak pets on her back by starting at her face if she thinks she's "tunneling" in between my fingers, or into my thumb pit. I personally think that if they're snuggly with you, it's probably more a desire to use your clothes or hair as a protective dark warm place than it is to really be close to you, hopefully its more than that, but hey, that's close enough for me.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
BTW, the spelling is "tenrec".
From what little I've read about hedgies, when people first started working with them for pets their temperment was closer to their wild tendencies, but now that there has been a lot more selection for sociability it is more common to get a friendlier one. I'm sure some breeders work harder with this than others.
Hmm, who thinks all this sounds a lot like another solitary creature we all know and love? A hint...their personality is prickly but their SKIN not so much!
From what little I've read about hedgies, when people first started working with them for pets their temperment was closer to their wild tendencies, but now that there has been a lot more selection for sociability it is more common to get a friendlier one. I'm sure some breeders work harder with this than others.
Hmm, who thinks all this sounds a lot like another solitary creature we all know and love? A hint...their personality is prickly but their SKIN not so much!
lysinlight87
New Member
My boy, Pickles, HATES handling. I wear gloves cos he spikes me so much. I sit with him on my lap & when he calms down I give him bugs to eat, he rarely says no to bugs, then I let him run around on the floor for a couple of hours. The lights have to be off though, he hates any form of light- he'll just about tolerate light from our TV. He runs around finding things to annoint himself with, then I scoop him up & put him back in his cage. Sometimes he gets himself so worked up about handling or even being disturbed, I just put him straight back to bed. He gets so upset, I know it's only fair to leave him alone. Other times he's quite tolerant & explores me.
The only time he's bit me out of aggression was at bath time. He hates that too but his little feet get caked in poo & he sticks yucky stuff in his spines so sometimes it's necessary.
Pickles is my grumpy boy & is never affectionate but he can be so cute sometimes. sometimes he licks me, but that's only cos I smell of something interesting & I know the licking will lead to chewing! He's had my armpit a couple of times- they have a thing about deordorant.
The only time he's bit me out of aggression was at bath time. He hates that too but his little feet get caked in poo & he sticks yucky stuff in his spines so sometimes it's necessary.
Pickles is my grumpy boy & is never affectionate but he can be so cute sometimes. sometimes he licks me, but that's only cos I smell of something interesting & I know the licking will lead to chewing! He's had my armpit a couple of times- they have a thing about deordorant.
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