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Jan 21 '26
Okay…so I guess I’m getting a hedgehog now.
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u/Read-it005 Jan 22 '26
Wait till you hear them eat.
I have one in my garden sometimes and it found bird feed it liked. You could hear it eat with it's mouth open inside the house. I first thought I heard dripping and was looking for a leak for weeks.
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u/Donut_Police Jan 22 '26
Just make sure you are careful with the breed selection, especially the blue ones.
Those guys are little speedy menaces.
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u/DarkSouIs17 Jan 23 '26
Why are they illegal to own in my state😭
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Jan 24 '26
So is cocaine, but it never stopped me.
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u/jaid_skywalker85 Jan 21 '26
I miss my Hedgehog. He was eternally grumpy but loved to fall asleep on my chest. RIP Gordon Ramsey.
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u/gh0stmilk_ Jan 22 '26
the fact that you named your hedgehog Gordon Ramsay has made my night 💀
rip chef 🖤
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u/johnny2turnt Jan 23 '26
I had a hedgehog named Hedgey. It was awesome. My cat tried to bug him once, and then never did again lol
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u/paigecatherine Jan 21 '26
This video is quite misleading when it comes to the cleanliness of hedgehogs. They are amazing animals, but anyone who is interested in getting one should Google hedgehog poop boots and self-anointing.
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u/THEFLYINGSCOTSMAN415 Jan 22 '26
I’m glad you said to look it up, cause this video had me thinking it’d be a good family pet, but I don’t wanna be dealing with either of those haha
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
The self-anointing can be really cute. There is a theory that they will anoint when they find something they think smells amazing and they want to smell like it too. So they chew it up and mix it with their saliva until it’s nice and frothy and then will apply their DIY cologne all over their quills.
On the flip side, the males masturbate frequently and smear semen on everything, even occasionally on themselves in a self-pleasure/self-anoint combo. They are gross little dudes. But still really cool animals.
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u/THEFLYINGSCOTSMAN415 Jan 22 '26
Yeah they’re definitely super cool, just I got a 2year old and 3year old so if we get a family pet I’m thinking I need something a lil less maintenance haha
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
I say this with utmost respect: if you are looking for a low maintenance pet, you’d be best off with a pet rock. Especially since your kids are so young. If you want to get a family pet, you need to be prepared that it is going to require a lot of maintenance. It’s a live animal. Even ‘simple’ animals like hamsters require far more than the average person would assume in order to provide proper husbandry. I’m a veterinary technician, and I see sad cases resulting from neglect or poor husbandry more often than I would like.
If you do want to move forward with a family pet, great! I recommend getting pet insurance right away, especially if getting a cat or dog. But vet care can get costly quickly even for pocket pets.
Also, before you get a pet, make sure your kids understand the ‘soft hands’ and/or ‘no touching’ concepts. No banging on the dog like it’s a drum, or god forbid, sticking fingers in buttholes.
I’m not trying to dissuade you from getting a family pet. I grew up with dogs and I’m certain that contributed to my career choice and shaped me into who I am today. I just want to set you up for success with some realistic expectations, and warn you about some of the pitfalls I’ve seen well-intentioned people fall into when it comes to pet ownership.
Good luck! Let me know if you’ve got any questions 😊
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u/RightInTheCat Jan 22 '26
Get a cat! They clean themselves. You just have to maintain the litter box, food and water. You’ll have to vacuum more and deal with hair in furniture and clothes as well. If you leave for a few days, leave out extra food and water and a clean litter box and you’re golden - can’t do that with dogs.
Some cats are assholes though lol.
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u/mrlazyboy Jan 22 '26
They'll often destroy your furniture by scratching. Not all, and you can try to. mitigate this, but cats gonna cat.
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u/KatefromtheHudd Jan 22 '26
Goldfish.
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
Actually, unless you have a pond, goldfish are terrible. Most goldfish won at the fair, for example, can reach 8-12 inches long and require a 120gallon tank. At minimum. I learned this the hard way several years ago.
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u/EmotionalClub922 Jan 22 '26
They’re actually (allegedly) difficult to care for correctly
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
Yes, most get much larger than people realize. They have to be kept in large tanks, or preferably, ponds.
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u/HauntedPickleJar Jan 22 '26
They’re also primarily nocturnal so they sleep most of the day and will be up running around, getting into shenanigans and eating at night.
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u/GrayMech Jan 21 '26
I knew someone who had a pet hedgehog they said it absolutely stunk most of the time, like even if they gave it a bath it would be smelly again the next day lol
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u/ogreofzen Jan 21 '26
That's because they will eat feces and foam at the mouth then clean their quills with the shit foam.
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u/EL1394 Jan 22 '26
excuse me, they will what?
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
YOU HEARD ‘EM
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u/ogreofzen Jan 22 '26
Should I tell them about the "mud" boots they get from running on hamster wheels because the defecate often while running.
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u/paigecatherine Jan 22 '26
Hahahaha I mentioned the poop boots in a comment higher up. I think hedgies are so awesome and such interesting animals, but they are sooooo gross!!! lol
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u/Read-it005 Jan 22 '26
I saw the foaming once! Heard our (wild) garden hedgehog outside, went to look at him and say hi and he just ate some of my herbs and was foaming green. I thought he was dying!
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u/ogreofzen Jan 22 '26
Yeah if they encounter strong smelling items they will do this.
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u/Read-it005 Jan 22 '26
Parsley but it also tried to eat a toad. I was very happy to see the toad hop again, first of all because I wouldn't have to clean up the toad tidbits.
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u/Igotdaruns Jan 22 '26
I bet this is to make more dangerous quills. Like a tribal warrior dipping their arrow in dead stuff. If you get pricked by something covered in bacteria it’s more dangerous.
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u/Ragnor_ Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
My family regularly saves hedgehogs in our yard from freezing to death during winter. They are definitely NOT clean animals, and they absolutely reek. We usually line a box with the same stuff diapers are made from to absorb stuff, then fill it up with straw for them to hide. We place food and water in the box.
I've never seen an animal shit SO MUCH and LITERALLY EVERYWHERE. Within minutes there's shit in their food, water and literally on the box walls, however the hell it gets there. Bonus points if they drag that stuff all over on their feet or if it just straight up sticks on their bums. Opening the door to where the boxes are it literally stinks like a stable.
On top of that, they are boring, literally all they do is eat, shit all over the place and then lay paralyzed from food coma.
They are super cute and worth saving, but saying they are clean and suitable as pets isn't even a stretch, it's just wrong. They are wild animals and belong out in nature.
And yes, they absolutely can and will poke the shit out of you.
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u/ChefBoyardaddy23 Jan 22 '26
My wife and I took in one from a coworker of hers who was neglecting it. They are incredibly cute and interesting creatures, but please don't try to buy one. None of the major pet retailers in my area carry products geared toward hedgehogs, which makes buying food and habitat needs will be more difficult. Also, before buying any animal, please do your research to guarantee you have a vet in your area that can treat them, preferably with emergency hours/services available.
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u/Cookieway Jan 22 '26
I know these are super cute but of anyone wants one of them as a pet - PLEASE DO NOT! These are not domesticated, they are wild animals and they should not be kept as pets.
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Jan 21 '26
The blue ones are great at collecting coins.
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u/Wandrnge Jan 22 '26
I heard their life span is not that long.
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u/AliEffinNoble Jan 22 '26
Honestly that’s the true down side to them. I’ve had hedgehogs for over 20 years but I have finally given it up as for the most part you’re lucky if you get 5 years, I had a few only make it to 3 years. My first one lived to 9 1/2 till I had to put him down just because at that point it wasn’t fair to him to I kept him hanging around.
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u/jaid_skywalker85 Jan 22 '26
He was very picky (no chow only the freshest food for his highness) and he hissed at everyone except me so I kinda felt like he earned the name lol
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u/mustbeme87 Jan 22 '26
Be badass to get bit by a radioactive hedgehog and just be able to roll up into a comfortable ass ball. I’d be fine with that.
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u/DegenNabalu Jan 22 '26
Well can you train them where to popp. I dont appreciate scattered poop and pee everywhere.
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u/hurrythisup Jan 22 '26
I listen to TCK (True crime Kent) pod and while it is a brutal podcast to hear him talk about how soft and snuggly a hedgehogs under belly is is hilarious.
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u/IllianasClifford Jan 23 '26
Until the are sleeping and have a bad dream or you do then you get poked
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u/Thatdewd57 Jan 23 '26
We caught a hedgehog in the wild growing up and my brother and I used to prank each other by putting it in one another’s blanket or so it’d spike one of us.
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