- Thread starter
- #421
blackacres
Wrangler of the Tiny Raptors
Okay. We will now return to our regular scheduled programming. 
Back to the hedgehog(s). You heard the story of how I tricked hubby into bringing home a hedgehog. I mentioned I had posted on FB looking for a hedgie. Well, after having Beth a few weeks, a friend of my daughters reached out. She worked at a nature center that is well known in our area. Schools take field trips to the center and the center does a show and tell of different animals and such. Someone had dropped off a hedgie at their facility claiming their kids lost interest. This poor fella was missing an eye and had a growth on his belly. The center did not wish to keep him as they already had a hedgie for their program and because theirs was a female, they could not be housed together. So I grabbed a little box, some treats and a blanket and headed to the center.
When I arrived, they took me to the cage theyâd been keeping him in. He was curled up tight in a ball with all his quills sticking straight out. This poor hedgie was so anxious because of all the noise and new sounds at the center he was not used to. They handed me a pair of gloves and said they had to use them to get him out because he always balled up and poked them. I waived them off and said I didnât need them. Instead, I placed a few meal worm treats in my hand and slowly moved my hand into the cage. He poked his head up and hissed. And then he smelled the meal worms. He reluctantly took one from my hand and at that moment he relaxed. I let him eat a few more mealies and as he was eating, I placed a few on my forearm hoping to entice him to crawl into my hand to reach them. It worked! Once he was in my hand he stayed completely relaxed and I was able to remove him from the cage.
As soon as he was out of the cage, his true personality was obvious. He was so sweet and docile. He loved attention. I inspected his missing eye. It appears he was born that way as the socket was completely empty. I looked at the lump on his belly. It was about the size of a pea. His poor feet were in rough shape. His feet were caked in dried poo and his nails so badly overgrown they were curled. He was definitely coming home with me. I thanked them and left with the poor fella still in my hand.
First stop was a walk-in vet clinic. I wanted the lump assessed. At check in they wanted a name for my new friend. Oh shoot. I havenât even had time to think of one. No problem, they said. We will just list him as hedgehog for now. The vet looked him over and agreed the missing eye was a birth defect and noted that it was not an issue nor would it affect his life. He made note of the feet and nails and offered to clean and clip. I declined as I did not want to cause him stress. I knew I could do this part on my own. The vet looked at his teeth and said his mouth health was fine and estimated him to be about 3-4 years old. This was sad to hear because their life expectancy is very short at around 5 years. He suspected the lump was cancerous as cancer is prevalent in captive hedgies over the age of 3. Options were given but we both agreed that as long as he was active and ate and drank as he should, we would not pursue surgical intervention. Itâs extremely risky for hedgies anyway.
Once home, I settled him into his new cage next to Bethâs and let him be so he could have some quiet time. I already had a camera set up to watch Beth so I moved it to point on him so I could monitor him without disturbing him.
The next morning I went in to see him. I offered some mealies and he crawled right into my hand. It was clear, we were already smitten with each other. I took him to the bathroom where I prepared a nice warm bath in the sink and gently scrubbed him with an old toothbrush to loosen dead quills and the poo from his feet. Once the bath was complete, I wrapped him in a hand towel and went to work on his nails. I cut them back as far as I could without hitting the quick. The trimming process took weeks doing just a little at a time until we reached the desired length. I carried him to the kitchen to fix him a treat of some scrambled eggs. And that is when my husband walked in.
Yes, Iâd managed to pick up this sweet thing and keep him for over 24 hours without being caught. He walked to the counter where the hedgie was eating his eggs and started talking to him. âHi, Beth. Did mommy make you some eggs?â He then goes to pet her. She didnât hiss and raise her quills like she always does. âYouâre letting me pet you. You must really like those eggs! Youâre wet. Did you just get a bath?â He then says to me, âwow, she was really dirty. Sheâs so white now!â Looks at her and pets her again. Looks at me. âBabe. This isnât Beth, is it? Where did you get another hedgehog?!â Iâm now cracking up. No, I tell him. That is not Beth. I tell him the story. He shakes his head and asks his name. I say I havenât come up with one. He says, well, letâs call him Rip.
So now you know the story of how I tricked my husband twice to get two hedgies we named Beth and Rip. Bonus points to anyone who know why my husband wanted to name him Rip! And a few pictures of my sweet boy, Rip.
Back to the hedgehog(s). You heard the story of how I tricked hubby into bringing home a hedgehog. I mentioned I had posted on FB looking for a hedgie. Well, after having Beth a few weeks, a friend of my daughters reached out. She worked at a nature center that is well known in our area. Schools take field trips to the center and the center does a show and tell of different animals and such. Someone had dropped off a hedgie at their facility claiming their kids lost interest. This poor fella was missing an eye and had a growth on his belly. The center did not wish to keep him as they already had a hedgie for their program and because theirs was a female, they could not be housed together. So I grabbed a little box, some treats and a blanket and headed to the center.
When I arrived, they took me to the cage theyâd been keeping him in. He was curled up tight in a ball with all his quills sticking straight out. This poor hedgie was so anxious because of all the noise and new sounds at the center he was not used to. They handed me a pair of gloves and said they had to use them to get him out because he always balled up and poked them. I waived them off and said I didnât need them. Instead, I placed a few meal worm treats in my hand and slowly moved my hand into the cage. He poked his head up and hissed. And then he smelled the meal worms. He reluctantly took one from my hand and at that moment he relaxed. I let him eat a few more mealies and as he was eating, I placed a few on my forearm hoping to entice him to crawl into my hand to reach them. It worked! Once he was in my hand he stayed completely relaxed and I was able to remove him from the cage.
As soon as he was out of the cage, his true personality was obvious. He was so sweet and docile. He loved attention. I inspected his missing eye. It appears he was born that way as the socket was completely empty. I looked at the lump on his belly. It was about the size of a pea. His poor feet were in rough shape. His feet were caked in dried poo and his nails so badly overgrown they were curled. He was definitely coming home with me. I thanked them and left with the poor fella still in my hand.
First stop was a walk-in vet clinic. I wanted the lump assessed. At check in they wanted a name for my new friend. Oh shoot. I havenât even had time to think of one. No problem, they said. We will just list him as hedgehog for now. The vet looked him over and agreed the missing eye was a birth defect and noted that it was not an issue nor would it affect his life. He made note of the feet and nails and offered to clean and clip. I declined as I did not want to cause him stress. I knew I could do this part on my own. The vet looked at his teeth and said his mouth health was fine and estimated him to be about 3-4 years old. This was sad to hear because their life expectancy is very short at around 5 years. He suspected the lump was cancerous as cancer is prevalent in captive hedgies over the age of 3. Options were given but we both agreed that as long as he was active and ate and drank as he should, we would not pursue surgical intervention. Itâs extremely risky for hedgies anyway.
Once home, I settled him into his new cage next to Bethâs and let him be so he could have some quiet time. I already had a camera set up to watch Beth so I moved it to point on him so I could monitor him without disturbing him.
The next morning I went in to see him. I offered some mealies and he crawled right into my hand. It was clear, we were already smitten with each other. I took him to the bathroom where I prepared a nice warm bath in the sink and gently scrubbed him with an old toothbrush to loosen dead quills and the poo from his feet. Once the bath was complete, I wrapped him in a hand towel and went to work on his nails. I cut them back as far as I could without hitting the quick. The trimming process took weeks doing just a little at a time until we reached the desired length. I carried him to the kitchen to fix him a treat of some scrambled eggs. And that is when my husband walked in.
Yes, Iâd managed to pick up this sweet thing and keep him for over 24 hours without being caught. He walked to the counter where the hedgie was eating his eggs and started talking to him. âHi, Beth. Did mommy make you some eggs?â He then goes to pet her. She didnât hiss and raise her quills like she always does. âYouâre letting me pet you. You must really like those eggs! Youâre wet. Did you just get a bath?â He then says to me, âwow, she was really dirty. Sheâs so white now!â Looks at her and pets her again. Looks at me. âBabe. This isnât Beth, is it? Where did you get another hedgehog?!â Iâm now cracking up. No, I tell him. That is not Beth. I tell him the story. He shakes his head and asks his name. I say I havenât come up with one. He says, well, letâs call him Rip.
So now you know the story of how I tricked my husband twice to get two hedgies we named Beth and Rip. Bonus points to anyone who know why my husband wanted to name him Rip! And a few pictures of my sweet boy, Rip.
