Asking the Experts

[Nobby]

My birthday is coming up and for quite a while now I've wanted a pet Hedgehog. I spent a good amount of time doing research to see the kind of foods they eat and what they need to survive and have found quite a few thing I hadn't thought of before.

The other day I asked my parents if I could get one as my birthday present and had a big refusal from my dad whose only reason why I can't get one is because, "They smell."

Now I've decided to ask the experts on small animals here what you do about the odors coming from your rats and such to see if there is anything I can do to either eliminate the odor or cover it up effectively without harming the animal. Hopefully if there's an effective method I can convince my parents to let me get a hedgehog.

On a side note any other advice is welcome and I'm leaving work now so I won't be able to read any replies for about an hour.

[AngharadTy]

With rats, I just... clean the cage often. They're clean animals, hee. I know nothing about hedgehogs--but with those spines, they shouldn't need scent glands, right? Probably? I dunno. But, admiring them in pet stores, I never smelled them. A large part of keeping pet smell down is just keeping the cages clean, because usually, the smelliest part is urine/droppings.

The only "trick" I have is letting the bottom of the cage soak in vinegar a little while, during cleaning time; it really clears out lingering odor.

[Nobby]

Soaking the bottom in vinegar sounds very practical to me and from what I've read you can train hedgehogs to use a litter box which would cut down the amount of droppings left around the cage.

I also found THIS and was wondering if anyone had heard about or used it before and if it really works.

[dandelions]

Do you mean hedgehogs, as in the animal you get in the wild in England? Because generally, I object to people trying to raise wild animals as pets; it normally ends in tears because they just don't behave like pets. There are also issues with their being largely nocturnal, they don't like being enclosed, and if the room temperature drops too low, they will attempt to hibernate and most likely die in the process. I know I couldn't guarantee a room temperature of the ~20C Wiki says they require - my room's normally closer to about 16 degrees, and the living room about 18 degrees, with both colder at night. I'm not sure the smell is the only thing you need to be thinking about.

[AngharadTy]

In the U.S., hedgehogs aren't found in the wild, but they are found in the pet stores.

[Jessi]

Jazzy, in America, hedgehogs are sold as domesticated pets, and they're not the same hedgehogs you guys have wild over there. They were imported from Africa many, many years ago, and now importation of them is banned, so any sold as pets are being bred for domestication. African Pygmy Hedgehogs make great pets - they like being handled and yes, they are nocturnal but they start coming around about 7 PM. They also acclimate well to normal temperatures and don't need to hybernate. They are, however, strictly anti-social and should NEVER be put with another hedgehog, not even to breed (unless you know what you're doing) - they can and will fight to the death.

(..have done much research on hedgehogs because Lindsey and I would love to get one some day.)

With that said, assuming you ARE in America, you first need to check with local laws - hedgehogs are banned in several cities and counties.

Second... regardless of whether or not they smell (and they don't - no animal smells unless you don't clean the cage), they are a LOT of work. They need a huge enclosure, similar to a guinea pig's C&C cage. They have a strict diet (premium cat food with NO byproducts or corn or fillers, some canned food, and mealworks) and cannot be given sugary foods, they need a LOT of patient handling to get used to you, and they put drippy saliva all over their quills that causes skin irritation and that a lot of people are allergic to.

And more importantly... animals should NOT be given as a present. Ever. I wouldn't deny getting you one based on the fact that they smell, but that animals are NOT presents. I'm doubting a bit whether you've done proper research on hedgehogs or not, and getting one because its your birthday, so its an easy time to get one is NOT the way to go. I work at a pet store - when people come in to buy presents for birthdays, its always with the cheapest cage, cheapest food, cheapest way to go so they don't have to spend a lot of money. If you REALLY want a hedgehog, prove to your parents you can handle it - buy books. Do research online and print off the important pages you find. Look up how to make your own cage. Find out how much its going to cost - you're looking at around $200 for a proper hedgehog setup and for the hedgehog itself. Offer to help pay. Show you will be RESPONSIBLE, because most people who get animals for presents are anything but.

Also - I should have mentioned this - ANY product you add to food or water to help control the smell is a big no-no, for ANY animal. It changes how your pet digests food, messes with the flora in the gut, and can cause a lot of medical problems. No matter how natural a product claims to be, it's NOT natural to change how your pet works on the inside.

edit to clarify - I'm not saying I don't think you've done ANY research or won't be a great pet owner, but you should definitely have responsibility in the cost of getting your pet. Maybe working at a pet store has made me very hard and angry when it comes to stuff like this, but - when you put a bit of your own money and research into getting a pet, it makes it much more personal :)

[Aqua]

I had a pet hedgehog a few years ago (african pygmy hedgehog).. I wound up possibly being allergic to her. XD They're interesting pets, but not the most social (at least in my case). I can't remember about glands, but they do spit a foam out onto themselves after they eat, an irritant.. That made me break out in hives when I touched mine. D: I second the cat food thing, but I also bought and gave mine crickets as treats.

They're also nocturnal, so you may not want to keep it in your bedroom at night. XD

*reads up now*

..and they put drippy saliva all over their quills that causes skin irritation and that a lot of people are allergic to.

So I guess it's officially an allergy then? Darn, I liked being allergic to nothing.. except hedgehogs I guess, but you don't see them everyday at least. :p

[Jessi]

So I guess it's officially an allergy then? Darn, I liked being allergic to nothing.. except hedgehogs I guess, but you don't see them everyday at least. :p

Well it acts as a skin irritant to almost everyone xD makes them itch. But some people actually have allergic reactions with swelling and hives and all that fun stuff. So you MIGHT have been allergic, or just having a normal reaction to it xD

[Nobby]

First off let me say thank you all for the info, and you have every right to say what you did because I've seen what can happen when you get an unexpected or unwanted pet. I also knew about the "anointing" and what some people think makes them do it.

I've done a bit more research since last night and found a few interesting sites that I had a great deal of fun reading (especially the escape stories). I also looked at local Utah laws and found that you can't keep porcupines or monkeys but nothing about hedgehogs. One thing I found that was quite interesting is how some people make their cages out of wading pools and such so that they can't climb out.

Heres a link to a breeders homepage where I found some very useful info if anyone is interested-
http://hedgehogvalley.com/basiccare.html

[Kamil]

Aww. I looked that link over, Nobby, and they're soooo cute. <33 I wish I could have a small cuddly creature, but my kitties are voracious hunting beasties and I just know they'd worry any small, fluffy thing I brought into the house to death - although hopefully not literally.

But even if the cage were completely kitty proof (and I think it would be very hard to keep them out of most cages I've seen; they're quite determined) I know they'd sit outside of it while I was at work, staring at its poor inhabitant, and that just can't be good for a small fluffball's mental health.

So I will continue to enjoy y'all's small floofs. Good luck, and I hope you are able to get one and all works out.

[Jessi]

Check out http://www.guineapigcages.com to learn how to make a C&C cage. It's really cheap - ours cost about $50 and that was on the high end of things - and they're PERFECT for hedgies. If you need to cat or dog proof it, that's easy too.



There's a pic of mine if you want to get some idea of them. And just arm yourself with TONS of knowledge and research to present to your parents - that makes things a lot easier.

[Nobby]

Thank you for that site, it's amazing what you can do with those. I even found a few more info sites by searching their forums. If I still can't convince them then I could probably get one when they kick me out like they keep saying they will as soon as I'm 18.

I have no more questions so mods can do what they want to this thread.

[Madge]

Just one more thing - just because your father said he doesn't want a hedgehog because it smells doesn't mean that proving it doesn't smell beyond all doubt will mean you get the pet of your dreams. Parents often just don't want you to have X for whichever reason - my Mum said she didn't want me to have a snake because they're slimy and dangerous, I explained to her that snakes aren't slimy or dangerous (at least the species I was interested in), and how the cages have to be locked by law etc.... The fact of the matter was, she just doesn't want me having a pet snake more than anything. So don't get too frustrated if he moves the goal posts - parents are like that .

However, best of luck - looks like you are educating yourself a lot, and I don't think your parents can fault you for that.

RE Pets as gifts: I agree on principle, but at the same time, I think that if the person keeping the pet WANTS the animal and is a responsible owner and is just using the birthday/holiday as an "excuse" to have their parents/friends/etc help them cover some of the cost, then that is a different story to "ooo! Kitties are cute! Let's get her a kitty!"

[sureq]

Just one more thing - just because your father said he doesn't want a hedgehog because it smells doesn't mean that proving it doesn't smell beyond all doubt will mean you get the pet of your dreams. Parents often just don't want you to have X for whichever reason - my Mum said she didn't want me to have a snake because they're slimy and dangerous, I explained to her that snakes aren't slimy or dangerous (at least the species I was interested in), and how the cages have to be locked by law etc.... The fact of the matter was, she just doesn't want me having a pet snake more than anything.

So true. My mum was like that with rats. "They smell" then "They carry disease" then "They attract wild rats" it went on until I wrangled out of her that she was deathly afraid of them, and I wasn't to have any while I lived with her. So a few weeks later after getting one of her close friends to reassure her rats are ok (her nephew used kept them and poorly by what it sounded like but I tactfully chose to not mention that to her) I am now aloud to get "only two" when we move out of the rental property at the end of this year. Of course it will end up being more, but I'm not telling her yet.

But even if the cage were completely kitty proof (and I think it would be very hard to keep them out of most cages I've seen; they're quite determined)

This reminded me of a funny picture I have saved to my hard drive from somewhere.


I wish you luck on swaying your dads mind, hopefully he has some friends who know better than him and he can be persuaded like my mum Although I recommend funding cages and food yourself. I know if it was up to my mum it would be cheap all the way.