Pygmy hedgehogs

[QueenOfCats]

Does anyone have one?

My dd would love one but I have no experience of them whatsoever. Are they easy to keep and look after?

Do they get sick and can they be insured?

I have 4 cats - would that be a problem?

Are they friendly? Easily tamed?

Any advice would be great. Have done a bit of googling but would like to hear from someone who actually has one

[PricklyPickle]

I've had my little boy hog for about 18 months now. He's really easy to look after. He lives in a plastic guinea pig tank and eats dried cat food mostly supplimented with littlebits of chicken, rice, potato and veg - basucally he gets a bit of our dinner if its suitable.

Hogs are nocturnal though and don't wake up until late in the evening. They need a big wheel in their houses to run in at night.

To be honest they aren't very cuddly, but they will sit and climb on you happily. They aren't particularly fast runners so can be put on the floor to explore, your cats would soon learn to stay away as they do curl up into a prickly ball when annoyed. When tney are relaxed rhe prickles lsy flat so they aren't spikey all the time.

Hope that helps a bit.

[QueenOfCats]

Thanks prickly!

Where an I get one from? Specialist breeder I'm guessing?

Oh, and do they have saw dust in their cage?

[notimefors]

My ex boss had one and said it was a rubbish pet. I don't know anything more!

[janji]

A friend of mine had one and it was quite aggressive, but any pet could be bad tempered I spose?

[EauRouge]

My niece had one and all it did was hiss at people. You couldn't pick it up or interact with it in any way. Bit rubbish really.

[OneHundredSecondsofSolitude]

I find the keeping of non-domesticated animals in alien environments unnatural and abhorrent

[QueenOfCats]

Thanks, most helpful

[PricklyPickle]

I got mine from a breeder. Don't put sawdust in the cage, its dangerous to them. I actually line my cage with fleece liners and just change them once a week. They don't get too messy as he has a litter tray that he goes to the toilet in.