Petunia is Here!

After months of researching and preparing, my little hedgehog is finally here! I met her breeder on Monday and brought her home. It was a long drive, but as hedgehogs are nocturnal, she slept through most of it. I let her explore her cage on her own the first night without pestering her too much. She really took to the wheel, ran all night long!


It didn't take long for my husband (Stephen) and me to realize that we needed to do something about our cats trying to stick their paws in her cage. We ended up putting plastic garden netting on the lid and sides, which has been very affective. Last night I introduced Petunia to one of my cats, Hoggle. I held her close to me and let him sniff her. Once his nose touched her quills, he jumped back and ran off! Now he doesn't want to have anything to do with her (with the exception of eating her food).


She is so sweet. We let her crawl all over us and the couch while we watched TV last night, then put her back in her cage so could begin her nightly routine of eating, wheeling, and napping.


So far, she seems to be adjusting very well. More updates and pictures to come!

I'm Adopting a Hedgehog

In less than two weeks, I will be the girl you know who has a pet hedgehog. Yep. Prepare yourself for posts about the process, both good and bad... plus lots of freaking cute pictures.

Like most pets, the hedgehog takes quite a bit of commitment. First of all, finding a place to adopt them from is tricky. The slightest bit of research will reveal that buying a hedgehog from a pet store is not a good idea (which probably applies to a lot of animals, especially exotic ones). Even if you find a breeder in your state, you have to wait until they have babies available and try to get one reserved as soon as possible. I am driving four hours out of state because it was going to be the fastest and easiest solution for me.

Hedgies aren't cheap. I don't know what hamsters run, but I bet it isn't in the $150-$300 range. And that's just the adoption fee. They require a large living space, an exercise wheel, bedding, a hiding place, quality food, toys, and controlled temperature.

Despite all of this, hedgehogs supposedly make excellent pets. They tend to get along fine with other pets (cats want nothing to do with them since they're pokey). They aren't rodents, so they don't chew on things. They don't have an offensive odor, and are relatively quiet. You can snuggle with them on your lap while watching TV. They are good swimmers, so bath time is not too stressful. They aren't known to be biters. Did I mention that they are stinkin' cute?

Enough chatter. I will have more to discuss once I have her in my home. Here are some baby pictures my breeder recently sent me.

Meet Petunia.