About Scotian Hedgies

Hedgehogs make for an interesting and fun pet. Canadian legislature has allowed the keeping of African Pygmy Hedgehogs in Canada for only about 14 years, and they are still a mystery to many people. Prior to domestication, the wild ancestors to the African Pygmy Hedgehogs we have as pets today lived as scavengers and insectivores, coming out at night and eating insects and rubbish they would find on the ground. Today's pets typically live happily in cages, eating high quality cat food, mealworms, and a high protein, low fat diet. It is true that, however, most pet hedgehogs are awake and active at night, and may be grumpy and upset at being awoken during the day. Hedgehogs have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, but poor eyesight. They will use scent to determine what is food or friend, and love to burrow under anything they are strong enough to push around. They have a back full of hollow, sharpened hairs called quills. These are not the same as the barbed quills of porcupines, and will not come off in an unsuspecting hand upon contact. When a hedgehog is upset, threatened or frightened, it will raise its quils and cover its body with them, even to the extent of rolling into a complete ball, with quills exposed. However, when relaxed, they will relax their quills, and the quills will lay flat against their backs, which when petted the right way is no more painful than petting a hairbrush. Hedgehogs are often misunderstood by pet owners, and are not the perfect pet for everyone. I will attempt to answer any questions you may have about these intelligent little critters.