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Posted by Brian-SFCRC on April 06, 2003 at 17:15:39:
In Reply to: any downsides to owning hedgehog? posted by djs27 on March 26, 2003 at 22:05:30:
If you keep them in your bedroom and your a light sleeper, you may be awoken to the male making high pitched squeeking sounds to a female or your might hear the excerze wheel go round and round. That and the fact they have a extremely short lifespan is about it. As far as mammals go, they are by far, the least maintenance. Note I did say mammals not reptiles.
Sincerely,
Brian
SFCRC
:Hey everyone,
:Usually I find an animal that I really want and then talk myself out of it by finding all of its downsides. For example, I decided not to get a ferret because of their tendancy to eat stuff. My bathroom is a mess and I could see one trying to eat cottonballs, etc.
:I'm no stranger to caged animals. I am a grad student, so I automatically rule out dogs and cats. They just need too much time for me. I don't mind taking an animal to the vet if they need something done, but I don't like the idea right now of routine vet visits for checkups of healthy animals. I currently have tons of crested geckos, a uromastyx, and lots of snakes all in my reptile room. I also keep a flying squirrel in my bedroom. After getting her, I found many downsides to having this animal, but I love the little scamp anyways (she nips us a lot..heh).
:The last caged animal that I should mention (aside from lots of saltwater fish) is a winter white hamster. He is over 2 years old and their life expectancy is about 2.5 max. His eyes are pure white from cataracts. I won't kid myself... I know he is incredibly old. I'm not awaiting his death, but I know it will happen soon.
:With all the other animals that I have, you can imagine that there isn't a ton of space left over. I really don't want to sound morbid here, because I absolutely love my hamster a lot, but the space where his cage is located would fit a hedgehog cage nicely. We actually expected Casper, our little winter white, to pass on a while ago. They don't live that long and I'm thrilled he has lived as long as he has. I refuse to get another dwarf hamster because most other breeds are super nasty. The true winter whites very rarely bite. We got him from a research lab that was basically shutting down. They studied melatonin and the effects of diurnal rhythms and day/night cycles. Since this closed site was my one time source of winter whites, I will not be getting any more of these buggers.
:Sorry for the long intro... I just didn't want you guys to think that I would be a bad dad; I love my animals a lot. I just want to be able to fill the void when my hamster passes on. At the animal shelter that I used to work at, we got in a few hedgehogs. This is where I fell in love with the guys. Unfortunately, I was in undergrad and living at my parents and in the dorms. The option of extra critters was not there. Using what I know from my humane society and the research I've done on other care sheets, I really think hedgehogs are the animal for me.
:Now for what you've all been waiting for, my long drawn out question. Are there any down sides to owning hedgehogs? As I've stated before, I talk myself out of animals in order to narrow down the exact species that I want as a pet. So far, I havn't been able to find a real downside to owning these critters. However, I havn't really been able to talk to many owners. This is where you come in.
:If you feel that there are any downsides to keeping hedgehogs, please let me know. I have the cage space, they don't really smell, minimal vet visits (disregarding emergency), I already buy most of the food anyways, I have time to play and I have time to clean up after them.
:I'll talk to you guys later,
:Dave