You know what, it's not really nice to only write about the bad stuff so why don't I tell you about silly, mundane things. Can I tell you? About my prickly new pet.
A few weeks ago, I got a very happy call from my sister telling me that she was in the honor roll. I'm big on spoiling my sister because in my book, it makes up for just how stern I am when it comes to school or in everyday life (I have an award-winning short temper). So, like the way we celebrate most of the momentous occasions in her young life, off we went to get her a new pet. For those of you not in the know (just kidding, I just needed a transition statement), this prickly little fella is a cinnicot-colored hedgehog. Her name is Medusa (after a favorite romance novel heroine's pet hedgehog) and she's a pinto African Pygmy hedgehog, just like most pets of her kind. More after the cut!
A few things I learned from owning a hedgehog:
1. Hedgehogs are not legal in all fifty states. In fact, they're very expensive in the States where kids (and big sisters, probably) pay a lot more to get one as a pet. They are also considered socialized exotic animals, which is as ironic as a definition gets.
2. Hedgehogs (hoglets for baby ones) belong to the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha, they are not rats (You're wrong, mom). The closest relative they have is the shrew.
3. Hedgehogs, despite domestication in the 1980s, still behave like preys which means your pet hedgie will jump, hiss or roll up into a ball when approached at first. This will change once they're used to you and your scent.
4. Two long and large muscles underneath the hedgehog's belly make rolling into a ball possible.When scared or agitated, the hedgehog can also put their quills up. This is their only line of defense from predators. These quills can only also protect hedgehogs from a fall. Imagine that! (CHOS!)
5. Speaking of quills, these spines are not so sharp or quite as painful as people think. Hedgehogs are not porcupines and therefore, do not posses the same ability to leave said quills in your palm. To best describe these quills, they just feel like really hard bristles.
6. Hedgehogs are insectivores. However, they show great excitement if given cat food. We use Friskies for ours with the occasional vegetables and fruit thrown in.
7. Hedgehogs splat when they feel contented. Splat is the term used to describe a hedgehog all stretched out, with legs splayed looking kind of like a dressed chicken. They also do this when they're hot but the beauty of owning a hedgehog in a tropical country is that the temperature is just right.
8. Hedgehogs kind of stink so we give Medusa a bath every once in a while, now that she is considerably bigger and fatter than the photos you see here. I use a toothbrush dipped in mild shampoo to clean her like so. I just brush, brush, brush all over her tiny, fat, diseased pin-cushion of a body.
9. Hedgehogs like to hide because of their instincts as prey animals. We made Medusa a cuddle sack on her first week but it's best if you have extras because they're not the tidiest of pets. Right now, she uses a teepee/tent-like thing which our yaya made. They love to hide.
10. They like running around in a pattern--kind of like hamsters in an exercise wheel except we put ours in a very big basin.
Like I wrote, Medusa is very plump and fat nowadays. These pictures were taken on the week we got her. She doesn't put her quills up as much anymore nor does she hide or roll into a ball when we're around. She's already gotten used to our voices and our smells. She runs around with not a care in the world, not even when our dog Fendi is watching her closely while licking his mouth. She is a cutie, even my Wawa is so fond of her.
Here are a few more pictures of her, including one where she tried to scale her cage.
Have you had a hedgehog? Do you have one?
PS. Check out my favorite royal holding a hedgehog. Too cute.
