Hedgehogs were quite popular as a pet in the 90’s but the craze declined when people found it difficult to take care of them.
Thanks to Instagram, the adorable little creatures are making it back to a number of homes. People are once again adopting these picture-friendly cute little animals.
As a result, Instagram is flooded with African pygmy hedgehogs – the only breed which can be domesticated.
The latest trend has seen people posting adorable pictures of their hedgehogs when they’re asleep, with a somewhat special focus on their buttocks.
According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), hedgehogs must be kept at a place where the average temperature is between 24C and 30C.
Anything lower than 18C can induce a form of hibernation, called torpor, in them while a temperature hotter than 30C can cause heatstroke.
Dog trainer Emma Crossan, from Lancashire, England, has been taking care of 11 African Pygmy Hedgehogs for more than 10 years.
Speaking to the BBC, Emma said: “They’re not easy to keep and you need to be dedicated. You need to handle them every single day, even if the hedgehog is huffy.”
Last month, Emma set a re-homing service to help people with unwanted hedgehogs, and she has found new owners for 14 hedgehogs so far.
“I have a dedicated hedgehog room,” Emma said.
It’s very important to provide a protein-rich diet to hedgehogs. They also need a wheel to run around in.
“They can run miles in the night, a wheel is very important,” Emma said.
Many experts, however, have warned against keeping hedgehog as a pet. Hugh Warwick, a hedgehog ecologist, fears that people may get bored of them as they are very high-maintenance.
“I really hope this trend doesn’t take off again, despite the very real cuteness of these animals, and the undoubted pleasure of being able to handle one,” Warwick wrote in a piece for The Guardian.
“Leaving aside the ethics of the exotic pet industry, there are some important reasons why we should not encourage the pet hedgehog craze.
“Firstly, there is a depressing inevitability that unscrupulous people will pick up wild hedgehogs and try to sell them on (there is evidence that they already have).
“British hedgehogs are wild animals and are not suitable pets.
“Most of the APHs for sale are captive-bred and some can tolerate handling, but there are also many who are vicious bombs of prickles, with sharp teeth that they are only too eager to sink into any available flesh.
“Secondly, people get bored of their pet hedgehogs. They are nocturnal, like to move around a lot and need a wheel on which to run.
“They also tend to poop as they run and end up smearing the wheel and themselves in feces that will need to be cleaned up every day.
“Boredom with your pet will result in a desire to get rid of it.
“Even though APHs are a different species to the hedgehogs we have in the UK and unsuited to the British climate, people tend to release them into the wild, or hand them in to hedgehog carers.
“Already overstretched, these volunteers end up with another mouth to feed – and one that cannot be set free.”
Replaced!