Originally posted by Heather Wallace
Do they sell hedgehogs in the petshops in the USA?

It is illegal here in the UK to do such a thing. Same as squirrels and badgers.

Yes we have a lot of hedgies here, they have been bred for pets for a long time and there are tons of colors and mutations.


The kind we have are African Pygmies, not Euros. European hedgehogs are endangered and wild where you are from, so that is why they are not allowed as pets. They used to be bred on a small scale for pets a long time ago but not for a VERY long time. There are some in zoos and private collections though.


You can have african pygmies with permit in the UK I believe. We too cannot have badgers or certain types of quirrels. We do have flying squirrels which are common, and tri colored and Richardsons ground squirrels, but they are not wild, they are captive bred. All the squirrels native to my state are not allowed to be kept in captivity, unless you are rehabbing them. They are too active, I could never see having one as a pet. A glider maybe but not a regular squirrel.

Slick: He is very comfortable in the bath, and just plain tame. He hardly rolls up which is a good thing. Yes they are VERY prickly! I have been stuck with his spines quite a few times, but it's something you learn to tolerate, and if the hedgies tame it's not a problem.