After 5 years in the UK I have finally seen my first hedgehog! Took the pup out for a wee at 2am and she started barking hysterically and ran back inside... I got the torch out thinking I was going to come across an axe murderer and instead found the cutest little hoggie looking up at me! I shone the torch in his face (maybe a bit mean, but not as mean as letting Storm play with him) and he bumbled away into the garden. Bless!!

Cute as they are just watch out for the fleas! In our last house we had a family of them that were very brave,a couple of the babys would even come out during the day.They were always giving my dog fleas.The vet told me hedgehog fleas were along with cat fleas the most commonly found on dogs.My first Boxer would bat them round the garden but my present one just barks at them.Fortunatly we haven't had any sinse moving.
They love dog food apparently so would often be by my back door as i fed him inside the door but being a typicly messy Boxer the food  would be everywhere.I had to move it to another part of the kitchen but he'd still drop the food outside.I'd often open the back door and find one sitting there.

Thanks for the warning... fleas and even ticks I have heard? My girl gets monthly worming/flea treatments as we have ticks and lungworm in our area... so I dare any fleas to give it a go! Plus she has seriously short hair so a flea would stick out like a sore thumb! Now I am just concerned I am going to come across the little guy when moving stuff around in the garden... cute from a distance but not so sure up close and personal!

I thought you'd bought a pet one from the subject line. :)

They tend to curl in to a ball when approached,I've always moved them carefully with a spade but they seem to want to come straight back to where you find them.They are very noisy at night too if you leave rubbish bags out.I thought we had foxes untill one night I heard all the snuffling and grunting and went down to find two ripping a bin bag apart! I don't know if they like to live in the same area but we had a family of 4 or 5 every single year without fail,they hibernate over the winter but would turn up every spring.

Ooops sorry got a bit soppy... def not as a pet, 2 cats and a dog- wouldn't be fair to the poor critter. However the minature ones you see advertised seem pretty cute.

You can buy them in the UK as pets? I've seen them in pet stores in the States,(well albino ones anyway )but had no idea anyone would sell them as pets here? Surely they'd sleep all day and then make a lot of noise at night and you wouldn't exactly be able to pick them up like Hamsters or look at  them like fish?? I was realy shocked to see them in a pet store in America but my American friend reminded me how shocked she was to see Chipmunks in our pet shops.

Yes I definitely saw the dwaft ones for sale in the UK- struck me as the type of pet people buy as they are so cute- but have no idea about their behaviour etc. Just another pet on the market for people to neglect!

and you can eat them. :) :)

Love the random comment- do you mean humans or dogs can... guessing both? LOL!! :-D

noooo just hedgehogs. my FIL used to eat them all the time when times was hard.....he called them "gypos pork" because the gypsies that used to turn up in his field used to cook them....spines outward baked in clay!

http://www.geocities.com/africanpygmyhedgehogs/

Thats pretty gross!!!

Well I never! It says they feel like a nail brush! I think I'll stick to dogs.

I love ickle hedgehogs :)

Where are you from Stormy and do you have any spiney things similar?

Originally from Australia- we have echindnas, less cute I think!

> Love the random comment- do you mean humans or dogs can... guessing both? LOL!! :-D

Well I don't know baout eating them, but doG knows my lot like carrying them about!!!  Darn near every night I have to fetch my dedicated carpet strip to retrieve one from the lounge :-P

I had always understood that Hedgehog fleas were host specific.  Maybe the poor hedgies had cat fleas?

Certainly that is thwe info here: http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/faq.htm

"Will my dog/cat get fleas from the hedgehog?
Hedgehog fleas are host specific, which means they will not usually live on any animal other than a hedgehog. Not all hedgehogs have fleas.
"

The only time he ever got fleas was when he'd been batting the hedgehogs.When I mentioned flea treatment to the vet the first thing he said was "do you have hedgehogs?".He did say that cat fleas were the most commonly found on dogs too though so perhaps that's what they were? I've not had to deal with fleas at all sinse moving to a hedgehog free garden :) We don't get any cats brave enough to come in either ;)