Nigel - our newest addition - secretly named after (Nigel) John Taylor - bass player from Duran Duran. Don't tell my husband - he thinks it was the only name that happened to come up on both of our lists. And - yes - I am still a proud fan and not afraid to admit it (11 live concerts so far). And - yes - it would make more sense for me to name a critter after Simon (my childhood heartthrob) but that has long since been an off limits name as I had sweet, cute Simon LeBun the bunny in high school (RIP Simon). All my "kids" have people names - and we don't reuse - which became quite challenging when I had 3 aquariums full of fabulous fish - maybe I will dedicate a post to them sometime.
Back to Nigel - what a curious little creature. A total departure from any other pet I have had before. So - I guess a bit about hedgehogs in general. In all my research the best descriptive quote I have come across is something like a gentle beast cloaked in a coat of swords. Hedgehogs are shy, independent, solitary creatures (sorry Nigel, you came to the wrong place). They are active in the very early mornings and around dusk. When in the wild they eat bugs and plants and they roam for many miles each night checking out the countryside. They have quills - 2 sets - baby and adult that are not at all like the quills of a porcupine which have barbs and can be launched in self defense. The quills feel kind of like a hairbrush and lay flat when all is well. When frightened, angry or grumpy - quills come out, huffing ensues and in some cases the famous rolling in a ball occurs. Their underside is soft and fuzzy and their legs and feet are little and almost clubbed in appearance. It seems that they would have a hard time getting around but they are actually quite fast.
Specifics for our little guy - I find he is quite fickle. Some days he likes things, some days not so much, some days he runs on his wheel, some days - nothing. He is supposed to be fed a varied diet - bugs (ugh), fresh fruit and veges, meat and a base diet of a mixture of high protein ferret food and low fat cat food. Nigel is a good eater when it comes to the dry food. Fresh fruit and veges - um, no. Baby food fruit and veges - hit and miss....he loved banana baby food for a few weeks - now not interested. He does LOVE his worms. Not really my favorite thing as I am the person who scoops bugs up on paper and takes them outside so they will not get squished. Luckily the worms live in a container in the fridge and when you take them out they are kind of in a hibernating state so they don't wiggle. I can pretend they are dead.....whatever you gotta do right? He loves yogurt which he can have once a week or so. I also let him check out pretty much everything we eat. He is a junk food fan for sure (fits right in here) and likes baked goods, soda, chips - pretty sure that wasn't the variation they had in mind. Supposedly hedgehog obesity is a big problem so we are careful that its only a tiny taste of bad things.
We are going to the vet soon for his first checkup. Should be an interesting experience all around. Nigel is doing well with interacting with both myself and my husband but he is not a fan of strangers. Additionally, our vet is not super familiar with hedgehogs. We have decided to approach his care with general wellness done by my vet and any specialized care to be referred to a friend of his who is a hedgehog expert.
A day in the life of a hedgehog? Here it's probably much different than everywhere else because he is in a pretty active household. So - for example - on a weekend day I usually check in on him when I get up (he sleeps in Clooney the ferret's old cage). He sleeps til mid morning - then up and into whatever room we are in. More sleeping - completely oblivious to noise - phone, dog barking, vacuum cleaner - nothing seems to disturb him. He is awakened many times over the course of the day - me checking on him, cats poking at him, ferret trying to get him to play, etc. Then early evening we give him a snack - worms and baby food usually. Then play time - some days he is more active than others. I think this depends on how much he ran on his big blue wheel the night before. The days following minimal running the previous night result in him being active - running around, climbing on things, interacting with the cats and the dog. He is totally fearless of everyone except the ferret. Clooney is dying to play - Nigel is afraid - huffing and quills. It's getting better - still a ways to go but I am very hopeful they will become friends.
He is adorable - a great addition to our family and I enjoy spending time with him each day. We have made some great strides towards him getting accustomed to being handled. I am happy with our progress in just under 2 months. There will be many pictures and updates to come so stay tuned.....
The Zookeeper
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