Chinchilla or Hedgehog... which should I pick?

[watafu]

Hi I'm not a current small mammal owner and I'm considering these two species as my companions (ferrets were dismissed due to the smell), but im still torn and I'd like to hear opinions from actual owners before I make my final decision.

I've done my homework thou, I've researched about both pets on the internet and so far learned a few things about them.

I know chinchillas dislike water and shouldn't be bathed because it could interfere with their natural parasite-resistant fur, they're very active, playful and don't like to be cuddled a lot (speaking in general, I know a few are tame enough to do it), they're messy and poo a lot but their droppings are dry and easy to clean up and their diet is cheap and easy to come by, oh yeah they're very inquisitive which helps them learn a lot of tricks (mostly on their own with no intervention). They're rodents that live 15-22 years (long term commitment) and prefer having a partner.

About hedgehogs I've learned that their quills aren't as threatening as they seem but still you have to earn their trust, they're quiet cuddly and expressive, they require baths every 7-10 days, they eat cat food but it's recommended to feed them insects every now and then, their droppings are a bit smelly and not as easy to clean as chinchilla but they don't poo every 5 minutes and they can be trained to use cat litter, which reminds me that they're very smart, they recognize their owner and respond to their name. They're insectivores that live 4-7 years and prefer being alone.

Some things they have in common:
-Both species are active during dawn/dusk but they can adapt to the owners schedule (which is awesome, taking a dog for a walk at 00:00 is kinda weird).
-Both make different squeaky "barking" sounds to alert if they're uncomfortable or happy.
-Both are EXTREMELY cute <3

As a bit of background, my house is big but they wouldn't have a room on their own so I would probably have to keep their cage in mine, I'm assuming it would be a good idea to play with them in the laundry or something so they wouldn't poo on my bed or over my notebook. I have a dog but he's big and thus kept on the backyard, never in the house so that wouldn't be a problem I guess, he's not aggressive when I take him for a walk but he does have a booming bark that uses a lot to scare off strangers away from the house, I wonder if the bark would affect the hedgehog/chinchilla. Also I live in Monterrey, Mexico the weather here is mostly dry (which i think it's good for either species) but the summers are very hot, sometimes reaching 40 C/107 which could be harsh for them, I don't have A/C on my room (trying to reduce my carbon print here) so I wonder if a fan would be enough for them (I could consider getting an a/c but I wouldn't keep it on all day that's for sure). There are no kids living in the house.

Thanks upfront to anyone that answers this thread. And I hope it helps anyone else out there with my same doubts.

P.S. If anyone knows about a breeder with good reputation here in Monterrey (or anywhere in mexico) please share the information.

=====Wall of text crits for over 9k=====

 

[tunes]

Right off the bat I'm going to tell you to get a hedgehog. If you have no air conditioning, and are either unwilling or unable to get air conditioning, then take the chin right off of the table. There is no way a chin can survive in 107 degree temperatures and a fan is useless. Chinchillas don't sweat, so blowing a fan at or around them does nothing but blow hot air on them. Truthfully though, I'm not sure that 107 is safe for a hedgehog either and it must be incredibly miserable for your dog outside in that high heat.

Welcome to CnH. We're all very pleased to see you are putting a lot of time and thought into researching before buying.

 

[~SG~]

but the summers are very hot, sometimes reaching 40 C/107 which could be harsh for them

is that a outdoor or indoor temp?

 

[fanofdmb84]

I agree completely with tunes...

 

[starleomach]

I agree no AC no chinchilla especially with it that hot....

 

[~SG~]

If that's the indoor temp yes,

but I have a cousin who doesn't run A/C and her house is cooler then mine usually. She has it a shady spot near a river and runs fans to circulate the cool air. She also raises or lowers windows and open and closes curtains at certain times to use the natural coolness. It's terribly complicated to me but it works really well for her. Sometimes 'going green' works a lot better once you know how to do it.

but if 107 is the indoor temp, maybe a pet reptile of some sort would be best?

 

[Kalandra]

I have some edits to your information for hedgehogs. Average hedgehog life span is actually closer to 3-5 years. There have been some that lived longer, but they are fairly rare. After age 3 you have to start watching them for lumps and bumps as cancer is pretty prevalent in these little guys. I will note that cancer can appear at any age though.

Some hedgehogs will litter train, my experience with litter trained hedgehogs has been that their are actually not as common as a lot of people would like you to believe. They do tend to go to the bathroom in the same area though.

You will also have to get a hedgehog safe wheel, and you must understand that they WILL go to the bathroom on it and you WILL have to clean a poop smeared wheel daily. Even litter trained hedgehogs will go on their wheels.

One thing I tell people when interested in hedgehogs, is to tell me "What do you expect out of a pet?" If I know your expectations I can usually tell you if a hedgehog would fit into your life or not.

If you cannot offer a lower temperature than stated, I think you may need to concentrate most of your time on the hedgie side of the forum .

Welcome to the forum!

 

[watafu]

Thanks for the information so far and the welcome too.

I forgot to mention, 107 is the outside temperature, inside is not as hot, most of the house and furniture is white or with light colors so not much of the heat remains inside. There aren't any rivers near my house but we do have a small mount nearby with a lot of vegetation so I guess that helps reduce the ammount of heat as well.

Now about pet illness' I hate watching an animal suffer so now that you mention cancer on hedgies that kinda discourages me, I am aware that every living thing will eventually perish but I'd rather watch him die quick and painless and not suffer to cancer for who knows how many months.

One thing I tell people when interested in hedgehogs, is to tell me "What do you expect out of a pet?" If I know your expectations I can usually tell you if a hedgehog would fit into your life or not.

Well that's an interesting question, I'm not a party guy, I enjoy socializing but not in a messy way, I don't stay up too late at night either and wake up early morning; I practice sports as well... well not really, just one: boxing. So I kinda want a pet that will not require my attention during the night because I have a heavy sleep (my dog only wakes me up if he barks for a long period), something that will play around me weather I participate or not, or just come to me and cuddle while I'm watching TV or playing videogames. I guess we all want a pet to recognize us and value the care and attention that we pay to them, so add that as well.

it must be incredibly miserable for your dog outside in that high heat.

The dog is fine and healthy, there is a sort of hallway next to the backyard that he has access to and it has shade all day. Lots of people have dogs in my neighborhood and ive never heard of one dieing because of the heat. Also it's an american staffordshire so it has short hair.

 

[watafu]

Oh I have another question

Which is the chin or a hedgie age recommended to accquire them at. What's the limit? I mean like " if the chin is 6 months or older it will be difficult for it to get attached" or "hedgies get rebelious if accquired after they're 3 months old"

 

[3CsMommy]

If you can't keep your home in the neighborhood of 21C, it's not safe for a chinchilla to live there. If you need to sleep through the night undisturbed, a chinchilla in your bedroom is a *bad* idea.

I don't know a lot about hedgie care, but I'd be concerned that 38C is a little high for them too.

However, a Bearded Dragon lizard (very intelligent, good with higher temperatures, fairly easy to care for) might be another option as well, if it turns out a hedgie isn't a good fit.

THANK YOU on behalf of the animals for not just picking whatever's the cutest/coolest to be your pet. It's SO important to make sure you can provide the right home for them.

 

[watafu]

If you can't keep your home in the neighborhood of 21C, it's not safe for a chinchilla to live there. If you need to sleep through the night undisturbed, a chinchilla in your bedroom is a *bad* idea.

I don't know a lot about hedgie care, but I'd be concerned that 38C is a little high for them too.

However, a Bearded Dragon lizard (very intelligent, good with higher temperatures, fairly easy to care for) might be another option as well, if it turns out a hedgie isn't a good fit.

THANK YOU on behalf of the animals for not just picking whatever's the cutest/coolest to be your pet. It's SO important to make sure you can provide the right home for them.

Thanks for the information, I haven't discarded chin/hedgie but im actually researching about Bearded Dragon lizard now. Either way, the winter here can go as cold as 32 farenheit. This city is a (sort of) desertic area think of Arizona but not as dry (the city is surrounded by mountains).

 

[caiti]

So I kinda want a pet that will not require my attention during the night because I have a heavy sleep (my dog only wakes me up if he barks for a long period), something that will play around me weather I participate or not, or just come to me and cuddle while I'm watching TV or playing videogames. I guess we all want a pet to recognize us and value the care and attention that we pay to them, so add that as well.

I do not know much about hedgehogs so I can really only comment on chinchillas here. They sleep all day and are awake generally at night, most awake at dawn and dusk so if you have the cage in your room the chin will be playing at night. If you're a deep sleeper like you mentioned this may not bother you but you might not really be able to take it out and exercise it during the day since it will be sleepy. My chin, though, perks up if I take her out of the cage whatever time it is but she tries to get out more often at night which lead me to believe she prefers playing at night.

Most chins really won't cuddle with you, but will play with or around (or on for that matter) you to their heart's content and you have to supervise them when out so they don't chew on everything imaginable, heh. So you couldn't really just have one out while you were playing video games. You could say, be reading or on a laptop while keeping an eye out every few moments when you're in a small space like a bathroom or small closed off hallway but with the wires for the TV and console of a video game, you'd have to watch the chin in that situation. It's just that in most cases, there are too many things for chins to chew or get into to not watch them, which is why small spaces are liked--minimizes the number of things they could eat and lessens the intensity of supervision they need. If you get the chin a big enough cage with a nice wheel, you would not have to take it out religiously and maybe you have enough free time to dedicate enough quality chin time at night.

Chins do best in probably 45(maybe lower, I don't know from experience)-70F weather with humidity below or at 50%. I have heard of some chins that can tolerate mid 70's, but I'm not sure that's all the time so if your house gets in the 70's and you don't plan on getting an AC then I would not suggest a chin. You could get an AC and keep the chin in a small room so you could minimize the amount of electricity needed to cool it down. Point is--after 70F, especially with high humidity, most chins get uncomfortable and dangerously warm.

Good luck with your decision. Both animals seem awesome to me, you'll probably be happy with either one just make sure you take precautions to make your environment chin/hedgie friendly. EDIT: or reptile friendly (just read your last post, hehe. Reptiles are pretty sweet, too. Well I think all animals are awesome I'd probably be happy with flies as pets but uh, yea). Either way if you're researching and being this smart about getting a pet, I'm sure you'll make a decision you'll be happy with.

 

[Kalandra]

Whether or not a hedgehog will cuddle with you may be a hit or miss situation. I have been lucky over the years to get every hedgehog to eventually cuddle. Several of them when they were babies only wanted to run and play, they really didn't care if I was in the room or not.

A hedgehog is not likely to come running up to you. If you want a pet that will show you some affection, do tricks, or play with you a hedgehog is not that type of animal and you may be sorely disappointed. They are more likely to run away from you to hide than they are to run up to you for attention. Many will cuddle with you if you provide them with a cuddle bag.

Hedgehogs are also nocturnal. They sleep all day and will be up at night running around. They are not really that noisy, but can be when they decide to burrow or bag their food bowls around.

What are your feelings about poop? I ask because hedgehogs require a running wheel in order to get enough exercise. The downside of this is that hedgehogs also defecate while running. They will run through their feces and smear poop all over their wheels and get it caked on their feet. It requires a daily cleaning of their wheels and for some hedgehogs a daily cleaning of their feet. I mention this because there are many people out there that do not like this particular aspect of hedgehog care taking.

Keep researching, and ask lots of questions. Life with hedgehogs can be a great experience, but they certainly are not for everyone.

 

[~SG~]

I'd like to know the summer high and the winter lows for the room which the prospective pet would be staying

 

[Nancy]

As Kalandra has mentioned, whether a hedgehog will cuddle is up to the individual hedgehog. Some are cuddlers, some are runners and will run all over you but won't cuddle, and there are some that will want nothing what so ever to do with you. Sometimes we can tell adult personality when they are babies, but not always so it's kind of hit and miss what the hedgehog you get will be like.

Litter training is hit and miss as well. Those who say hedgehogs can be litter trained are greatly over exaggerating. Some can, most can't. The majority will find one area to potty in but some will go here there and everywhere. Almost all hedgehogs potty on their wheel which means a wheel to clean every day.

As for smell. Hedgehogs have no body odor but they do have strong smelling feces and urine. Sometimes the urine is even stronger than the feces. Smell is quite a common complaint. A hedgehog that has spent the night running on his wheel is going to smell until the wheel is cleaned. Here too, it depends on the individual hedgehog. Some are very clean, others make a mess of themselves.

Hedgehogs are very active at night and must have a wheel. For some people the sound of a busy wheeling hedgehog keeps them awake.

You mentioned ferrets being smelly. Yes, ferrets do have a body odor but again, it is not overpowering as long as the cage is kept clean.

Have you considered a rat? Rats, especially males, are super social and will interact with you. Their urine smells quite strong but again, when kept clean there is no issue.

 

[watafu]

Thanks again for all your advice guys, I've researched with a local breeder and he states that he hasn't had any issues with the local weather regarding chinchillas as long as the room is well ventilated (mine is, it has 2 large windows) and the cage is kept away from the sunlight. Rats are interesting pets, they're very intelligent but I doubt mom will agree with me on that one (I can persuade her but I know I will have to pay sooner or later somehow).

I don't think I will get a hedgie after all, I wake up early and don't get back home until around 11 pm, I wouldn't have time to clean the wheel every morning and I don't think it would be healthy for it or me to have the odor on the room all day.

I'd like to know the summer high and the winter lows for the room which the prospective pet would be staying

I'm not entirely sure as I haven't got a thermometer but my guess is around 40F during the winter and up to 80~90 during the summer. Do chinchillas make a noise or something if the climate is uncomfortable?

Oh and another question about chins: Is the dust "recyclable" like can they bathe on the same sand from yesterday, if so, how many days is it healthy to use the same sand before disposing? Or is it one time use only?

 

[alli713]

I have to just say that I feel bad for any chins subjected to 80-90F temperatures. They are native to a cool desert in the Andes mountains. They are not made for those temperatures. They can overheat and die. That is really unfortunate that a breeder in your area keeps them at those temps as well.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

if the temperature gets above 70F the chin will be uncomfortable (lazy, laying around, and generally not happy at all) if it gets above 75F the chin can over heat and die. if it gets above 80F the chin almost certainly will die. your winters will be fine for a chin but your summers will kill them. the dust can be recycled, you pitch it if they pee in it or if the humidity is high and makes it clumpy. you will have to pick the poo out between uses though. since kalandra brought up poop just want to let you know chins poop a lot. i think its around every 5 minutes?
have you thought of a rabbit? in agriculture class we had rabbits outside where it got in the 80s. whether this was safe or not i dont know. good luck and thank you for doing research ahead of time )

 

[Stackie]

You should no way subject a chin to those temperatures. If you are not willing to have an a/c to keep your room below 75 degrees, you should not get a chin either. It would just be irresponsible to knowingly get a chin and keep them in those temps. Mine get noticably uncomfortable when the temps reach 73, I can't imagine how they would feel in 80-90 degrees. They could very easily die in those temps.

 

[caiti]

Do chinchillas make a noise or something if the climate is uncomfortable?

Oh and another question about chins: Is the dust "recyclable" like can they bathe on the same sand from yesterday, if so, how many days is it healthy to use the same sand before disposing? Or is it one time use only?

No, chinchillas do not make a noise when they are overheating. Their ears get red, they sprawl out and get listless. They can overheat quickly so you need to make sure the room they are in does not get too hot at any point, whether you are there or not.

Yes, you can use the dust multiple times. I let my chin dust about twice a week, more in the summer or when it's humid out.