Pet Store Hedgehogs...

[Joe17]

I'm really worried about the life expectancy for a pet store hedgie compared to a breeder. I would hate to buy a pet store one and have it die a month later. Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!! The closest breeder near me is almost 2 hours away, has a waiting list for almost the next 12 years(I'm exaggerating a bit!), and is fairly expensive. I also have a pet store that sells hedgehogs a few minutes away, fairly cheap, but the hedgies are almost a year old now. The store said they don't handle their hedgehogs too often so they don't bond with the workers. I wonder if that was just a lie..... I wish I had more options!

 

[kellyk]

I am new here and just learning about hedgies....we are expecting our first one in about 6wks time.
Not from a store but our neighbour's daughter has a pair and this is their second litter. She is not a breeder, just an owner like us. Is there a concern getting a little one from a fellow owner whose pairs have had a litter?

Thanks.

 

[Christemo]

I got Amelia from the pet store. I think because she was so young, and the store had opened three days before we got her, that she was in a lot better condition then if they weren't brand new.

 

[ChinnyMom]

I am new here and just learning about hedgies....we are expecting our first one in about 6wks time.
Not from a store but our neighbour's daughter has a pair and this is their second litter. She is not a breeder, just an owner like us. Is there a concern getting a little one from a fellow owner whose pairs have had a litter?

Thanks.

disclaimer: I'm not a hedgie person, but i think this topic applies to all pets, no matter the species.

if the person is purposely breeding their hedgies, then they are a breeder. I know this is kind of going off topic, but i just wanted to clarify that.

If your neighbour's daughter knows their hedgies' backgrounds, and knows there are not hereditary health issues, and takes good care of them and gives them good care, then i would say go ahead and bring one of these babies home.

 

[Christemo]

Ah, yes, I didn't see the other post.
Without the pedigree, you have no idea whether they were inbred, have WHS in their family, or other family history.

 

[lillybug29]

I'm gonna put my 2 cents in here. I'm from a small town in the middle of nowhere. We've got one breeder, and she's got a waiting list a mile long. There is a really small family owned pet store in town. I originally walked in when I was just doing my research on hedgies to see if they by chance had them. They had just Khaki there and I fell in love. I had to have her. I took her home, had good success with her for about 6 months and went back in there to get a new water dish for her. They then had my Mace there and I had to have him. He was housed with a female, and she looked a lot like him (I know that means very little). Thinking back, since the store had no idea how old he was, his sister? very well may have been pregnant. He was just so sweet and I wanted another hedgie to love and take care of. Besides small paranoid issues and mites, so far both my babies seem healthy and happy. In the future, I will wait and buy from the breeder in town, but I wouldn't trade my babies for the world. I got them both on a whim, and will probably pay the price when they are older, but for now I work and post on here tirelessly to make sure they have the best and are happy. It makes me sad how they were housed, and looking back, I know the family doesnt know how to care for them, but they have good intentions. I know not all stores are like that, so I shudder to think of the poor things in houses with stores that DON'T have good intentions. I also had a friend of a friend contact me of all people because she got a hedgie from them and had NO idea how to take care of her y sister whom I talk to about khaki and mace all the time saw how she was housing her new hedgie and called me in a panic). It worries me about how many new hedgies are going out in this town to owners who have NO idea how to take care of them since the store doesn't screen owners. SOOO, no, I don't recommend it, but since I did it, I can't really condem anyone who does. I say I won't do it, but if I walk in there an see how they are taken care of I may flip out, talk to the owners and buy the hedgies. I actually feel guilty for not stopping the sale of them... And, in case anyone is wondering, in no way am I ever breeding either of my babies. Too many unknowns, and I couldn't stand to lose babies or Khaki. Not happening.

Ok, I'll be done rambling now.

 

[shetland]

Lillybug, I really liked when you said, "I work and post on here tirelessly to make sure they have the best and are happy."

 

[lillybug29]

Awe. Well thank you. I feel like I'm annoying, but all the research I did didn't get into quite as much detail as I'm finding I need to have. Kalandra has been a lifesaver.

 

[Kalandra]

Never feel like you are being annoying. If you are asking questions about your hedgehogs, and are willing to make changes to improve their lives, then you aren't being annoying. We all have had to learn somehow. That's why these forums are here. For us to share the good, and help each other through the bad. I would rather answer the same question daily than to have someone not ask and have a hedgehog not get the care they deserve.

Are pet store hedgehogs bad? Well yes and no. I'd rather have a hedgehog with a long pedigree of animals that live to be over 5 years old. And yes some don't live nearly as long. I purchased a brother sister pair once. The male lived almost 1.5 years, the female almost saw her 5th birthday. He had cancer at age 1, she got cancer around 4. So you just never know.

The best advice I can give, and it applies to all hedgehogs, breeder, pet store purchases, and rescues, keep a goodly amount of cash in the veterinary cash reserve, be willing to seek veterinary attention when something seems amiss and (most importantly) spend lots of time with them and love them.

 

[LVchinchillas]

I would never buy from a mass producing exotic pet store. I do have an exotic pet store near me that only buys from breeders. She does not buy from puppy mills, she breeds her own STOs, Hamsters, and Degus. She buys chinchillas from a breeder in CA she also buys hedgehogs, reptiles, amphibians from reputable breeders. But that is usually not the case with all pet stores. Another pet store in town would keep at least 50 hedgies in 1 small cage, that is not the pet store you should be looking into buying from. I would definitely just buy from a breeder instead of trying to find a reputable pet store. But if you do not have any breeders around, ask around and try to find a reputable pet store.

 

[immabeleesh]

Pet store vs. breeder, such a tricky subject really, there are so many cons with pet stores BUT that is where my little Akhiro came from.

I actually took him from my little sister (10 years younger then me) because she wasn't giving him the love and attention he needed, he started to bite her and then she was afraid of him.

Now he is probably about 9-10 months old, she never asked when she got him, but I did follow up with the pet store and they said that they had no way of knowing as the "breeder" does not give that information, anyone living in Easter Canada the company is called "Eastern Bird Supply" and how they obtain/breed their hedgehogs is a mystery, and I have tried finding them online with no luck to try and get some type of information about my little guy.

The guy at the pet store means really well, but he really doesn't know much about hedgies in my opinion, and when I went in to get the information they did have one girl hedgie there and he told me that when she came to them she was pregnant, and the 2 hoglets didn't survive, so awful! I asked to see her and he had to pick her up with a towel and she proceeded to bite down on the towel immediately. Also, when my sister got Akhiro he told her just to pick him up with a towel, he never really go used to being picked up any other way. (Again does he really know much about what he is selling???)

Akhiro is a big cranky butt most of the time, doesn't like to be pet but if I just let him sit in my chair with me he will snuggle up to my side and run up my arm, but only if he feels like it. I've worked really hard with him to try and turn him around, but he is a huffy little grump and I still love him to death.

I recently got a second hedgie 2 weeks ago, her name is Amora...she is the cutest and most loving little hedgie girl. I can put her on her back and rub her tummy, give her kisses on her cheek and she LOVES to nap on my shoulder snuggled into my neck. I got her from a girl who had decided to become a hobby breeder, I had the chance to go to her house and see the babies before I made a commitment, and I was happy to say all 6 hoglets were in great health. I fell in love with Amora instantly, she is very laid back and likes to be held, where Akhiro wants to run run run run (which he is doing right now while she is sleeping lol).

So I kind of went off topic, but my view on this is that all hedgies deserve a loving home, but I do not think that they should be available from pet stores, or maybe some type of laws need to be put in place (i.e. no females and males in the same cages, birthdays must be known and they need a family history) since all pet stores will say they get their hedgies from a reputable breeder, who wouldn't say that?!

And shouldn't this be available for all animals? Isn't that the responsible way to do things?

 

[StacyDee]

After everything I've read on here and on other sites, there's no way I'd buy from a pet store again. We don't know anything at all about Miss Kay, other than we love her. I went in to Wet Pets n Critters yesterday to ask a few questions about bedding and treats, and the kid had no idea what to sell me so she tried to sell me stuff I knew was bad for a hedgie!