They're ready to leave at 8 weeks when they're totally independent of the mother, and eating/drinking on their own, yes. But there are a few steps you need to remember to take, and I hope you've done all the research you can on the matter. This was posted by Hedgiepets on HHC: "Babies will start to eat out of mom’s food dish at about 4 weeks old. Babies will need to be weaned at about 6 weeks old. The males need to be separated from mom and sisters by 7 weeks of age." (came from here:
http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3)
If you don't do this, you'll have some unhappy customers because they could have some unexpected babies popping out of their new pet--which I assume is what happened to you. I really recommend reading up all you can on breeding and care of the hedgies as babies if you haven't already, even though you're not a breeder.
Questions I was asked:
Why do you think a hedgehog is a good pet for you and your family?
Have you owned a hedgehog previously? If so, what happened?
Who will take primary responsibility for care?
Where will you be keeping the hedgie, and is the room heated?
What cage do you have for the hedgie's home?
What kind of bedding will you use?
How often do you plan to change the bedding/clean the cage?
What kind of food do you intend to feed?
Do you have any other pets, or any children?
