Kersti Bayne holds her pet hedgehogs at her Lewiston apartment recently.
LEWISTON — Kersti Bayne always wanted a pet hedgehog. The longing started so far back that she can’t really even remember why.
“I always thought they were just so precious,” she said. “They’re fun. I don’t know, I love them.”
Today, a pair of year-old hedgehogs, Tillie and Dizzy, call her Lewiston apartment home, sharing the space with a turtle in a tank and an aging Maine coon cat named Gus, who isn’t at all interested in playing with the spiky critters in his midst.
Bayne bought her first hedgehog, Tillie, a year ago from a New Hampshire breeder. At the time, she needed a permit to own her.
No one needs a permit in Maine anymore.
“I was a little bummed about it, to be honest with you. I think they were kind of clumped together as being like a hamster or guinea pig and that’s not the case. They require a lot of different care,” she said.
Pet hedgehogs are spiny, palm-sized animals that weigh a pound or two and live, on average, four to six years. Although they’re legal in most of the country, several states restrict or ban them. Hedgehogs had been allowed in Maine only by permit.
But earlier this year, at the behest of some Mechanic Falls sixth-graders, state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, submitted a bill to make it easier to keep hedgehogs in Maine. That bill died in committee, but it didn’t matter — the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said it had already been considering dropping the permit requirement.
In May, DIFW said prospective pet owners would no longer need to get a state license for their hedgehog.
Granite State Hedgehogs in New Hampshire, one of the largest breeders in New England, immediately began getting calls. So many calls, in fact, that co-owner Samantha Brennan had to limit Mainers to one hedgehog at a time.
Soon after the state restrictions were lifted, she delivered five hedgehogs to the Portland area in one day.
“There’s been kind of a flurry to get them,” she said.
But while the novelty has some Mainers dashing to get a spiky new pet, experts warn against rushing into it.
“Do your research. Try to visit a hedgehog before going and buying one,” Brennan said. “As awesome as they are, they aren’t a good fit for everybody.”
In Lewiston, Bayne knows that well. She adopted hedgehog Dizzy recently because his former owner was afraid to hold him.
Hedgehogs don’t shoot quills like porcupines and their spines aren’t barbed, but they are prickly to the touch.
“(People) don’t realize that they are not soft and cuddly like the internet portrays them to be,” she said.
Hedgehogs are also nocturnal, which means they’ll be awake and active when most owners just want to sleep — and asleep when most owners want them up and active.
They have very specific housing requirements, including a large cage with a solid floor, a heat lamp (they can get sick when temperatures dip below the 70s or so) and a large, solid exercise wheel.
Although there is such a thing as hedgehog kibble, experts recommend adding wet cat food and cooked egg or meat to their diet. Hedgehogs also eat insects, so owners have to be comfortable feeding them mealworms or other bugs.
Because hedgehogs have been restricted in the state for so long, few Maine vets have much experience treating them. That can be a potentially life-threatening problem in the event of a health emergency.
But while there are challenges to hedgehog ownership, there are also advantages.
Hedgehogs aren’t destructive or aggressive. When they feel threatened, they curl up rather than attack. They’re hypoallergenic. They’re generally solitary, so owners can keep just one without a problem. They can be litter box trained.
They are also friendly. Sometimes. Depending on the hedgehog and how much they’re socialized.
“(Tillie) is actually much better than when she was little. She did not like to be held at all. Now she tolerates it. (Dizzy) is super social and laid back. Just the polar opposite,” Bayne said. “We hold them at least a half hour a day, so they’re plenty socialized. But Tillie’s still a grump.”
For Bayne, hedgehog ownership has been a childhood dream come true. She recommends it — as long as people know what they’re getting into.
“I think anyone who has the correct knowledge and desire to have one as a pet absolutely should have a hedgehog,” she said. “There’s no reason why you can’t.”
Have an idea for Animal Tales? Call Lindsay Tice at 689-2854 or email her at ltice@sunjournal.com.
Kersti Bayne holds her pet hedgehogs at her Lewiston apartment recently.
One of Kersti Bayne’s hedgehogs at her Lewiston apartment.
One of Kersti Bayne’s hedgehogs at her Lewiston apartment.
Pros and cons of hedgehogs as pets:
Pro:
* Small
* Quiet
* Hypoallergenic
* Typically solitary, so you don’t need multiple animals to keep each other company
* Can be litter box trained
Con:
* Nocturnal, which means they’ll probably be asleep when you’re awake and vice versa
* Need a big cage (4-square feet at least, with a solid floor, according to the International Hedgehog Association)
* Need a heat lamp or a very warm house (think temps in the mid-70s), as well as an exercise wheel and places to hide
* Few Maine vets have experience with them
* Diet includes bugs
* Need to be socialized with humans from a young age
* May become prickly — literally — when scared or upset
* Some are prone to wobbly hedgehog syndrome, a degenerative neurological disease. Symptoms may be eased, but animals typically die within two years.
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