A pet hedgehog: a prickly affair in every sense
23/4/2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
Nature comes to life in spring – partly thanks to hedgehogs making their way around. If you ever feed one of them and think about keeping them as pets, don’t! I’ll tell you why.
«Look out! There are hedgehogs on the roads again.» If you listen to the radio, you’ve probably heard a similar warning recently. After hibernation, the brown-breasted hedgehogs that live in our area first look for food and then look for a mate soon afterwards. They travel a long way for the latter in particular. During the mating season, male hedgehogs cover up to five kilometres a night, often crossing streets where it can quickly become dangerous.
It breaks my heart every time I see a hedgehog that’s been run over. Because they prefer to be out and about at night, you only see them late when driving – unfortunately often too late. In most cases, collisions with vehicles end fatally for hedgehogs.
Source: pro Igel
Leave it to the hedgehog professionals
On other occasions, you may well come across an injured or unwell hedgehog, whether out on a walk or in your own garden. If you want to do all the right things, don’t touch it unless absolutely necessary.
An animal in need is a matter for professionals. There are centres all over Switzerland, including organisations such as pro Igel (https://pro-igel.ch/index.php?id=8) (in German) or the Igelzentrum (https://igelzentrum.ch/krankeroderverletzterigel/nuetzlichetelefonnummern) (in German). If you can’t reach anyone quickly, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take the injured hedgehog home with you, taking the appropriate precautions. There are also valuable tips (https://igelzentrum.ch/krankeroderverletzterigel/erstemassnahmen) (in German) for this from the experts.
If, contrary to all advice, you’ve nursed a hedgehog back to health on your own and want to keep it as a pet, think again. The European brown-breasted hedgehog is a protected wild animal. The Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage prohibits capturing, selling and buying them. Keeping a hedgehog as a pet is prohibited. If you do it anyway and get caught, you could be prosecuted.
The exception that proves the rule
Ban or no ban, there are individual hedgehog species that you are allowed to keep as pets, including the African white-bellied hedgehog.
Source: Shutterstock
Cute, right? It’s understandable that a sight like this melts hearts and tempts people to keep one as a pet. The most adorable hedgehog photos have also been causing a sensation on social media for a few years now. The German Instagram account Mr. Pokee (https://www.instagram.com/mr.pokee/), for example, regularly provides its around 1.7 million followers with cute hedgehog content.
Source: Instagram
So far so good...or bad. Even if exotic animals such as the white-bellied hedgehog are allowed as pets, they’re in no way suitable. Experts agree that it’s almost impossible to keep white-bellied hedgehogs in the house in a species-appropriate manner. Apart from the fact that they’re not pets, they’re only active at night when you’re normally asleep. Furthermore, no enclosure can do justice to the animals’ urge to roam.
To make matters worse, breeding has made the white-bellied hedgehog susceptible to disease. Genetic diseases such as wobbly hedgehog syndrome are increasing. This can best be compared to multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans. There’s no cure – the disease always ends with an agonising death, sooner or later.
If you take all this into account, you’ll probably agree with me that keeping a white-bellied hedgehog is pointless. If you still really want a hedgehog, you need a licence. You can only get that with the relevant certificate of competence, and you can only get that if you complete a course lasting several hours. And there’s only one provider for that course in Switzerland.
I don’t know about you, but my takeaway is: «DON’T KEEP WHITE-BELLED HEDGEHOGS!»
Fluffy and prickly alternatives
Despite all the advice, yes, we also have hedgehogs in our Galaxus range. And they’re a worry-free purchase. They’re low-maintenance and love to be stroked.
Still want something prickly? Consider getting cacti. They’re easy to care for.
Header image: Unsplash
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.