Mini Me. The 'Super Pygmy' APH.

[ophidianman]

We had an unplanned and unexpected litter of Hedgepigs that were discovered late last month. There were only 3 babies and it wasn't until they got bigger that I realised one was much smaller than the other two. She was immediately named 'Mini Me' by Lynne. Is there such a thing as a 'Super Dwarf APH' or is she just a 'runt'? Below are some photos of Mum, Dad and her siblings.

Mini Me weighs in @ 64g, her sister 167g and her brother 129g.


This is Dad, a black faced.


Mum, I'm not sure exactly what colour she is?


Mini Me.


Her sister.


Her brother


Mini Me, again.


Mini Me and her sister for a size comparison.

Have any other Hedgepig breeders had really small babies like this born?

[rum&coke]

awww mini me is cute

[Shell195]

Mini me is very cute but the father is enormous how much does he weigh??

[Emmaj]

lol i was gonna say that shell

dadda looks mahoooooosive he is one big hoggy

mini me is sooooooo cute

[quilson_mc_spike]

where did you get most of your info from?! a super minny?!!

my new hoglet is TINY her parents where TINY i think she just comes from small lines and i wouldnt change her for the world! im sure your using American website because iv never heard of a super minny and iv never heard of dark faced ....

minni me is a low marked choc pinto

my girlie has gotta be nine weeks now and she weighed 143g he mum was smaller than my male and she was still nursing!!

im hoping she will put weight on as she grows im obv not expecting her to be the biggest of females i called her minny as she is small and has big ears (after minny mouse)

ill get some pics i need new ones

mum looks like a cinnocot and dad is an algerian reason i say he has eye patches xx

[Emmaj]

Originally Posted by quilson_mc_spike

where did you get most of your info from?! a super minny?!!

my new hoglet is TINY her parents where TINY i think she just comes from small lines and i wouldnt change her for the world! im sure your using American website because iv never heard of a super minny and iv never heard of dark faced ....

minni me is a low marked choc pinto

my girlie has gotta be nine weeks now and she weighed 143g he mum was smaller than my male and she was still nursing!!

im hoping she will put weight on as she grows im obv not expecting her to be the biggest of females i called her minny as she is small and has big ears (after minny mouse)

ill get some pics i need new ones

mum looks like a cinnocot and dad is an algerian reason i say he has eye patches xx

connor calm down they were asking if there is such a thing as a super pygmy hog or if she is just a runt because of the massive size difference

[Fancy Mice]

The mother looks like a brown snowflake to me (cinnacots have pink eyes, they look black as far as I can see). The father is a very attractive hedgehog who I could happily pinch I would say that the smallest baby is likely to be a runt as this would be far more common than a genetic condition such as dwarfism. She also looks proportional though small. She may have a shorter life than a normal hedgehog but as long as she's developing normally should live a normal life barring developing any problems related to growth issues. I love her sister btw, makes me want to get some more hedgehogs (I only have 2 left now)

[ophidianman]

Originally Posted by Shell195

Mini me is very cute but the father is enormous how much does he weigh??

Originally Posted by Emmaj

lol i was gonna say that shell

dadda looks mahoooooosive he is one big hoggy

mini me is sooooooo cute

Yep he is the biggest of our 'herd' and he's only 6 months old. We have a female who is 20 months old who is much the same size and weight. Oops maybe not having just weighed them both but these two are the exception. All the others are smaller.

I used to breed albiventris and those evil long eared ones whose name escapes me years ago and all of the albiventris were the same sort of size as the two pictured below. Nowadays there seems to be a lot of variation in sizes and weights. I understand that the Hogs being bred nowadays are hybrids, between what I don't know but could this explain the size differences between various bloodlines?


'Big Boy'.


Not quite so big Girl.

[Fancy Mice]

My male is also about 630g and ironically was the smallest in the litter when they were born. His sister is 'normal' size and weight for an APH - he's just a big ball of hedgehog

[ophidianman]

Originally Posted by quilson_mc_spike

where did you get most of your info from?! a super minny?!!

my new hoglet is TINY her parents where TINY i think she just comes from small lines and i wouldnt change her for the world! im sure your using American website because iv never heard of a super minny and iv never heard of dark faced ....

minni me is a low marked choc pinto

my girlie has gotta be nine weeks now and she weighed 143g he mum was smaller than my male and she was still nursing!!

im hoping she will put weight on as she grows im obv not expecting her to be the biggest of females i called her minny as she is small and has big ears (after minny mouse)

ill get some pics i need new ones

mum looks like a cinnocot and dad is an algerian reason i say he has eye patches xx

I was only asking whether there was a 'super pygmy' / mini Hedgepig in existence. I've never had a baby this small and just wondered if there was such a thing as a 'super dwarf '. Think how teeny they'd be as new borns!

I've never 'visited' a Yank Hog website so certainly wasn't getting info from one. I'm curious to see / hear if it is possible to breed smaller Hogs than the ones we currently have. From your post it seems it is possible by selecting the smallest and breeding from them.

I wish you well with your 'Minny'.