APH 'the must-have pet' in the Daily Mirror

[Fixx]

It’s no yolk..these pygmy pets are the latest craze

Meet the latest must-have prickly pet – a cute African Pygmy Hedgehog.

And Ashleigh Hunt, 20, is so keen on the little beasts she has 24 of the spiny blighters.

The tiny creatures are given the run of Ashleigh’s house and keep popping up in unlikely places such as tea pots and egg cups.

Ashleigh was given her first three hogs 18 months ago by a friend. She has since been given another seven and overseen the birth of a further 14 at her home in Flore, Northants.

Ashleigh said: “I look after mine really well but they do have a habit of escaping and running round the house. They get everywhere.

“I have found them in cupboards, snuggled up in my bed. They even line up and watch the TV with me at night. They will happily fall asleep in the palm of your hand once they trust you.”

Pygmy hedgehogs are native to Egypt and are sold in specialist pet shops across the UK. They became popular as pets in the US in the 90s.

Prickly subject

Originally from Egypt, African pygmy hedgehogs weigh between 12 and 18oz and live on insects and slugs.





Daily Mirror

[animal addict]

absolutely disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!! how on earth can you say 'oh yes they just pop up here and there' as in however they feel like it!!! How may overbred and interbred hedgies now are there?? I do thoroughly hope that there is an over exaggeration here and she really truely isnt stupid or ignorant enought to let 24 hedgies randomly run around her house doing what they want and potentially being at risk !!!

[Emmaj]

lol that made me laugh

yeah ok she aint talkin shite or owt lol

[Emmaj]

oh also be thankful its hogs an not skunks ray

[animal addict]

just as bad though really isnt it? both have small gene pools with behavoural issues if not handled properly etc etc ? I do hate these articles :-(

[Fixx]

Originally Posted by animal addict

just as bad though really isnt it? both have small gene pools with behavoural issues if not handled properly etc etc ? I do hate these articles :-(

Me too, there was one about Sugar Gliders a while ago, then a couple of TV slots, luckily the TV slots were by Glidergirl on here who did a much better job of giving out the right information than the newspaper article. We also noticed a spike in the numbers of people joining sugar-glider.co.uk and inquiring about gliders, and also a large spike in visitors to the glider section at Welcome to Shropshire Exotics. The one-stop shop for all your Exotic pets needs. which fortunately is written by Glidergirl so has all the right info too.

Articles like this only increase the number of 'drive-by' owners.

[Amalthea]

My favorite part: “I look after mine really well but they do have a habit of escaping and running round the house. They get everywhere."

How the hell can you look after them really well if they just randomly escape and pop up where ever they please in your house?!?

[lau26lizards]

live on insects and slugs - Where is the part abut good quality dried cat food.
I just hope people dont rush out and buy a APH cause this woman is talking a pile of !!!!!!!

[Fixx]

Now they are on the BBC

[angeldog]

breeders have been inundated with emails yesterday, personally ive sent out a standard reply to them all putting a hold on all sales and adviced anyone serious to contact me after xmas and to join the pygmyhogsuk forum
i dont think it would be an ethical breeder to sell to random people