Hedgistan

Well, it's about time you all knew it: I got another hedgehog baby.

Actually, I got him about two weeks ago, and I kept it quiet because I didn't want him to die again.

He came from another pet-store--the first one had sold out of the little guys. I assumed I would never see anymore li'l hedgies in Phnom Penh, and walked through around in a cloud of sorrow for the next week or so. Then, on my way home one glorious Friday afternoon, I saw an aquarium filled with four terrified balls of spikes. MORE HEDGEHOGS! They came from a hedgehog farm in Thailand, and I bought the first one that didn't suck.

He was a little orange thing, smaller than the others, sleeping stretched out in the heat. Trying to decide which one I would take home, I put him in the cage I had brought. He rolled over and began chewing on the T-shirt I had left him to snuggle in, so I took that as a sign that, unlike the others, he did not roll into a ball of spikes because he was not anti-social towards humans.

The little guy was covered in mud (why, though?) so I gave him a bath. And after he'd been washed and dried, I discovered that, like the first one, he's actually white and possum-like. Red-eyed. Ugly. He's an adult as well, and one who was not hand-raised. So he's not cuddly and sweet-natured like the first. Actually, he's shy and inclined to say, "Hmph!" while trying to stab me with his quills as I pick him up. Not a great start.

Nonetheless, he is a smart little guy, and based on what I've read about ill-socialized hedgehogs, is about as sweet as they come. I don't believe I've ever met an animal who is so reponsive to music. Here is his picture.

How can you not love the little guy?