Who has the longest living Hedgie

[PrincessHedge]

Was curious to if someone has a hedgie who is still alive after many years? I want to see or hear about the longest living hedgie? Anyone at all out there with an old hedgie? :confused:

Blessings

[kaiteedyd]

not me :( Wish I was so lucky. My oldest was Beastly who lived to be about four. (Never got an exact b-day on him)

[PrincessHedge]

[QUOTE=kaiteedyd]not me :( Wish I was so lucky. My oldest was Beastly who lived to be about four. (Never got an exact b-day on him)[/QUOTE


Four is along time to me Since I am just a newbie at having hedgies. :slurp:

[giry76]

Doris is 4+. I don't have an exact Birthdate yet, but when we got her in August she was "4".

[shirleytx]

I may not have the longest living hedgie but I plan too. I have told Daisy she can't go dying on me. She is two.

[HedgePigLove]

This is Standing Bear's post about the passing of the Grand Dowager Camilla:

It is with a great deal of sorrow that I pass on the information from Floyd
Aprill of Milwaukee Superpogs, that Ms. Camilla, The Grand Dowager, IHR
Registration Number 853, has crossed the Bridge at 2:30AM, February 26, 2005, at

age 8 years, two months, and three weeks. Floyd asked me to relay this
information to the lists as his computer is temporarily immobilized. She was
recently operated upon for mouth growths and Floyd and I consulted over the
administration of pain medications, since it seemed that the meds were wearing
off
too quickly between doses, and his veterinarian had to leave town just after
the surgery. We solved the problem by consulting with our local
veterinarians and the more frequent dosage was well within safe limits and
solved the
problem. So, in the end, Camilla was recovering nicely and comfortable. Floyd

was with her when she passed on, and she departed in comfort and peace.

Ms. Camilla was the feature in a recent International Hedgehog Association
News issue, which described her long life, including her successful battles
with cancer, her reputation as a wonderful hedgie Mom, and her ability to win
contests at hedgehog shows. Although she had arthritis due to her advanced
age, she was active and alert to the very end.

Ms. Camilla was seventh in the line of Grand Dowagers which, in the
hierarchy of the Hedgehog Government of North America is sort of the hedgehog
equivalent of a combination of The Dalai Lama and the Queen Mum. The Grand
Dowager
position is not always filled, as a hedgehog of such great wisdom is not
often found.

Here at Flash and Thelma we offer our most sincere condolences to Floyd and
his family in Milwaukee. Camilla will be greatly missed by us all.

With Respects, Z. G. Standing Bear at The Flash and Thelma Memorial Hedgehog
Rescue in Divide, Colorado, and all of the Rescue's 50 little citizens.

[HedgePigLove]

I *think* (I'll have to do some digging in the archives) that the Flash and Thelma Memorial Hedgehog Rescue has had hedgies live even longer than Camilla. I'll post when I track down that info.

It's my understanding that the limited original gene pool and the subsequent inbreeding (when hedgies were "trendy" pets and everyone was breeding to make a fast buck - not like now where almost all breeders are conscientious and very careful about the genetic heritages) that occurred, we humans have managed to cut the life expectancy of the African hedgehogs (the kinds we keep as pets) almost in half - in the wild they live for 9-12 years, in captivity it seems like most make it 3-6 years and then succumb (far too frequently) to cancers of one kind or another.

Normally I don't condone the intentional breeding of animals, as I work in rescue. However, I do accept and acknowledge the need for thoughtful, researched breeding of hedgehogs for pets. I believe that there will always be a market for hedgies as pets in the US and Canada, and therefore there will always be people supplying hoglets to meet that demand. I would much rather see thoughtful breeding practices being utilized to produce hoglets that are healthy, well-tempered, and long-lived than any movement toward mass breeding/hedgie-mill breeding.

Just my thoughts. Laura

[kaiteedyd]

What I would really like to see is the importation of new bloodlines.

The only way I can see to bring the lifespan back up the the 10 to 12 years we orginally were quoted is to bring in wild bloodlines.

Consciencly breeding with what we got now will certaintly help but as the saying goes, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

What I find frustrating about this is that wild hedgehogs are not an endangered species and to my knowledge they don't carry any diseases of concern like foot and mouth disease. So I don't see why we can't do it legally.