Hegehogs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual

[kabob]

ok, so i've been reading this book by Matthew M. Vriends,Ph.D. and in some parts i've read about feeding the hedgy minced red meat??
and to thaw the frozen meat by placing meat in plactic bag, then in bowl of hot water---isn't this what makes the bacteria multiply increasing chances of sickness?? isn't this dangerous? i mean what about these bacteria that live in raw meat that can cause diseases?
i also read that hedgys are apparently great swimmers?? someone please help me out! the copyright is 1995 so this book is pretty old, it also says it's ok to use cedar :dunno:

[Super Chin]

You are absolutely right! That book is crap!
Unfortuantely, almost all hedgehog books available today (other than "The Hedgehog Primer") are full of incorrect information. I would stay away from hedgehog books, although I would suggest getting "The Hedgehog Primer" www.hedgehogvalley.com

Don't feed meat like that. If you are cooking some chicken or turkey for dinner, you can give it to your hedgehog. Just make sure that is doesn't have any seasoning. But to give a hedgehog minced red meat that has been thawed that way? Bad idea!

Hedgies are okay swimmers. If you placed they in a large tub of water, they would be able to swim. However, this is a very bad idea. Just because hedgies can swim doesn't mean they should. Most hate the water, and they can tire out very easily. I would limit being in the water to when you have to bathe your hog.

Is cedar an okay bedding? NO!

[HedgePigLove]

Most of us recommend avoinding Vriends' book(s) on hedgehog care - and the same goes for the Kelsey-Woods books, too.

If you're looking for good reference books, you can't go wrong with the following three:

"The Guide to Owning a Hedgehog" - Audrey Pavia. Available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

"The Hedgehog: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" – Dawn Wrobel, Dr. Susan A. Brown. Available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble (special order).

"The Hedgehog Primer: Everything you need to know about the basic care of pet African Hedgehogs" – Antigone Means-Burleson. Available from the author at http://www.hedgehogvalley.com/primer.html .

For more technical information (I keep these as references and carry the vet book with me when traveling with hedgehogs, in case there's an emergency and we end-up at a vet who isn't hedgie-knowledgeable):

"Hedgehogs" - Nigel Reeve. Currently out-of-print but available used - it's a scholarly work and is mainly about the European hedgehogs (because those are the ones most widely studied).

"Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery Includes Sugar Gliders and Hedgehogs (Ferrets, Rabbits & Rodents)" - by Katherine E. Quesenberry, James W. Carpenter. Available at Amazon.com, B&N, etc. This is primarily for vets and vet techs, but I find it fascinating reading, too.

And about swimming hedgehogs - I know that the European hedgehogs are supposed to be good swimmers ... and I have *heard* of some pet hedgies that love to swim (Linda W. in IL has Payton, who loves to swim laps) but none of mine have expressed any interest in the practice.

Hope this helps! Laura

[Super Chin]

Honestly, I do not think this is a good book: "The Hedgehog: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" – Dawn Wrobel, Dr. Susan A. Brown. Available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble (special order).
I don't remember exactly what was wrong with it, but when I first read it I noticed many errors about proper hedgehog care.

[Vampira_666]

I have to agree with everything said here, I feed meat but make sure it is cooked, I feed what ever I eat just without the spices.:) (if you wouldn't eat it then I wouldn't expect your hog to.. well except the bugs obviously:laugh:

Glad to see someone doing so much research:) Good for you Kabob:applause:

[Laura_Galloway]

I got Vriends' book just for the cute pictures because I'm totally addicted. :rolleyes:

[hedgehog69]

I agree with the people above , what is god for you is probally good for the hedgie just in small portions

[kabob]

thanks guys - i feel like i'm on a better track - but does anywhere in canada sell "the hedgehog primer"

[HedgeMom]

The Hedgehog Primer was written by Antigone Means-Burleson, owner of Hedgehog Valley and she sells the book directly. www.hedgehogvalley.com (http://www.hedgehogvalley.com)

The Dawn Wrobel book is the best among older books. Dawn is no longer breeding hedgehogs but in her heyday she was one of the premier breeders. She owns Ain't No Creek Ranch and there is a store where she sells/sold hedgehog specific items. She created IHOG and was very active in Hedgehogs International, a now defunct hedgehog club. It does need updating but it's still pretty safe.