should i?

[nolans693]

heyy guys, should i buy these 2 lil hedgehogs from my petstore? i held em n they seem nice...but im not sure... :dunno:

[Super Chin]

I would say no. If you buy them, then the store will see that hedgehogs sell and will just buy more. Since most petstores don't take very good care of their animals, it would be better to not buy them. Eventually the store will see that hedgehogs aren't good moneymakers and will hopefully stop carrying them. I would, however, go into the store and talk to the manager about proper hedgehog care. Maybe you can get the manager to give them a better food, a wheel, etc... :)

[KatesCritters]

I would, however, go into the store and talk to the manager about proper hedgehog care. Maybe you can get the manager to give them a better food, a wheel, etc... :)


I don't think it's fair to jump to conclusions about the petstore just yet. There are a couple of petstores around here that take wonderful care of their exotic animals, and I'd have no problem recommending them to people who want to purchase an animal they saw and fell in love with. Yes, there are some horrible petstores out there, but one shouldn't make blanket statements.

To the original poster, if the animals are healthy, well taken care of, and you arren't planning to breed them, I don't see why you can't purchase them. A good idea would be to talk to the petstore employees about the history of the animals, where they came from, how old they are, what sexes they are, how long they have been in the store, etc, to get a better idea of the quality the animals are.

[paris26]

Please make sure you research hedgehog care before purchasing these two or any hedgies. It is pretty detailed and a lot different than chinchilla care!

[groovychic]

Herbie is a petstore hedgie and is the sweetest, most well-behaved hedgie. He has a personality and just makes us laugh. Petstore hediges can be wonderful pets.
Make sure that you do a lot of research on hedgies before you get one. Have you had one before? Hedgies do require work and special requirements.....maybe if you are interested in them you should only buy one instead of taking in 2 right away. You might get overwhelmed and we don't want to see them up for adoption in a few months...Make sure that you really want to buy these hedgehogs and give them a loving and caring home and the requirements they need.....rather than just saying oh these are cute and not knowing much about them. JMO

[HedgeMom]

By buying a pet store hedgehog, you are supporting animal mills. Warehouses where they mass produce small mammals. Pet shop hedgehogs are born to moms who are bred one litter after another until they wear out. They live in small, 1' square homes with no wheel, no toys, nothing but food and water. They don't care about genetics and they are responsible for more pain and suffering in animals than all the abusers put together.

Stop buying pet shop hedgehogs and they will stop selling them. Then the warehouses will shut down and the plight of the pet hedgehog will be a lot better.

[KatesCritters]

By buying a pet store hedgehog, you are supporting animal mills. Warehouses where they mass produce small mammals. Pet shop hedgehogs are born to moms who are bred one litter after another until they wear out. They live in small, 1' square homes with no wheel, no toys, nothing but food and water. They don't care about genetics and they are responsible for more pain and suffering in animals than all the abusers put together.

Stop buying pet shop hedgehogs and they will stop selling them. Then the warehouses will shut down and the plight of the pet hedgehog will be a lot better.

Again, a blanket statement. Many petstores buy from local breeders. Breeders with large cages, safe bedding and quality food. Their stock is healthy and happy and they produce healthy happy quality babies.

[Megan.]

Most responsible breeders won't sell to petstores, IMO.

I'd likely say Nancy's statement is correct- or it's just someone who doesn't care what they produce, and are throwing anything together.

[SilverKitty]

You could ask the manager where they purchase their animals, specifically hedgehogs. If it's a local breeder then you may be able to get in contact with them and find out why they have sold the hedgehogs to the store. If you find that the animals have came from a mill (as said above) then you can decide from there.
Any way it is, animals from mills aren't going to stop producing just because one store decides not to purchase 5 hedgehogs one month. Even if ten stores decide not to purchase their "regular" amount of an animal each month, it doesn't "save" the mill animals from reproducing for profit. The animals will still be having babies, just more won't have homes/places to go.
To get right down to it, the animals DO need a home regardless of where they have come from...it's up to the buyer to weigh consequences (bad genetics, previous neglect, illnesses, etc.) and decide from there.

[nolans693]

heyy, thanks everyone, im really going to think about this, considering i have the chins! i'll let you all know of my decision soon...thanks