Meeting Hedgehogs Is Prickly Experience

I met my first hedgehogs up close and personal last week - and I'm here to tell you, handle with care. In other words, take it slow and easy.

While these cuddly little creatures - most adults weigh a mere pound and measure six to eight inches long - love to burrow in your hands, up your sleeves or on your lap, they also have a prickly nature when aroused or rubbed the wrong way. Kind of like some people you might know.

The beady-eyed, odorless African pygmy hedgehog, says breeder George Kugler of Bellevue, is by nature diurnal, which means it's most active around sunrise and sunset, and nocturnal. Hence it prefers a dark, quiet environment

"With gentle handling and socialization from an early age, you'll most likely have a happy hedgehog," he says. "It'll wait for you at the door of its cage for feeding - home for them at Kuglers is a plastic cat-carrier - once it becomes accustomed to your touch and smell. It will lay down its spines and allow you to stroke its back and underside."

But you don't want to rile these roly-poly characters. They have a built-in defensive posture that allows them to roll into a tight ball with spines erect and head, tail and feet tucked inside. If that's not enough to attract your attention, the insectivore will hiss and vibrate, rapidly puffing up and down. It doesn't, however, throw spines like porcupines toss quills. When the hedgehog feels safe, it will uncurl and scamper away.

That's exactly what happened to the Kuglers' family cat, William, who while trying to play with one of their new hedgehogs last year, made the mistake of pouncing on it in the back yard and came away yelping after making contact with the sharp spines.

"There hasn't been a problem since," smiled Kugler, as William nestled near one of the hedgehogs on the basement floor during our interview.

Kugler and his daughter, Kimber, a Sammamish High School junior, own and operate Raintree Ranch, a hedgehog breeding colony which numbers 50-plus.

While most states permit hedgehogs, there continue to be detractors who claim these creatures have become cash-crop subjects for greedy breeders. Critics point to the pot-bellied pig, that fad pet of the late 1980s, which is now turning up in animal shelters nationwide. Is the hedgehog next, they ask.

For the Kuglers, this isn't a get-rich hobby. With a loan from her father, Kimber purchased three last year for $1,500. Today their pet hedgehogs sell for $125 ($175 for animal, Pet Taxi, assorted equipment and food).

"Their temperament is a bit like cats," says George Kugler, "in that some are more sociable than others and some accept handling more readily."

Introduced to the American pet market three years ago, the hedgehog's origin spans from Britain and Europe to Africa and Asia. The European or English hedgehog is considered one of gardeners' greatest allies, since it eats slugs and insects.

But don't expect to purchase a hedgehog tomorrow and turn it loose in your yard on the first warm days of spring. While it is fairly hardy, it is prone to pneumonia or may lapse into hibernation if left in temperatures under 65 degrees for extended periods. Hibernation, Kimber Kugler explains, can be fatal if the creature has not prepared by adding a layer of body fat to sustain it.

As a safety check against illness or obesity, the Kuglers advise weighing a hedgehog weekly. "It shouldn't deviate more than an ounce or two from week to week," says George Kugler. Obesity is one of biggest killers of this popular pet.

In the wild, its diet includes crickets, beetles, earwigs, snails and assorted worms. In captivity, dry cat food (prevents peritonitis) should be its main staple, augmented by small amounts of canned dog food, cottage cheese, mealworms and occasionally a hard-boiled egg chopped up with the shell included. Most learn to drink from a water bottle, which comes attached to cat carriers.

Since it is illegal to import hedgehogs into the United States, most of those you see listed in newspaper classified advertisements are several generations removed from the wild.

The North American Hedgehog Association estimates the pet population nationally is between 8,000 and 10,000.

A few pet stores sell hedgehogs, says George Kugler, who is opposed to the mass production of these tiny creatures. "Like a dog or cat, this isn't something you can buy on a whim," he adds.

Spine colors include black and white, brown-cream and white. The soft face and stomach are black, pink, tan or white.

The Kuglers recommend bedding of white pine shavings two inches thick. They warn against using cedar shavings, which can be toxic, and sawdust bedding, which might trigger respiratory problems.

The hedgehog can be litter-box trained, but only plain, dust-free, nonclumping cat litter with no additives should be used. Because of its low-slung body conformation, clumping litter will stick to its anal area, leading to an infection. The litter box must be cleaned daily for this clean, orderly pet.

The insectivore reaches sexual maturity as early as eight weeks and adulthood in three months. Gestation is 35 days. Litter sizes vary from three to six. The Kuglers wean litters at five weeks but don't sell any until seven weeks of age. With proper care, a captive hedgehog will live to between eight and 10 years.

Unlike ferrets, gerbils and hamsters, the hedgehog is not a chewer. Its strong suits are smell and hearing. Its vision is poor.

Only a handful of local veterinarians treat hedgehogs. Breeders can usually recommend one in their area.

If you go hedgehog hunting at pet stores or breeders' homes, Kugler offers a couple of tips:

-- If the store employee or breeder uses gloves to pick up the hedgehogs, look elsewhere. This is often a tip that person isn't familiar with handling the critters.

-- To test an animal's gentleness, pick it up and see how long it takes to unfurl. It's natural for it to ball up when it senses a stranger is holding it. But if it has an ideal temperament, it should open up quickly. If it stays in a tight ball, hissing and spitting, it will take longer to tame.

-- The vendor or breeder should provide a detailed care sheet guide.