Persephone

Finally I had the camera with me while cleaning out tonight, and my first 'lil female APH was out and about. She stood still for a second and allowed me to get a photo of her. I've had her for a few months now but she rarely stands still long enough to provide a photo opportunity. Everyone, meet Persephone (although Karen keeps calling her Jemima....poor hog doesn't know what to be called!)



This girl is a belter, incredibly tame and trusting. All credit must go to Tan who had this girl for a few years before allowing me to take her on after I enquired about APH availability and info. Not only did she come from Tan's personal collection (I can only imagine how hard that must've been) but Tan very kindly brought her up from Dublin with cage and accessories......I am eternally grateful.

I'm utterly useless with hog morphs but if I remember correctly shes a Dark Algerian Pinto?

Awww shes gorgeous and as two cool names!!! I love the Latter one though, Jemima !!!
Go Tan !! :)

She's beautiful Karl Hogs are awesome.

Tan

haha wow karl i didnt know you kept these i have one called hedwig lol hes an albino

Yep I have quite a few beasties that I don't think have made it onto the forum yet. Its getting the hogs to sit still for long enough to get a good photo that I find difficult!

See you on Friday!

yeah i cant wait lol
and youd be suprised to see how many hedgehogs there are for sale lol
but for the life of me i cant find a yound female hegdhedghog

hedwigdan wrote:but for the life of me i cant find a yound female hegdhedghog

You have obviously been looking in the wrong places Out of our last 9 babies we have had seven females!
Sent you a PM
John

thanks john i pm'd ya back. its just that i will be making my own cage and all the females ive found that dont come with a cage are generally either too old to be bred or havnt been bred by the time theyre one so likely wont ever breed succsefully. also would ya givin us all a bit of info about breeding ? ive read up on it but it would be awesome to actually get info from someone with experience?

Cracking wee hog Karl.

Beautiful hog Karl

Hedwigdan - I got a brown female from John's last litter, gorgeous little thing she is also. Would highly recommend John's hedgies!

thanks lisafay how much was she? john does seem to have a good rep on here hopefully i can get one off him in the near future lol

I actually can't remember Dan, I was buying something else from him at the same time!

Drop him a pm and I'm sure he'll let you know how much he generally charges

hedwigdan wrote:thanks john i pm'd ya back. its just that i will be making my own cage and all the females ive found that dont come with a cage are generally either too old to be bred or havnt been bred by the time theyre one so likely wont ever breed succsefully. also would ya givin us all a bit of info about breeding ? ive read up on it but it would be awesome to actually get info from someone with experience?

Hi mate

If you need any info on hogs you could also drop Tan a PM she's the forum's resident hog guru, she'll keep you right with amy info you need.

hedwigdan wrote:thanks john i pm'd ya back. its just that i will be making my own cage and all the females ive found that dont come with a cage are generally either too old to be bred or havnt been bred by the time theyre one so likely wont ever breed succsefully. also would ya givin us all a bit of info about breeding ? ive read up on it but it would be awesome to actually get info from someone with experience?

Thanks guys for all the kind comments!

Hi Dan
You have probably read a lot about how difficult pygmy hedgehogs are to breed, the truth is that provided you have a male with a very high libido then getting babies is not all that hard. Our first time round with APH's we thought that they were virtually impossible to get to breed and eventually gave up.( We had a male and two females but we now know that it was the fault of the male)
Hedgehogs are induced ovulators so its really up to the male to 'persuade' the female to mate, if however he gives up too easily then obviously no babies will result. If this happens too often it is probably advisable to try a new male.
Our breeding male has now bred with three different females on five separate occasions and just does not take no for an answer.
As I say getting babies is not so difficult but getting the female to rear successfully can be more problematic, peace and quite are essential but even so many babies are lost through maternal neglect or cannabalism.
We have been fortunate in having one female who is an excellent mother who seems to be happiest when rearing a litter of babies, our other two females are just coming to breeding age now so we will have to wait and see how things work out with them.
I hope this is helpful and encouraging
John

hi john i have heard that they are difficult enough to breed also this sounds like a stupid question but my male is an albino that wouldnt make any problems would it? let me know when ya get a new litter and ill tell ya if im still trying ta find one.

hedwigdan wrote:hi john i have heard that they are difficult enough to breed also this sounds like a stupid question but my male is an albino that wouldnt make any problems would it? let me know when ya get a new litter and ill tell ya if im still trying ta find one.

Hi Dan
We have highjacked Karls thread (sorry Karl) so if you want to continue this then we should really start another thread with a new posting and I will be very happy to try and answer any queries you have.
Cheers
John

No problem guys, I'm reading intently and learning as I go so keep the info coming

haha i just took my little hegdehog back form the vet ( nothing serious) the looks that you get from people when youre carrying a white hegdehog down the street! haha

hedwigdan wrote:haha i just took my little hegdehog back form the vet ( nothing serious) the looks that you get from people when youre carrying a white hegdehog down the street! haha

You should proably transport her in a tub/carrier of some description....

yeah i know we had her in a wicker basket absolutely full of towels! and the vet is almopst litteraly down the road. were buying a small cat carrier soon

That's cool - I had an image of someone marching through crowds in Dublin or wherever with a hedgehog in their arms!!!

A box with some bedding in it would be fine for a short journey like that

yeah he was fine but in the vets he fell it was only a few foot and hes fine now running on his wheel and eating great.... some of the vets are clueless they thought id found him on the side of the road and i was ringing him in to be rehabilitated! i had to come in and help because he wouldnt uncurl from his ball!

Oh gosh, hope he's ok.That must have been a shock for him the poor bugger. Mine stabbed my hand tonight and it kills, haha!

yeah hes eating and running on his wheel but ill keep an eye on him for a few days. my hands are covered in tiny holes from hedwig while i was trying to calm him down he didnt really like me when i got him lol
and its lucky it happened in the vet i suppose

Theres my girly, she's looking good Karl and love how you got some Pinto into that shot :). It really does pay off when you put time into them, she was a perfect hog for talks (as you saw in the carpark and have experienced yourself) due to how intrusive you can be with her, like all my others. Another great one for showing scruffing too. I do miss her but I've more then enough pets and I know she went to a great home plus the updates help a lot so thank you for all the PMs and the photos

What age are you classing too old to breed Don? They do not have to be bred by the age of one to successfully breed at all, this is a total myth.