I'm Rollo!

Hello Operation Windmills Readers!
My name is Rollo!

Hi! I'm Rollo!

I am the Hedgehog adoptee that has just found my forever home with Rick and Erin!

Rick has given me the important job of keeping Erin company while he is away at his co-op in Wisconsin. So even though he doesn't leave until May, I am his Christmas present to her this year.
They decided to get me now so that I'd have plenty of time to bond with them both.

Because I'm now a part of their family, Erin thought it would be fun for me to tell everyone a little about myself.

Erin really likes this picture because it shows off my little white "saddlebags" and my cute dark ears!

I am a baby African Pygmy Hedgehog, right now I'm pretty little, I'm only 6 weeks old! Fully grown I will weigh about 1 pound and be about 5-8" long. A hedgies lifespan on average is 3-6 years, though sometimes we live to be as old as 10. Our intelligence is about that of a hamster, we don't really learn tricks, though we can be taught to perform certain behaviors through positive reinforcement (such as litter training - Erin has already started to work on litter training me).

I'm considered an "exotic" pet, even though I was bred right here in Iowa at Susan's Hawkeye Hedgies! Because there are no living hedgehog species native to North America, many people may be unfamiliar with hedgies.  So Erin thought it would be a good idea to asnwer the question "what IS a Hedgehog?" --Besides irresistibly cute!

A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae in the order Erinaceomorpha (Erin takes this to mean that she was destined to own a hedgehog.) I share a very distant ancestry with shrews, but hedgehogs have been their own animal for a long, long time and we hedgies have changed very little in the last 15 million years.

Hedgehogs are solitary, nocturnal, insectivores, but my diet is actually very close to omnivorous - because as a hedgehog, I'm a very opportunistic eater, feeding on anything from fruit to spiders to carrion. However, pet hedgies, such as myself, eat mostly high-quality cat food because of it's high protein/low fat content and are given treats of fruits, veggies and mealworms!

Here I am squishing between my food and water dish. Erin had to move my food when I tried to burrow underneath it and almost dumped it over. 

I'm pretty low maintenance requiring only the occasional bath and toenail clipping. I don't make much noise, except for a soft "huffing" noise when I'm exploring - I'm not a mute however, if seriously threatened a hedgehog is capable of emitting a piercing scream. I have very poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and an extremely sensitive sense of smell. In time, I'll learn to recognize Rick and Erin by their scent, rather than by their voice or sight.

Some hedgies are naturally "grumpy" and may never really outgrow it, but Erin and Rick chose me because I was a friendly hedgehog. (My breeder Susan specializes in healthy, well-socialized hedgies- something Rick and Erin thought was very important!) Also, caretaker handling goes a LONG WAY in socializing a hedgehog. So Erin and Rick will be playing with me everyday (whether I want to or not) to make sure I grow up to be a well-adjusted hedgehog who isn't afraid of people.

My spines are actually hollow hairs made stiff with keratin and unlike the quills of a porcupine, they are not barbed, nor are they poisonous.

So what's a Hedgehog NOT?
I am NOT RELATED to the Porcupine - A Porcupine is a rodent - I am NOT a RODENT
I do not "gnaw" on things
I do not have a discernable odor
I produce very little dander (so it's very rare that a person would be allergic to me)

So here I am, in my new home.

Rick says I'm going to be a super spoiled hedgehog living in this mansion

This is the pen that Rick and Erin built using 2, 30 gallon Sterilite tubs, and some 4" PVC piping as a tunnel - I really like going back and forth between my tubs and pushing around my litter tray.
I also have an igloo to curl up in, Aspen bedding to run around in (pine bedding can cause respiratory problems in hedgehogs) and the same cat food mix I was being fed by Susan.

Here's the top view of my new home. I'm in my igloo re-arranging my bedding.

They have ordered a large wheel and "hamster ball" for me off Amazon, and those should be arriving around the middle of next week. They've also installed a heat lamp and a thermometer to make sure I stay between 72 and 85 degrees - hedgehogs are temperature sensitive and if I get too cold I could try to hibernate which can be fatal for an unprepared (too skinny) hedgehog, and if I get too hot I could suffer from heat stress.

Erin promises to post more pictures of me soon. But I have had a Very Busy morning and she and Rick are letting me sleep now.