Someone asked me about a month ago what it is exactly that I like about hedgehogs.
My first answer was that they come off as grumpy and mean but are really cute and sweet -- kind of like my husband. I was saying that to my sister's fiancee so I was teasing him by saying that's clearly what my sister and I are attracted to. ;)
I've had some time to think about why I find these animals so intriguing.
Hedgehogs rely heavily on coming off as scary little things. If they're frightened they immediately puff their quills out and start huffing and clicking like mad. Sometimes they pull the spikes on their forehead up and try to head butt the source of their distress. That's really cute. Since we've gotten Zola we have a lot of fun imitating the huffs and head butts. Kind of reminds me of angry toddlers overdue for their naps.
At first it's really scary to see this little spiky thing huff and puff at you but after a while it gets pretty easy to interpret just how upset a hedgehog is by the stiffness of the bristles and the kind of huffs and clicks coming out. After a while it's easy to tell when they're genuinely upset and frightened or if they're just bluffing.
When they're really really upset they can roll into a complete spiky ball. While they're not very comfortable to hold like this the spikes really don't hurt as much as you think. In essence the spikes are single hairs with air in the chambers and feel like sharp hairbrush bristles - not barbed on the end like a porcupine's quills. Just kind of poky. It takes an experienced hand to pick up a balled up hedgehog without a blanket.
All those spikes were evolved to protect a small harmless animal with a very soft underbelly, extremely delicate paws, a taste for bugs, bad eyesight, and a tiny little brain. They came very early in the chain of evolution so their ability to reason is not really there. A hedgehog's favorite thing to do aside from eat and sleep is stick its head in a toilet paper tube. Sometimes Zola sticks her head in a tube and bonks and trips around the cage. It's really fun when a plastic cat toy ball gets stuck in the other end. Usually she sleeps flat on her belly, head in a tube. If she can't see you you can't see her.
They're not the pet for the insecure that's for sure. Ultimately, they wish you weren't there. Sure they can get used to you holding them and stuff but really as long as there's food, water, a heating pad under the house, a toilet paper tube to stick their head in, and a wheel to run on, they can take or leave 'the hand'. If they're used to being held they can be cuddly and sleep in your lap.
But really, they'd rather stick their head in a tube and wait until dark.
