It all started with a Google search. Amanda Munz, 23, of Lindenhurst, LI, was Googling “weird animals” with her little brother, when she came upon the humble hedgehog.
Enthralled by their tiny, expressive features and porcupine-like spines, “I thought, ‘I have to have one,’ ” she says.
Blame the Internet, but hedgehogs have become the It girl of exotic pets in recent years. With their little pointy noses, beady eyes and round, spike-covered bodies, they are endlessly photogenic and ripe for memes, Buzzfeed lists and YouTube videos.
“People love anything that looks a bit odd and unique,” says Emily Huh, director of business development for Cheezburger, the media company behinddozens of websites, like Lolcats, devoted to cute animal pictures. “And [hedeghogs] have the ability to roll into a ball and just be a spiky ball of spines.”
Trisha Kiefer, a hedgehog breeder in Mastic Beach, LI, says that interest in hedgehogs has increased 50 to 75 percent over the past two years. “Their popularity has been increasing,” says Kiefer, who sells her hogs for $200.
She sold Munz her hedgehog, Gizmo, a few years back. He’s now 3 ¹/₂ years old and such a part of the family that he’s featured on their Christmas cards.
Although hedgehogs are typically standoffish, Munz says she’s worked hard to socialize Gizmo, taking him out of the cage every night for a few hours. “We joke that he’s not normal,” she says. “He watches TV with us, he loves attention, he loves to ride in the car. His personality is very friendly. He loves people.”
But, she cautions,“Gizmo cuddles and sleeps and that’s it. For people who want something that they can play with, a hedgehog is not for them because they don’t do much.”
For people who have allergies, however, hedgehogs can be good pets. Samantha Argondizza of Massapequa, LI, is allergic to other animals, but is the proud owner of two hedgies, Maci and Lucy. She admits that when her boyfriend first surprised her with Maci as a gift a few years ago, she was a little tentative of petting her. “I was so scared, I had never held a hedge or seen one in person.”
But though those spikes are bad-ass looking, they don’t really hurt. Hedgehogs can’t shoot their spikes out like a porcupine, and they don’t typically bite.
Still, in some places they are considered wild animals and unsuitable to have as pets. In New York City, the health code prohibits pet hedgehogs, but Kiefer says she’s certain there are people keeping them within the five boroughs. “I know people in Brooklyn have them,” she says.
Legality aside, hedgehogs are relatively easy to care for. The carnivorous animals only need about a tablespoon and a half of food a day (Kiefer likes to feed hers high-quality dry cat food, but says they’ll eat raw or cooked meat) and water. They can be kept in a small cage much like a gerbil or hamster. African pygmy hedgehogs — the species usually sold as pets in the United States — are tropical animals and so must be kept in an environment above 68 degrees.
Their health can, however, be quite delicate, and their average life span is just 5 years. They are prone to mites on their skin, can lose their teeth and their eyesight with old age, and, albeit rarely, can develop wobbly hedgehog syndrome, a neurological problem that causes them to lose their balance.
Munz has had some expensive vet bills with Gizmo, like a recent one for $400 to clear up complications from tooth surgery. But, she says the adorable little guy is worth it.
“Gizmo is like my baby,” she exclaims.