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Another hello from New Zealand!

3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Torique 
#1 ·
Hi there,

My name is Bronwyn. I am another New Zealander with a pet hedgie. Mine is an 8 week old girl called Leslie. I rescued her a couple of weeks ago when she got her leg trapped in a friend's fence. I normally raise butterflies so this is my first warm blooded pet for quite a while.

Looking forward to meeting others with hedgies and learning how to look after these awesome creatures. :smile:
 
#2 ·
Hi there,

My name is Bronwyn. I am another New Zealander with a pet hedgie. Mine is an 8 week old girl called Leslie. I rescued her a couple of weeks ago when she got her leg trapped in a friend's fence. I normally raise butterflies so this is my first warm blooded pet for quite a while.

Looking forward to meeting others with hedgies and learning how to look after these awesome creatures.
Hi and welcome.

Is this hedgehog a wild one?
 
#3 ·
Is this hedgehog a wild one?
Yes. She got her leg trapped in a friend's garden edging (mini) fence thing. She got stuck at night time and my friend couldn't free her so rang me the next morning. Apparently hedgie cried all night. We ended up taking the fence apart with bolt cutters.

Took her to the vet with a big swollen leg and was surprised to learn she's only a youngster. So I think she may have been following mum and siblings through the garden when she got stuck.

Since living at my place she's adopted me as mum #2 and likes copying me and getting cuddles. So I've decided not to put her back out in the wild. She has learned how to live in a house with people and seems very happy. If she'd been older I would have taken her back to my friend's garden.

She's lovely. So nice to watch Tele at night with a warm, happy mammal sleeping on my lap! :p
 
#7 ·
I don't know the laws in your country but in a lot of places it's illegal to keep wild animals as pets.

It's never a good idea to take animals from the wild, some carry diseases. It's best if you find a sanctuary or refugee and take it there.
I think this situation might actually be a little different than the typical rules - still worth checking on, just in case, but hedgehogs are invasive & considered pests in New Zealand. So it's unlikely to be a good idea to re-release the hedgehog and it may mean that wildlife rehabs there won't take them in. The rehab I worked at euthanized invasive species.
Somehow I thought my comment didn't post but it did and in the meantime I looked it up and I found the same information, they are pest so it will be better at home with the new momma.

I would suggest taking it to he vet to make sure is not sick and the leg is improving.
Yep. Hedgehogs are considered a pest in New Zealand because they can eat eggs of birds who nest on the ground. In Leslie's case she'll be living with me so isn't going to be a pest so I am not worried. As far as I am aware it isn't illegal to keep them as pets. I took her to the vet and they deal with wild hedgehogs regularly, helping them back to health. My vet assumed mine was a pet. The pet stores also are familiar with the occasional person having a hedgehog pet and my local store has even invited Leslie to visit. So I don't think it's a big deal.

That said, I wouldn't recommend anyone in NZ simply take a hedgehog out of the wild because they feel like having one as a pet. I only have Leslie because I rescued her as a baby.
 
#5 ·
I think this situation might actually be a little different than the typical rules - still worth checking on, just in case, but hedgehogs are invasive & considered pests in New Zealand. So it's unlikely to be a good idea to re-release the hedgehog and it may mean that wildlife rehabs there won't take them in. The rehab I worked at euthanized invasive species.
 
#8 ·
omg someone from new zealand, i found this website too researching hoglets. im currently hand raising 3 3-4week old hoglets at the moment. cute little babies. no injuries so hoping they will be able to be released. :)
 
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#12 ·
Very kind of you to two to take care of those hedgehogs :) To clarify a little - they can't become domesticated. A wild animal, at best, can only become "tame", but domestication is process which takes years of breeding and is something very different from simply "taming" a wild animal. Even the pet African pymgy hedgehogs aren't fully domesticated. Yours will still be wild animals, and be better off outside. If you can, I would recommend contacting a local hedgehog rescue (even though they're considered a pest in NZ, there are rescues) to ask for advice and whether to release them or not, or if they know a good area to release them (like an enclosed garden, if they can't go fully back to the wild). If you have such a garden yourself it might be an option too.
 
#13 ·
Hi there,

My name is Bronwyn. I am another New Zealander with a pet hedgie. Mine is an 8 week old girl called Leslie. I rescued her a couple of weeks ago when she got her leg trapped in a friend's fence. I normally raise butterflies so this is my first warm blooded pet for quite a while.

Looking forward to meeting others with hedgies and learning how to look after these awesome creatures. 😄
Hi Bronwyn - i need some help as i rescued a hedgie he is blind - just dont know who to reach out to and i am stressing. can you help me please -
 
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