convincing my parents

[hedgielover]

ILOVElily: that was such a well written and articulate post. I hope your parents are very proud of you for how responsible, friendly and well spoken you are.

catOkid: any news? have you tried any of our suggestions or made any progress with your parents? I hope that you discover a hedgehog is the right pet for you good luck!

[ILOVElily]

thanks! and my parents are proud they remind me everyday how much they love me ( can get lil' bit annoying but than again i'm probably on pinchitas nerves all day heehee)

yah cat0kid any news? lately you havn't updated lately.

[meganis--]

im 18 and i am still living at home, i am getting my little girl next month and i too had to go thru the convincing process. Heres what i did in a list haha:

1. do your research: i bought a hedgehog book from petsmart and read it when my mom was around and obnoxiously talked about all the cool hedgie facts
2. MAKE SURE you mention: hedgies are not smelly, they are very quiet, and they are hypo-allergetic (no allergies for those who are allergic to cats dogs or other small pets)
3. talk about the fact that they are potty trainable!
4. i mentioned to my parents that because i am in college and working, having a pet of my own that i can take care of will help me practice responsability in all aspects of my life.
5. sad but true: hedgies only live about 3-6 years, for some parents they are worried that their kids will move on and leave them with these unwanted or inconvienient pets, but hedgies dont last 10-20 years so your parents probably wont be put in this situation.

Good luck!!
ps- once you get studying you will be completely consumed with these amazing pets! Beware of addiction!! haha

[Nancy]

2. MAKE SURE you mention: hedgies are not smelly, they are very quiet, and they are hypo-allergetic (no allergies for those who are allergic to cats dogs or other small pets)
3. talk about the fact that they are potty trainable!

2. Unfortunately, this is not true. While hedgehogs themselves have no body odor, one of the most common complaints about them is the smell of the cage and poopy wheel that they run on all night. Babies in particular smell because they are poop machines so cage and wheel needs to be cleaned daily which is often something people, especially young people, don't want to do.

It is myth that hedgehogs don't cause allergies. While sometimes those who are allergic to other pets do not react to hedgehogs, for most they do cause allergies and often people with no other allergies are allergic to hedgehogs. Allergies is one of the most common reasons that hedgehogs are rehomed. If you search on here you will find many who have been rehomed because of allergies.

3. Yes, some hedgehogs can be potty trained but the majority will never be.

[Herisson]

You should read the book LizardGirl wrote. It's up to date and has much better information. She has it available on PDF as well at the bottom of this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4163&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=PDF&start=50

[digipen13]

I'm also having a trouble with convincing my parents to have a hedgehog.
but I think I have to use some of the tricks you guys said here. =) (crossing my fingers)

[Pipkin]

Oh yes do not be fooled into thinking hedgies dont smell, they stink especially baby ones they do lose the strong smell as they age, but at first that baby poop is very strong. cute though .
I was going to say i thought some people on here were allergic to their babies.

Id definately say the main thing is to show responsibility around the house, take on a few chores or save your pocket money up to a certain amount to prove you can save for emergencies.

Luckily my parents bought me and my sister lots of animals as we were growing up our house was full of gorgeous pets, but like most kids me and my sister loast interest in the cleaning side of things, thankfully i have great parents and they always cleaned the pets out regularly and took full responsibility for them on behalf of us, we were only young (about 8 yrs old), but thats the only reason we had so many was that my parents were completely willing to take on the responsibilities, both financially and cleaning aspects. Which I am very thankful for now, because I am now 25 and i have 6 pets and they are my life,I put them first all the time and spend hours a day looking after them all, but i love it, I think this was from watching my parents with our pets as I grew up. They showed me responisbility and how to look after a pet, they didn't just disown it because we didnt look after them properly. So it is partly the parents responsibility as well as the childs to make sure any pet in their home is taken care of.

[littleblacktutu]

Hi there, im new to the forums..I just wanted to say that im 23 and I also had to convince my father that Im responsible enough to take care of a hedgehog. For awhile he had to live at my boyfriends house, because my father wanted nothing to do with him. Finally my dad came around after talking to him. I told him that it was like a hamster and that it would stay in my room, and i would take full care of him. Id buy all the hedgies food, wash the fleece bedding myself(even tho my mom seems to want to help..), and also if something were to happen I would pay for the vet bills. I set aside time each day to bond with my hedgie. As i type this Peno is sitting in my lap in her blanket. Also i pick off daily poopie from her liner twice a day. But good luck to everyone whose parents are unsure about it.

[rainbowcookie]

My parents would have NEVER let me get a hedgehog! They let us have cats, and a few outside dogs. I had a few betta fish in my bedroom in high school. I always wanted a small caged pet of my own, and I know I was a serious and responsible kid. Looking back, I can see that I probably would not have had a lot of time to spend with a small animal, and my parents STILL don't get why I love hamsters, mice, rats, hedgehogs, etc!

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but the truth is that some parents just won't go for any kind of small pet.

I wanted a pet in college, too... but they were not allowed in the dorms or campus apartments. I didn't want to risk losing a pet. I've always loved animals, and by that time had done a lot of research on the pet I really wanted--a hedgehog.

I moved into my very own house in July 2007... and I got a hedgehog the very next month! Being an adult isn't always what it's cracked up to be, but at least you can have your pets!

[shetland]

ILOVElily, are you really 12 years old??? Wow, you are so impressive. Your comments are so honest and thorough concerning the responsibilities of hedgie ownership. Time, commitment, funding-you focus on everything. You also note that someone of a younger age might still need backing of parents in the event of a crisis. A++++