Hello all,
As many of you will or have realized, I am new to this site. I have been interested in getting a hedgehog for the past year and a half or so. I have been researching forever and was delighted when my roommate agreed to get one a month ago. I contacted a local breeder and began collecting supplies from various places: a 2 x 2 cage, a silent spinner wheel, liners etc.
As I went about obsessively gathering all this, I began to really think about the cage set up and caring for the animal I would treat as my child. And the little seeds of doubt began to grow in my mind. I live in a college dorm. I live in a college dorm that DOES allow pets, up to small guinea pigs. Now, the college demands that all animals be kept in a tank that was no bigger than 10 gallons, which we ALL know is blasphemous, and I know many people who keep hamsters in wire cages. So I felt it would be find to get a proper cage. But then I got to thinking about, if the RA's saw and demanded we change the cage, who could I give my hedgie away to? (I would NEVER EVER subject a hedgie to those living conditions). Then I got thinking about the heating situation, How could I make sure to keep my baby's cage the right temp when heat emitters aren't allowed? (But heated rocks are! WTF?) And finally, my roommate is up until late and keeps a light on, NOT good for the hedgie's sensative need for light cycles. Not to mention, limited access to getting off campus to an exotic vet when you are a freshman with no car.
So finally, three days ago, after giving it much thought, I decided that it would not be fair to my future baby to bring it in to a situation where there are so many "What-ifs". When I told my roommate, she yelled at me, saying she never wanted one. (That was odd...) SO I contacted my breeder and let them know that I was withdrawing my reservation.
I am confident that I made the right decision. But I am devastated. I honestly feel like part of my destiny is to be a hedgie mom.... I tend to spend a great deal of my free time on this forum, reading the topics and looking at rescues and available babies on various breeder sites... I know I will have one, one day but the wait is hard. I did the right thing, right?
As many of you will or have realized, I am new to this site. I have been interested in getting a hedgehog for the past year and a half or so. I have been researching forever and was delighted when my roommate agreed to get one a month ago. I contacted a local breeder and began collecting supplies from various places: a 2 x 2 cage, a silent spinner wheel, liners etc.
As I went about obsessively gathering all this, I began to really think about the cage set up and caring for the animal I would treat as my child. And the little seeds of doubt began to grow in my mind. I live in a college dorm. I live in a college dorm that DOES allow pets, up to small guinea pigs. Now, the college demands that all animals be kept in a tank that was no bigger than 10 gallons, which we ALL know is blasphemous, and I know many people who keep hamsters in wire cages. So I felt it would be find to get a proper cage. But then I got to thinking about, if the RA's saw and demanded we change the cage, who could I give my hedgie away to? (I would NEVER EVER subject a hedgie to those living conditions). Then I got thinking about the heating situation, How could I make sure to keep my baby's cage the right temp when heat emitters aren't allowed? (But heated rocks are! WTF?) And finally, my roommate is up until late and keeps a light on, NOT good for the hedgie's sensative need for light cycles. Not to mention, limited access to getting off campus to an exotic vet when you are a freshman with no car.
So finally, three days ago, after giving it much thought, I decided that it would not be fair to my future baby to bring it in to a situation where there are so many "What-ifs". When I told my roommate, she yelled at me, saying she never wanted one. (That was odd...) SO I contacted my breeder and let them know that I was withdrawing my reservation.
I am confident that I made the right decision. But I am devastated. I honestly feel like part of my destiny is to be a hedgie mom.... I tend to spend a great deal of my free time on this forum, reading the topics and looking at rescues and available babies on various breeder sites... I know I will have one, one day but the wait is hard. I did the right thing, right?