This is... too cute... *Dies of the cuteness*

You may have to upgrade to the most recent Quicktime to get the proper video codec.

Man, I hate the thousands of mis-matched standards out there. I'll see what I can do to fix it for you, tonight.

Thanks! I, too, want to die of cuteness! :)

Very cute Kits. He's a busy little guy.

Great composition! That final shot made me laugh.

He finally gave up at that point, for a moment. If you hold him on his back, he squirms continuously until you flip him over and let him run free to explore. The same applies to being trapped in a container, including the bathroom sink. The little guy isn't happy unless he has the run of the entire apartment.

Swimming tired him out for awhile, at least.

A new discovery, several nights ago: he has figured out how to climb the stairs. I couldn't believe it, but that little squirmy pin cushion can make his way, slowly, up to the loft, with the help of his claws. He's getting around better than I'd imagined he would, including moving so fast in short bursts that I have to break into a jog to stop him from getting into something he shouldn't be in!

It isn't a question of if, but when he learns to escape his enclosure. That morning searching is going to suck. :)

OK, now I seriously want one too. Reminds me of when I had gerbils. I loved putting them in the bathtub, with or without water, and letting them go to town trying to get out. Little buggers could too!! More than once I stepped out for literally a second, and the next hour would be spent hunting them down. Thanks for taking the time to share!

Little-bitty padlocks are cheap at your local hardware store.

We don't have him in a cage, as most cages are too easily climbed (and hedgehogs love to climb) which opens a lot of opportunity for injury. I went the "big ol' plastic tub" route and ended up with what you see, here. Once he gets large enough to stack the stuff inside and find his way out, I'll fashion some screened tops for them and add air holes to the sides. For now, he's not able to even come close to getting out.

The lego stairs (which assist him to get into the PVC connecting pipe) will also be removed once he gets big enough to climb without them, which will make it even more difficult for him to find anything to stack. Still, I'm sure he'd figure out a way.

...and yes, the "check cap" on the PVC pipe ensures that his home is exapandable enough if he ever tires of the lack of space. This pen proved to be really cheap and easy to make, not to mention easy to clean.

Great video! What did you pay for the lil bugger?

UT:

I want to report a suspicious post. If this isn't a blatant whopping product placement post designed to sell 1,000,000 hedgehogs, I'll eat my hat.

Kitsune:

Thank God I watched that in private or we'd have to shoehorn another link into the food chain here at HouseofV. And since *I* don't have my goats yet, that would not make me very happy. Not that I could sustain that indignation for long with a li'l rascal like that scampering about. Running for his little spiky life from the cats. :rolleyes:

*struck down and in critical condition from cuteness, with hopes of survival*

That was just too extraordinarily sweet.

He's a cutie! I don't know that I'd want one over a dog, but I'd consider it.

I don't usually like the word cute, but am struggling to express myself with another word... He is very appealing :)

I had no idea hedgehogs swam so well! Although I suppose it makes sense given their habitats.

I used to rent a house that had problems with damp - to the extent we would get slugs inside the house. If we left the door open on summer evenings, hedgehogs would come up the back steps and sniff longingly...

I had to uninstall QuickTime and download QuickTime Alternative 1.68 final. It was worth it. :D

You had to what? Oh, for the love of--

I struggled, endlessly, to produce a distributable video with Windows and Pinnacle and had little luck, so I moved to iMovie. Everything looked good, but I didn't realize the encode had defaulted to H.264 and it seems not everyone has that or their installs don't give it to them. Sigh. The next one will work out better, I hope.

He's been a pain, lately, so don't let the cute fakery in the video fool you much. He's fun, but he can be a punk. The main issue right now is that he wants his day to begin at 01:00 and I'd rather it begin around 21:00 or so. I've been waking him early in an attempt to force him to a diurnal schedule, but he wants nothing of it and remains highly photophobic. (Did you notice all the shots in the video are of him struggling to find a dark place to hide?)

Hedgehog disapproval, by the way, is shown in the form of grumpiness (spikes!) and poo. My hands always show evidence of both by around 11pm or so. :p

You can pay anywhere from $100 to $200 for a hedgehog, depending on coloration and such. A couple of things to consider: they're illegal in some states (CA, GA, PA) and they're prone to genetic problems. It is a wise idea to look into the critter's family history to make sure the family tree has "enough branches to support it", or else you're in for a lot of misery. If all works out, they stick around for upwards of seven years or so.