Sometimes They Like You, Sometimes They Don't

I realize that I am writing this belatedly, but when I picked Phinneus up from the friends who were caring for him while I was on vacation he gave me an unexpectedly warm greeting. He was sitting on my lap, amidst his favorite purple blankies, and he crawled off to find a patch of my skin to lick. He licked and licked (I was in a terrible fit of giggles because it tickled so much) and then he started anointing himself like there was no tomorrow. He had big globs of spit all over his quills! Eventually he settled down and allowed himself to be cuddled, no fuss involved.

Hedgehogs all have very different personalities (they remind me somewhat of dachshunds, as they can be stubborn about who they are) and they can arbitrarily like or dislike anyone. Usually they do bond with their owners and become attached to them through the days of love and cuddles. To be a hedgehog owner requires patience and understanding. When a hedgehog balls up and positively spits and pops with what seems to be fury, one must understand that it is in fact fear. These are timid animals who are used to dark and peace and bugs, so a big blundering human can be quite frightening. However, after you win your hedgehog's trust and show them that you are a friend (large amounts of treats helps) they are very adorable and -dare I say? cuddly pets. When meeting new people some hedgies may retreat into their protective ball of quills until they figure out it is safe...or they may decide to despise that person. In this case it would seem that the person has mortally offended said hedgehog, but really I think it is just the little critters being crotchety. In the same way they will want nothing to do with that expensive cat food you just paid and arm and a leg for, or the delicious meal worms that any other hedgehog would go nuts for, but which yours won't even sniff at. Hedgehogs really do call the shots, and they aren't afraid to draw blood with their quills or go on hunger strikes to prove it.