Couch Friends

In case you were wondering, hedgehogs make great couch friends. When you come home all tired and sunburnt (or cold and damp, or bruised and sore, or...whatever) it is just delightful to pull out your prickly pet and cuddle him on the couch. Maybe throw on some Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe and have some eatins' and you have a relaxing evening.

My Surprise Hedgehog Gift

Today when I came into work my boss gave me a gift which one of my extended coworkers (meaning someone who works in the same department as me, but which I never work directly with) had left for me. It was a tiny and very cute hedgehog eraser; one of the little Japanese ones which can be taken apart and then put back together. What a great way to come into work! I think my gift-giving friend had seen my hedgehog tattoo and that's how she knew I liked them.

It turns out a lot of people are hedgehog fans. For example, today Matt and I were idly browsing around a store called Fontana and one of the employees spotted my hedgehog tattoo on my arm and started telling me how much she loved hedgehogs, and that she had even gotten one for her sister as a gift. This is not the only incident where complete strangers have seen my arm and struck up a conversation. Of my four tattoos people seem most delighted and surprised (delightfully surprised that is) to see the little hedgepiggy. Even though hedgehogs are getting more and more popular they have yet to achieve the tattoo status symbol of say, and eagle or a panther or even a swallow.

Also, Phinneus is very glad to have a group of fans over at the Aurora Healthcare office where my dad works.

Hedgehog Bottle Opener

Just in case anyone wants to score a really cool hedgehog bottle opener for themselves or someone they know *cough cough*, here is one from Anthropologie! Anyone who has a trained eye for hedgehog artifacts has probably noticed an increase in the popularity of our spikey friends. Pop culture has apparently latched into the cuteness and marketability aspect of hedgehogs and come out with hedgehog themed everything. Hooray for hedgehogs! Now maybe people will stop running them over all the time...maybe.

Variety Is The Spice O' Life

Yes, for most variety is the spice o' life, but for my dear Phinneus it is an excuse to pout and be lazy. Yesterday I decided that Phin had had his cage setup the same way for too many months and that it was time to rearrange and use some hog furniture which had been gathering dust, so to speak. He kept his wheel, blankie, and dishes of course, but I traded out his cardboard box and PVC tunnel for a plastic igoo (known as a "pigloo", fondly). He had his cage scrubbed and rinsed, his wheel shone with cleanliness, and he had a wonderfully fresh and clean liner. This morning I went to check on him and, little sunshine that he is, I found his wheel untouched and him under the liner. Ah well, perhaps tonight after he throws his weight around a little he will settle back into a routine.

Chirp Chirp the Wheel Goes Round

The other night Matt was able to enjoy a singular- and rare- hedgehog treat. Phinneus was talking to himself! Apparently he chattered happily as he went about his nightly business of eating, wheeling, pooping, drinking, and eating. And wheeling. And pooping....and so forth. I have only ever heard him make vocal sounds (huffing and puffing do not count) once or twice since I brought him home over a year ago.

I guess it just goes to show that it pays to be an insomniac some nights.

Kitten Thief

The kitten, Luis, is a thief. His chief crime (besides knocking things down and being stinky) is stealing Phin's food. Phinneus lives in a closet- which sounds awful, I know- but has all his amenities to hand. He has his CHE, his timed light, food, water, and complete cage set up. Most of the time we keep the closet doors shut so that naughty kittens can't get in, but sometimes I leave it open for Phin. That's when Luis strikes. He doesn't actually care at all about the hedgehog, he just wants the food. So does the other cat, Rodrigo, but he is much too fat and lazy to do anything. I come in to find kitten-dearest snarfing down all of Phin's kibble and then, when he sees me, he bolts. Argh! Luis, you will learn consequences!...but not too dire because he's too cute to stay mad at.

Phinneus and Pherb, A Duo No More

Yesterday during Small Animal Boot Camp I was busy cleaning everyone's cages and I discovered that either during the night or in the early part of the day Pherb had passed away. I found him curled up with his little eyes shut, so he must have been sleeping and just never woken up. Although this is terribly sad as he was, in my opinion, the best hamster ever, Matt and I suspected that he had reached old age and that he wouldn't last too much longer. We adopted him last summer and so it is impossible to age him. Hamsters are not long-lifers, so it is entirely possible that he simply grew old and died.

I shall miss my dynamic duo, Phinneus and Pherb.