No shrinking violet, but Flower came up roses

Unfortunately, grumpy hedgehogs quickly fall out of favour with inexperienced owners for not fulfilling their idea of the perfect pet. Even less time is then spent socialising the animal, and it drifts even further away from the owners’ expectations. This chain of events is why NEHR are so busy, and why a certain elderly lady called Flower took so long to find a home.

Luckily, as an experienced adopter, Claire Thorne has something of a sympatico with hissing, popping balls of spikes. Also, having previously rehomed Blossom, one of Flower’s babies, she felt a certain attachment to the old lady. But where Blossom was a little cuddle bug, Claire describes Flower as “a huffing ball of brimstone”. Of course, it’s a lot easier to find a home for a young, friendly animal. But luckily there are people like Claire who take on the other end of the hog spectrum.

Flower was approaching the incredible age of six when Claire took her home, and they quickly began to get each other. Although Flower will never be a cuddly pet, Claire loves her for what she is and is happy to let Flower lay the ground rules - minimal handling, lots of free-roaming time, and keep the fingers well-clear when dishing out the treats!

PigAdvisor New Home Review:

Jeez. Finally, FINALLY we are getting somewhere! Huffs. Hisses. Spike-charges. Finger-nips. How much good, constructive, quality feedback did you need?!? I’m a rescue hedgehog. RESCUE. You know what that means? It means you get to be held prisoner in your own home and bow to my demands, and can expect to lose any fingers that enter my pouch.

Eventually, the human seems to have taken this on board. I’m working on her timings - from taking me out of my viv, she has 3.5 seconds exactly to put me down on the floor for exploring time. Any more and I go thermonuclear. And the treats must be frequent, and surrendered in a swift and timely fashion – remove from tub, drop on floor, and retreat. She’s not always perfect, possibly could use a little extra training. But we’re getting there at last.

I think I can work with this one