Ever heard of a Pygmy Hedgehog? Well… there is concern over this prickly pet!
This is a pet I have never heard of!
According to the BBC pygmy hedgehogs are are new pet craze in the UK. I must have left the UK before this started!
Until I saw this news story I had no idea what a pygmy hedgehog was, and apparently there is concern over it.
You can see the BBC video here: Concern over prickly pygmy pet
These very cute little animals are being bred purely for the purpose of owning as a pet. From some brief research they seem to hail from Africa (I will try and look inro their origin in a future article).
Animal Welfare groups such as the RSPCA are concerned that these high maintanced animals may become trendy and that normal un-trained people will not have the skills to give them the care they deserve.
The breeder in the video says she understands the concerns but I still feel that many people will buy these and, maybe not give them the care that they deserve.
Personally I think owners of high maintenance pets should be screened and registered. I used to own a bearded dragon and did not need to register but in my first few months of ownership I definitely, accidentally, mistreated the poor thing. In hindsight, I feel, I should have taken an online test or some kind of certification to make sure I knew how to look after it.
What do you think about this? Do you own an exotic pet?
Image source: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42632000/jpg/_42632611_8.jpg
Tags: hedgehog, pygmy hedgehog, weird pet