Mr. Hedgehog

I think we've finally agreed on a name -- well, names. Now that I've met him, I was leaning towards Humphrey or Huffington. The kids (especially Boo) were pretty insistent that he be called Spike. I suggested that Spike could be his first name and then I/we could choose a middle name. Boo wanted Spike Pearl, but Norman agreed with Spike Huffington (after all, he's more of a huffer than a humpfer). His full name would then become Spike Huffington Hedgehog, or SHH. That's also a great reminder to the kids that they need to be quiet and move slowly around the hedgehog if they don't want to startle him.


I woke "Huffie" up around 9:30pm because I wanted to make sure he was handled today; we need to get used to each other. First I removed his plastic igloo and rustled the shavings around him. He wasn't particularly amused. Then I placed a kibble nearby. That sparked his interest enough to move a bit, and munch. I tried picking him up with a spatula again, but he balled up in my hand and startled/prickled me enough that I dropped him -- fortunately it was just a couple of inches back into his cage. My nervousness was making him even more nervous. So I took a deep breath, scooped my hands underneath him (grabbing a pile of shavings too), sat down in my chair, leaned back, and placed him on my belly. He sniffed, nudged, and huffed for a bit and Simon took pictures for me.


He's back in his cage now, curled up in his igloo again. Hopefully not too traumatized.