Your comments on hedgehogs are incorrect and insensitive. They require a good bit of work if you are actually going to care for them properly, rather than just treating them like part of the furniture. They need a constant temperature, good clean conditions, a custom wheel and regular exercise (this is an animal that can travel miles a night, a two-foot cage is not large enough), a specialized & varied diet, careful regular bathing and nail trimming, and DAILY interaction with human beings to keep them well socialized. Otherwise they will turn into frightened, unhappy, and unhealthy animals - the kind that are given to rescue societies all the time. When well kept and socialized, they interact well, show a lot of interest in their environment, love to wander and try different things to eat. They also require a vet with a specialty in exotic animals (cat & dog vets won't treat them). They are prone to mites and cancers.

Hedgehogs from a responsible breeder are not that expensive (certainly less than a cat or dog). The reason they aren't "cheap" is because they must be handled daily from soon after birth until they are weaned, otherwise they are not capable of becoming pets. Breeders also must be USDA licensed, and keep clear bloodline records because hedgehogs are prone to a genetic disease - WHS, a neuromuscular degenerative condition, which breeders in the US are attempting to eradicate. (For the same reason, there is a Hedgehog Registry, to track WHS and other causes of hedgehog mortality). Hedgehogs from a breeder usually range from $100-$200 -- getting a healthy, well socialized animal is more than worth it.

Yes, you might be able to find a "cheap" hedgehog, but buyer beware - you may get an animal from a shelter that has been mistreated or never properly handled, and so will never make a good pet. And a hedgehog rescue society often won't give hedgehogs to first-time owners, as rescue animals usually need an experienced person to care for and resocialize them.

By the way, the reason certain states don't allow you to keep hedgehogs (and why pet stores don't sell them) is because they can carry salmonella.

We have a snake and on a day to day basis she is cheaper than our cat, although I believe my husband had to spend a bit in the first place to buy the cage, accessories and the snake as well.

However, I would rather pay the extra for the cat who I can cuddle and stroke.

I used to have one of those frogs, they get pretty big. Mine lived forever, they are really active during the day also, mine was anyway.

Great post though, I have 4 dogs, 1 cat and 2 peacocks. I have a water problem that is just toooooo much maintenance for an aquarium, so my 50 gal. tank is in the closet.

dude, what is with people? re bartlett, you have just painted hedgehog owners as complete nutcases. rhere wasn't anything in that article that indicated that the writer wanted you to treat a hedgehog like a piece of furniture. why are so many reader so overly-sensitive? goodness gracious, take a chill pill!

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Man, those brine shrimp are something, eh?

Well, I generally don't want to buy pets from pet stores. There's something inherently sad, at least for me, in seeing all those betas lined up in tiny cups with nothing to see or so but float sadly, looking at the other betas. I got really freaked out at a craft store upon finding that they were selling frogs as decorative accents for lucky bamboo arrangements.

That said, Lindsey has advocated for the adoption of hedgehogs and other pets from shelters in this thread. You can find all kinds of animals that needs homes, from hamsters to iguanas, by going to Petfinder. Also, keep in mind that not everyone can have a cat or a dog. Some people have allergies. Some people don't have the time. Some people live in apartment complexes that don't allow cats and dogs.

[I'm going to take a moment to point out something that I feel needs saying: just because one blogger says something on this web site doesn't mean that it's endorsed by the entire slate of bloggers. So far, no one (especially Lindsey) has written anything that I personally object to on Wise Bread, but there may come a time when someone posts something that other writers may politely disagree with. Don't assume that one writer's opinion speaks for everyone. "Wise Bread advice" does not come from a single source - we're a diverse group of writers from a wide range of backgrounds.]

With that out of the way, I still stand behind Lindsey's post here. She's not advocating anything morally objectionable.

Oh, and BTW, hissing cockroaches are awesome. I can't stand bugs, but they are pretty nifty.

We have turtles. They cost about $5 each when we got them. They've lasted 5 years so far, we keep them in an old fish aquarium. They are the ultimate low maintenance survivor pet- once during a move we forgot and left them in the car overnight (in December). I guess they just hibernated or something, because they were alive under the ice!

And, they'll eat crickets, spiders, and moths caught around the house; my husband even taught ours to swim up to the glass and "knock" for food.

bunnies are another animal sometimes suggested as an 'easy' pet, but like hedgehogs, they require constant handling from an early age, and much more space than any of the commercially available 'hutches' supply. (I think the usual rabbit hutch design came from when rabbits were kept until they got to casserole-size.) They also need a very varied diet (no pale lettuce, not too much carrot, varied fruit and veg, lots of dark leaves and hay), nail-clipping, and they don't take anaesthetics well, so most vets won't spay the females, only the males. Rabbit fans will tell you how wonderful they are, but they aren't as low-maintenance as some might imagine - definitely do your research if you are considering getting one. Ours are very cute and I like them, but I won't replace them when they pass on.

I'm sticking with adopting unwanted cats.