The answers in these files are given in a ``digest format,'' which should make it easier for you to scan through them for the information you want. Each question begins with a line of hyphens, followed by its number and the question itself, as given in the Table of Contents above. In many newsreaders, including rn, trn, and strn, you can jump from one question to the next by hitting CONTROL-G. You can also look for a particular answer by searching for its number or for words from the question.

There are also some formatting aspects which may appear odd at first, such as indents and combinations of tabs and spaces. These are used to automatically convert the FAQ into HTML format, using a utility program I created for this. Unfortunately, it's not very adaptable to other FAQs as it was written in some haste, but it does do a reasonable job on the Hedgehog FAQ.

This FAQ is posted once a month (usually on or around the 20th) to the rec.pets, rec.answers, and news.answers newsgroups. It is also available by anonymous FTP from the main news.answers repository:

This FAQ is intended to cover many of the basic questions about hedgehogs. It's somewhat unusual in that it deals both with pet (African Pigmy) hedgehogs, and with wild hedgehogs (primarily European, but also African). Most of the FAQ is aimed primarily at pet hedgehogs, largely because that is the information I have to draw on. I hope to continue to extend the coverage of the FAQ to address both groups reasonably, and since there is considerable crossover in how the information applies, much of what is said about one group is applicable to the other, with a little common sense used in the interpretation.

The number of books and other sources for information is finally expanding to a reasonable quantity, however, there is still relatively little information available on caring for and understanding hedgehogs, at least compared to most animals. While this FAQ does not intend to be an in-depth dissertation on hedgehogs, it is expected to provide some basic information, and to be a source for new information as it is learned, rather than waiting for the next book to be published.

I should also point out that I expect to keep the comments fairly light, so as not to make the bulk of this FAQ qualify as a cure for insomnia. If you start to find it boring, tell me -- I probably fell asleep while typing that section, and messed up on the what I was saying.

I do have to admit to one pang of guilt. When I discovered there was so very little information on looking after hedgehogs, I desperately wanted a FAQ to refer to. Since there wasn't one (Sorry Nathan, I didn't even know about your efforts then) I figured the best way to get all the information I wanted was to write the FAQ, and hope the comments it managed to get would provide all the missing bits and pieces. 'Nuff said, let's get on with hedgehogs.

I can take credit for only a relatively small part of the contents of this FAQ. Most of the useful information deserves thanks to others. I have tried to give credit to the right person in the right place by indenting specific comments by others and citing the authors. My real contribution has been to cobble together the many useful pieces of information on hedgehogs that have appeared on the Internet, and elsewhere, into a single source.

With this latest version (3.X), I think the FAQ, and myself, have finally reached the point where we both know something about hedgehogs, at last. As part of this rewrite, I've tried to blend in many of the comments that people have provided, and in some cases, I may have dropped actual quotes from the FAQ. I want to apologize to those of you whose information has now become part of the prose, rather than a separate quotation. I've done this to try and make the information flow better for the reader, and I can promise it has not been done lightly.

Of all the contributors, I would like to extend a special thanks to Nathan Tenny whose unofficial hedgehog FAQ formed the foundation for the information below. Nathan deserves the lion's share of the inspiration on this FAQ, and should be considered the father of the hedgehog FAQ. Thanks Nathan -- you saved my first version from just being filled with hedgehog anecdotes, instead of good information.

I would also like to thank Katherine Long for the encouragement to actually pull this together, and Pamela Greene for allowing me to use the ferret FAQ as a guide for the topics and sections below, and many other useful tidbits of FAQ formatting.

I have a special thanks for Cathy A. Johnson-Delaney, DVM, who as one of the first few veterinarians who has owned (or is that owned by?) hedgehogs, has provided some medical info for the FAQ. Thanks for the help Cathy, and for making me feel a lot better about this pile of babbling.

Thanks to Peter Captijn, who almost single handedly kick-started me into finally adding the information on European hedgehogs that I've been meaning to for ages (and who actually contributed most of it) -- may your garden be overrun by prickly little visitors.

And next to David Mantle for sending me an absolutely amazing wealth of information on European hedgehogs that will take me a while to wade through and incorporate all the wonderful tidbits into the FAQ.

Sort of a quick separate thanks to all the hedgehog-happy readers of the rec.pets newsgroup, and the hedgehog listservers, who have unknowingly added volumes to this FAQ, and especially to Patty-Anne Lea for boosting my ego above and beyond measure and letting me know for sure that this creation is appreciated.

In a general sense, I would like to thank all the people at the N.A.H.A., HI, and the IHR for their help and encouragement.

I want to extend many thanks to the contributors who all deserve a round of applause for what they have contributed: Melanie A. Abell; Ron Adrezin; Andrew Albinger; Debbie Allen; Jeffery Allen; Debbie Andelin; Tammy Baer; Lance Barlow; Brenda Basinger; Michael Bell; D. Bishop; Shirley Ann Blakeney; Dick Brisky, Matt and Renee Butcher; Tom Buzzwo; Eloise Campbell; Christi Cantrell; Travis Carter; Chingur/Lani Richey; chvall; Teresa Claudino; Wayne W. Clendenin; Kathleen Close; Jazmyn Concolor; Bill Corner; Peyton M. Creadick; John R. Daily; Marcin Dobrucki; Doug Dorer and Mary Anne; Dave Ehrnstein; Elizabeth Galante; Robyn Gorton; Tex Green; Leslie H.; Michael Hainsworth; Lynn Hallquist; Kim Heys; Kelly A. Hodge; John Horton; Stefan Hossack; Penny Jackson; Laura Jefferson; Jerry; Julihana; Marcia Kautz; Kay of Hedgehog Helpline; Anders Kemi and Siw Bjorkgren; Kirby J. Kerr; Lisa Ladouceur; LeAnne and Adrian; Julie Leir-Van Sickle and Glen Van Sickle; John Lester; George Lewis; Terri Lewis; Alicia Look; Peter Mack; Melissa Maloney; John F. Masinter; Sharon Massena; Donald Martin; Janet Martin; Mike McGary; Gerald McKiness; Antigone Means; Melissa and Heather; Melissa-Lee; Jan Micheel; Elizabeth Jane Monroe; Julie Moor; Tiffany Mross; Willard B. ``Skip'' Nelson, DVM; Mary Novak; John Ofner; Dr. Tetsuro Oka, DVM; Ligia Ortega; Tim Pearson; Christine Porter; Pam Powers; Vanessa Purvis; Dr. Nigel Reeve; Todd Reeves; Paul Ritchey; Lisa Rowe; Rick Russell; Seabury Salmon; Jon Santarelli; Richard Saunders; Sigrun Seetrevik; Sheri; Jon Simmons; Craig Simpson; Shelley Small; Wendi Smit; Bryan H. Smith; Alexis Sneller; Elyse Spaite; Randy Starcher; Ken Steigenberger; Pat Storer; Chuck Stoup; Doyle Stradling; Susan & Chia; Teresa; Tirya; Dan Tishman; Barry Turner; Steve Turpin; Anja van der Werf; Ian Van Natter; Jesse and Kris Welsh; Tom Weston; Kyrstin Westwind; Linda Wheatley; Janet Willacy; Johnny M. Williams; Dominique Winther; Woobie; Dawn Wrobel, Jennifer Young-Watson; Kathy and Donald Zepp; and Znofyl; and last but not least, my resident editors-in-quills Quiver and Pepper, and the late, dear Velcro, Sprocket, Hocus, Pocus, Quibble, Bramble, Skewer, and Popeye.

One last thank you that deserves separate note is to my wife, Betty Gunn for happily sharing and encouraging my hedgehog addiction, presenting me with Velcro, and for repeatedly translating this whole thing into English, from what ends up being little more than a mish-mash of spelling mistakes and punctuation that bears no resemblance to any language from this planet.

If there is anyone I have missed, you have my apologies, and please let me know. I hope that the list above will continue to grow over the coming years.

This is your chance to help add things to the FAQ. Some of the specific information I'm trying to track down is listed below, but please don't limit yourselves to this -- I'm very open minded about taking any kind of information I can get a hold of.

Those portions of this file written by others remain the property of their respective authors.

Subject: Revision history

The most accurate description of the version of this FAQ is the date at the top. For really minor changes, I won't necessarily change the version number, but I'll always change the date.

Version 3.32 - 25 November 2001

No changes this month.