Putney Welcomes African Pygmy Hedgehogs

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Putney Animal Hospital is caring for the pair who were abandoned in Harrow


Introducing Elvis and Priscilla

A pair of African pygmy hedgehogs are being cared for by RSPCA staff in Putney after being abandoned in a box in a London park.

A member of the public alerted RSPCA officers after discovering the white hedgehogs huddled up in a cardboard box with newspaper and a fleece in Harrow, at the begining of the month.

Animal collection officer (ACO) Eleanor Davies went to collect the little creatures from the finder’s home and took them to the charity’s Putney Animal Hospital.

She said: “The caller had described them as albino hedgehogs but, as they’d been abandoned in a box and weren’t found free roaming like native hedgehogs, I suspected they were African pygmy hedgehogs, which some people are keeping as pets.

“When I arrived it quickly became clear that they were African pygmy hedgehogs that had clearly been abandoned by an owner who could no longer care for them or who took them on without properly understanding their complex needs.”

The hedgehogs - now called Elvis and Priscilla - are now being cared for by RSPCA staff at Putney before being moved to a specialist wildlife centre for rehoming.

However, the RSPCA is concerned that the African pygmy hedgehog is one of Britain’s latest pet crazes. These hedgehogs are wild animals that simply don’t thrive in a domestic environment. We strongly believe that it’s incredibly difficult to meet the needs of these animals in a home environment and advise anyone thinking of owning one as a pet to think again.

An African pygmy hedgehog’s natural habitat is the steppes, savanna and grassy areas of west, central and east Africa.

RSPCA senior scientific officer in exotics and wildlife trade Stephanie Jayson said: “Despite the recent trend, these unusual creatures do not make good pets. Being naturally nocturnal, they need to be left alone during the daytime and will then want to be active throughout the night. Used to roaming over large areas in the wild, African pygmy hedgehogs need lots of space to move around in an environment that mimics their native African climate.

“The RSPCA has taken in African pygmy hedgehogs that were no longer wanted by their owners, or when owners have realised they cannot care for them properly. We have attended properties where hedgehogs are being kept in completely unsuitable conditions; in enclosures which are far too small, where hedgehogs have been neglected, or fed an inappropriate diet, resulting in serious health problems. We regularly see hedgehogs kept in small rodent cages, which is completely unsuitable for this very active species which, in the wild, travels large distances daily. We have also been called to capture and collect stray African pygmy hedgehogs that have been abandoned, such as this pair.”

To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals in desperate need of care please visit their website.

April 26, 2019