This weekend when I briefly visited with my parents and was gushing about the new pet hedgehog I was about to purchase, I found out something I only had a vague memory of. Apparently, I've loved hedgehogs since I was a little girl growing up in Germany from age 3-5. A different breed of these lives there like squirrels do here. I would approach these in hopes of becoming friends. Well, my mom always yanked me away as they would hiss at me, but now I've finally got one for a friend. Throughout the last couple years I've contemplated getting one, after reading the tale of fellow crafter Brandy Agerbeck's hedgie Numo in her hedgeblog for him. I had talked to Brandy about him and the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized that a hedgehog would be a great pet for me. Vickie and Gary made the transition of our hedgehog from their loving home to ours very easy. When Zachary and I went our to pick up our new pokey pal, they sat us down and explained the dos and don'ts of hedgehog ownership very carefully and then they actually showed me with the hedgehog after they had showed me using their personal hedgie Tootsie as a demonstration. They send each new owner home with a detailed guide in case you forget something. I find the internet a great resource, but when a hedgehog breeder shows you the way she has been breeding her babies for 13 years, that is something else. Though it's only been one day, Hoggle (see: Labyrinth) has already started showing some of his amazing personality. I'm really looking forward to this awesome bonding experience and there is no way this little guy would be this way without people as knowledgeable and friendly as the Jesters. NOTE: IF YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED HEDGEHOG OWNERSHIP AND TRULY THINK THEY ARE A GOOD PET FOR YOU, THEN AND ONLY THEN CALL VICKIE TO BE PUT ON THE WAITING LIST. Hedgies are not a cheap pet, but our Snowflake Hoggle was worth every penny. read more

Hedgehogs By Vickie - Hoggle & his new home - Pet Services Near Me

Very unpleasant experience for a first time hedgehog owner. I live in North Carolina so I bought my hedgehog from a breeder in-state not having the time or money to schedule and pay to travel to IL to buy from Vickie. That being said, after much research I was under the impression that Vickie offered a great cage set-up for first time owners that would provide my spiky-boy with a great home. I've had him for about 2 months. He won't use the second level of the cage which (turns out) is too small to begin with. Without the second level he has almost no space. The "whisper wheel" that Vickie raves about is anything but whisper quiet and after following all advice that she gave me for how to fix it she blamed it on "the sound of my hedgehog running" when the sound the wheel has been making is more like what you hear at a construction site. Along with these issues, I found an up-to-date, comprehensive guide on hedgehog care (linked at bottom) that negates almost all of the claims Vickie makes about her cages, habitat set-ups, and the hedgehog kibble she promotes. All of this culminated with me asking for a partial refund of the $260 I spent so I could afford to buy my little guy an enclosure he would have more use for at which point she told me she has no kind of return policy for any of her merchandise which IS NOT specified anywhere on her website. Not only this, throughout the whole process she was slightly stand-offish if not completely rude at times and did not seem to be very professional when it came to running a business. I would NOT recommend buying a cage from this business. The snuggle sacks, toasty tents, and other accessories have proven to be very useful but I have also found cheaper versions of the same products in local pet stores (that I didn't have to pay shipping and handling for). I can't speak to her breeding experience or the hedgehogs she sells however. Pet African Hedgehogs - A Complete Guide to Care - By: Kimberly Goertzen http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files/hedgehogbook/PetAfricanHedgehogs2-byKimberlyGoertzen.pdf read more

I had contacted Vickie in an attempt to be placed on her waiting list. I was not calling for myself, but rather for a friend of mine who is out of the country. I was interested in getting a hedgehog from her the day that my friend returns from her trip, so that they can begin their new friendship as soon as possible. Without knowing any of the situation, Vickie was very rude to me and refused to place me on the waiting list. She spoke to me in a very condescending, know-it-all tone. Her reasoning for refusing to place us on the waitlist was that "hedgehogs cannot be gifts", and my friend would be "too excited". Had she not jumped to conclusions about my friend and myself, she would have learned that I am already a hedgehog parent, and my friend and I have had several hours of discussion about hedgehogs. She had determined that a hedgehog would be a perfect fit for her, but wanted to wait until she returned to the country. This hedgehog would not have been a gift, but rather an already expected new family member. Vickie should think twice before jumping to conclusions. I cannot believe how rude she was on the phone. read more

I so glad i called and talked to vickie.. gary and vickie did an awesome job going over all care instructions for hedgehogs. I loved there office and their advice as well. My daughter has owned hedgehogs before and loved going over all details again. I would recomemd them to anyone that is serious about owning a hedgehog as well. I loved their products to sale as well espically the snuggle sacks. They are adorable read more

I have been talking about getting a hedgehog for quite sometime now. I had some wonderful friends look into getting one for me! They did a lot of research and saw that Hedgehogs by Vickie was the best possible choice to go with. I wasn't involved in the initial conversations and being placed on the waiting list but I set up the appointment to meet with them. Right off the bat they had sounded like there was nothing but love for their hedgehogs which told me my new hedgehog was coming from a great start! Vickie explained over the phone that the initial meeting and pick up would be about two hours or so. The meeting was a little over two hours but I couldn't have been happier to spend those two hours with them. While I have had other small animals as pets before, hedgehogs do have some differences. The couple goes through the do's and don'ts in great detail (thank God), what they eat, good treats, their temperaments, and even tell you some stories from the past and their experiences with the animals. Vickie had brought my new little buddy out for the first time and you could tell that had been handled and cared for. They tend to ball up and his with some slight popping noises when scared but he came out of it in no time and had no problem with me holding him! They also gave me great advice, which I follow to a "T", on the bonding process and getting my hedgehog more comfortable, and trusting of me. If you don't have a cage, food, bedding, wheel, ball, snuggle sack, no worries they have it all there for you to purchase. I recommend the snuggle sack. While I have yet to use it I have some friends that have one and their hedgehogs love it. It seems like a lot of information but the great thing about this particular breeder is that they supply you with a packet that has all the information that they had gone over. I am so glad they did, I find myself pulling it out from time to time. I am proud to introduce Beanie into my family!! read more

Hedgehogs By Vickie - Beanie Time - Pet Services Near Me

To preface this review, I am employed as a microbiologist/veterinary research specialist at an accredited veterinary diagnostic lab. The first hedgehog I ever adopted was from Hedgehogs by Vickie. At the time, I found it to be a pleasant first experience in adopting a hedgehog. They seemed very knowledgeable and wanted what's best for their hedgies. Now, having more experience with hedgehogs, my opinion has changed. My hedgehog, Waffles, was very poorly socialized. They claim that they socialize their hedgies and try to breed for the best possible temperament. While I loved my hedgehog, he was perpetually grumpy and was never able to properly socialize with any humans or animals other than myself. I especially see this contrast now that I have a different hedgehog, who was clearly properly socialized and adores people. My much bigger problem is with what happened at the end of my hedgehogs life. Similar to other reviews I've seen, he died earlier than what is generally expected. After two years, he had to be put down due to his rapidly declining health. Because of the nature of my job, I was able to have a necropsy performed on him after death, to determine exactly what went wrong because of how quickly his health declined. My hedgehog was diagnosed with a myeloproliferative disorder, essentially meaning that red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and etc that are formed in the bone marrow grow abnormally. This is genetic disorder, meaning that any other hedgehogs in his line of breeding have a chance of having this disorder. Additionally, because of this disorder, he formed an extremely aggressive and malignant form of leukemia that killed him within weeks of development. I have all of the scientific evidence and lab results to back up these findings. When I called Hedgehogs by Vickie, simply to inform them of what could be a massive problem in their business, they completely dismissed me. The woman on the phone said they hadn't heard this from anyone else, therefore it must not be true (clearly that's a lie based on the reviews I've read). I asked to have Vickie call me back, and gave them my name, number, and occupation to assure they understood why I was qualified to say this. I never wanted a refund or anything like that, because I loved my little man and the time I spent with him was worth more than anything. But Vickie NEVER called me back. I will continue to try to call to inform them, but it appears they could care less. I will never adopt from the breeder again. read more

This was the worse experience of my life. My hedgehog Manning was from Vickie. We went and they told us all about hedgehogs for 2 hours. He was a happy hedge for a 2 years. Until February. He stopped running on his wheel, stopped peeing and pooping, and eating. We took him to the vet and they took blood tests. We had to syringe feed him. We knew how much pain he was is. I prayed and prayed for my baby to be ok. When I got home from school my mother told me as I was drawing a picture of him. She told me he had cancer and that we had to put him down. It was so hard for me to open me eyes without tears running down my face I still cry whenever somebody talks about him. I did research and discovered his cancer was caused by inbreeding of two different types of hedgehogs. I do not blame Vickie but I was expecting my healthy hedge to live for 10 years" I don't point this all negative because I loved him. And she is why he had the personality that he had. read more

Hedgehogs By Vickie - Manning before he passed - Pet Services Near Me

If I could do less than a half star I would. I am so glad they unknowingly talked me out of buying a hedgehog from them. It all started with Gary talking my ear off for an hour while ignorantly cutting my questions off & telling me i need to research before buying. It's one thing to be knowledgeable & sharing that goodness but this was him cutting all of my questions off & basically thriving on my ignorance (I have no idea what it takes to own a hedgie). I get it. You need to know what you want to buy. But it was for my sister on her birthday & i only wanted to pay to be on the waiting list & get a receipt that she could open on her big day & have something for her to look forward to. I sent them a pic of what she wanted. I knew it was a brown eyed african pygmy. I was buying one as a surprise. To the point of raising his voice & ending with me saying thank you for your time & hanging up. Out of desperation I thought I would try Vickie. So I left 3 messages on their answering machine, they made it very clear that they are personable people and do not communicate via email or Internet. I appreciated that. It actually gave me a great sense of tjeir possible humanity/professionalism. I also messaged Vickie twice on Facebook Messenger with no response. During my experience with Gary he informed me that I need to study Vickie's website which I did but then afraid to be clueless for my hopeful upxoming convo with Vickie, i wanted to reeducate myself so i didnt miss out ultimately making my poor sisyer miss out. So i logged into their website for a week straight but the website was not working. I took that as something that was unfortunate for them and felt bad for them because that is their goto in business. Finally after 3 days of trying to contact them Vickie contacted me. I answered the phone. I had turned over a new leaf hoping for a better result. I was patient I let her talk (as much as & as ignorant & short tempered as Gary did) but she was ignorant let me know that she was a bus driver and had no time for this stuff. 'Stuff' being I'll pay whatever she wants as long as I habe sometging solid for my sis to open. She let me know that she did not care that it was my sister's birthday that there was no point on me getting on a list she could not send me a certificate or a receipt or anything to have my sister open on her day to show that she was getting a hedgehog. I stayed patient and asked well what about your starter kit can I buy that and wrap that and give it to her as her surprise and she responded "Yeah but that's small and I'm not sending that to you. Its too small anyways." I said well do you have a bigger one?She said yes but like i said, im busy, you'll have to come pick it up yourself which was over 2 hours away or pay for the shipping because I'm not just sending it to you. Then she also told me that her hedgehogs could be upwards of $300 it was like she was talking me OUT of a hedgehog as opposed to selling me one. I mean the very beginning of our conversation started with me saying hi Vickie thank you so much for calling me back I am headed into a meeting can we talk later this afternoon or tonight? Even that was a struggle! She said I'm a bus driver I don't have time for this I said oh, I have a sister that drives a bus. I know her schedule is weird. Is there a time youre available in the evenings? I'll be willing to call you at any time that you're available she said well that's going to be very difficult I just don't have time I can call you next week. I needed information by Saturday for the birthday! It just went on and on and on about what she could not do for me what she would not do for me I ended up deflated & saying thank you for your time & hanging up on her as well. I'm so glad I found another dealer that restored the goodness & humanity in small seller/business owner/buyer relations. My sister is gonna explode with surprise & happiness Saturday! Gary & Vickie missed out on 3 setups & 3 hedgehog sales that cost me a significant amount of cash...but I value the great, smooth, friendly, & respectful experience I found. read more

I would definitely recommend finding another breeder for a pet hedgehog. When I finally decided that a let hedgehog was right for me, I started looking for a breeder to go through. After extensive research I decided that Vickie was a reliable source and I arranged to adopt a hedgehog from her. I will admit that she made the transition fairly easy for me. However, the hedgehog that I got was already 12 weeks old. This is several weeks older than the recommended age to take your hedgehog home. Also, she had not been socialized properly and was very antisocial. Hedgehogs' expected life spans are at least 3-4 years old, up to the 5-7 year range. We had to put my hedgehog Jamie down just before she was 2, because she developed a form of cancer. This may have been caused by inbreeding, as I have found that this has been suspected of Vickie by other dosappointed hedgie owners as well. We did not receive any sort of pedigree or documentation that would discount this accusation. In addition, any products were a waste of many as they were completely unnecessary, expensive, and cheaply made. Overall, in my opinion, Vickie is not fit to be breeding hedgehogs and should be put out of business. The experience of having a hedgehog in all would be very pleasant had it not been for the association with Vickie. If you are looking for a hedgehog, I would suggest you keep looking and verify that whatever breeder you choose does not in breed and that they socialize the hedgies properly. read more

I got my new addition to the family and my 18th birthday present, Olivia, from Vickie and Gary and I was VERY impressed with the whole experience. The Jesters made sure they knew exactly what I wanted and when they finally had a hedgie for me, we met them in a private room where they sat my mom and I down for around 2 and a half hours and went over everything from handling, feeding, bedding and MUCH MORE. It was fantastic!! They showed me their hog, Sega and he was a ball of adorableness! Then came time for me to meet my baby girl, and they pulled out a beautiful cinnicot snowflake hedgie who immediately started huffing and bit me. They disciplined her and took her away and let me hold her sister, who was the same color and much better tempered. I am now writing this as she sleeps next to me in her cage and I am so excited to be starting off a new adventure with my gorgeous Olivia at my side :) Thanks Vickie and Gary for providing me with a new quilled friend! (It turns out her birthday is the day after mine! It was destiny!) read more