Prickly business New pet leads to hedgehog breeding for Graham family Story and photos by MARÍA CAMP
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or the Graham family, their hedgehog adventure started a little over a year ago when their oldest son, Hudson, now 11, wanted a hedgehog for a pet. When mom Lacy Graham started looking into them, initial information revealed they were little animals that could command a big price. She later found a white hedgehog in Moulton for considerably less – a male, Bandit, 9 weeks old at the time. “He’s very relaxed and chill, and he sleeps a lot, but he loves people,” said Hudson. “I just like hedgehogs. They’re so cute,
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and they get used to you and friendlier if you play with them enough. They’re very curious.” Since they’re nocturnal, hedgehogs are active at night and sleep during the daytime. “They’ll crawl up my arm sometimes, and they can be really funny,” Hudson said. “They can jump and roll into a ball to protect themselves. It’s really interesting to watch what all they do.” Hayes Graham, 3, shares his brother’s enthusiasm for hedgehogs. Eagerly watching, he is always happy to spend time with them. Another hedgehog in the Graham family line-up of pets is Breanna, distinguished
by her chocolate coloring – darker than their other hedgehogs – and she became the mother of two babies in late 2021. Lacy said the babies have to be old enough, eating and drinking on their own, no longer nursing, and then they can be sold to new homes. Breanna welcomed another litter in February. Breanna is a couple of weeks younger than Bandit, and the Grahams got her when she was 6 weeks old. They said she’s getting friendlier and does really well when caught in the right mood. February brought Breanna’s third litter. “There were four the first time, and one of them went to a couple from Arkansas who were here visiting family,” Lacy said.
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