Dear Ferret Folks- Since BIG said this is on topic, as ferrets are involved, I will answer the part about them here. Yesterday, Cathy wrote >Has anyone owned a hedgehog? I've researched them a little on the >Internet. Please tell me the pros and cons. Do they get along with >dogs and ferrets? I have had experience keeping Hhogs and ferrets at the same time. I have never had a bad "incident", but I do choose to keep them apart for several reasons. One, is that irrepressible ferret curiousity. I have seen ferrets come up to Hhogs and bother them just for fun. The Hhog then tucks into a ball of spikes, hisses, vibrates,puts on its show. If the ferret is very quiet, the Hhog will slowly emerge from its ball, at which point the ferret goes into a happy dook dance, the Hhog immediately balls again, and this can go on for a very long time. I think it is mean to treat the Hhog like that. It is scared, that's why it's in a ball. At some point, every ferret that has access to a Hhog will come up to it and sniff that ball, at which point it is treated to a nose full of spikes. The spikes don't come out the way they would with a porcupine, they stay on the Hhog. The Ferret winds up with some painful red dots on its nose that really seem to smart. Most ferrets learn immediate respect for the Hhog that first time, and want nothing more to do with them, ever. The second big reason I keep them apart is for the protection of the ferret. Hhogs are almost entirely defensive, rather than offensive when faced with a big animal like a ferret. But they are capable of delivering an awesome bite. I used to have this one Hhog named Napoleon ("I care not for the lives of one million men!")who would bite upon occasion. He was my one real biter. And it was *bad*. He would clamp down on my finger, and picking him up off his feet didn't do anything, he's hold on. Same for shaking him. I had to pry his little jaws open to get my finger back. Letting go was not in his nature. I imagine that he could have done significant injury to a slender ferret leg, if he had gotten one in his mouth. Broken it, Possibly, very possibly. But certainly done terrible damage with a mouth full of sharp teeth. I have had many occasions in which a crafty ferret sneaks into a Hhog enclosure to steal the Hhogs food.(If I am feeling lazy, I can give the Hhog ferret chow for dinner.) The Hhog goes and hides in a rage until the ferret leaves. The ferret ignores the Hhog, just goes for the food. But I worry about that one encounter in 100. Protect your ferret. Keep them apart. As for your Hhog, your ferret can tease it and make it miserable, but it just plain cannot bite the Hhog once it balls. It can ball in an instant, and stay that way for hours, even upsidedown. There will be nothing to bite except sharp spikes. The two will never be friends. It just doesn't happen. Alexandra in MA [Posted in FML issue 4887]