Start with legality
Hedgehogs are legal in most US states, but banned in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and within New York City, and they require a permit in Illinois. Check your own city and county rules too — local bans exist inside otherwise legal states.
Green flags
- Answers health questions directly, including about WHS in their lines
- Shows you the parents and the space the babies are raised in, even on video
- Provides a written pedigree with names and breeders of origin
- Keeps babies with mum until at least 6 weeks and weaned properly
- Asks you questions — heating, wheel size, vet access — before agreeing to a sale
- Has a written health guarantee and a take-back policy
- Talks openly about cost, including the exotics vet bills you should budget for
Red flags
- Claims their lines are "100% WHS free" — there is no test in a living hedgehog
- Won't share a pedigree, or only names the parents
- Multiple species, many litters, always something available right now
- Babies offered under 6 weeks old
- Pressure tactics: deposits to "hold" a hedgehog you haven't seen, or same-day decisions
- No contract, no health guarantee, cash-only and vague about location
- Ships in unsafe conditions or with no live-arrival plan
- Gets defensive when you ask about temperature, diet or lineage
Questions worth asking
- How old will the baby be at go-home, and is it fully weaned?
- What are you feeding, and can I have a starter supply to transition?
- Has WHS ever shown up in this line? What happened?
- Can I contact someone who bought from you last year?
- What happens if I can no longer keep the hedgehog?
- What does the written health guarantee actually cover, and for how long?
After you bring them home
Weigh weekly for the first few months and log it. A steady baseline makes an unhealthy drop obvious early. Record the pedigree while the paperwork is still in front of you — it is much harder to reconstruct a year later.