The Alternative Hedgehog, Hedgehog and Guinea pig breeder

Here, animals are family

The Alternative Hedgehog Difference

It is my firm belief that owning the pet of your dreams should not be extremely expensive. Great people, just like you, should be able to add a quality bred, ethically raised hedgehog to their family at a reasonable price.

I provide a no Hassle adoption process. Honestly, I feel a breeder should work with you and your situation instead of judge you by your answers on a lengthy adoption application. Once you get a hedgehog or Skinny Pig from me, You become family. That family feel shouldn't only apply to those who look good on paper. Getting a new pet is fun and exciting and shouldn't be ruined due to an instant denial. Let's work together on your journey to becoming a HogParent or PiggieParent.

Every animal here is a member of my family. They Receive daily love and attention.

As a small scale breeder I'm able to pay plenty of attention to my animals every single day. Being able to have the time to examine and interact with each herd member daily is crucial to raising well balanced animals.

Vet care is super important here. I proudly provide above regulation vet care to my animals. When breeding animals, medical care is a great investment.

Public safety is a priority. Amid the salmonella outbreaks that were happening in hedgehogs in other parts of the country, I began testing my herd for salmonella outbreaks. I started doing this to better keep the public safe and to ensure my animal's health and well-being.

I do not practice inbreeding. Inbreeding is unnecessary and creates animals that have a greater risk of health problems. I owe it to these beautiful creatures to only breed the healthiest animals I'm able to obtain and to keep their lines free of any further inbreeding.

Genetics are my passion. Having a better understanding of color genetics not only has helped us breed some Beautiful hedgehogs, it's helped us better understand inherited illness as well. With this better understanding of inherit illness we can avoid breeding animals with indicators of such illnesses. With many colors being an indicator of a higher risk of many illnesses including cancer, we can reduce risk by avoiding combining certain color genes in a breeding program. Granted this does not eliminate the possibility of illness, but it does reduce it, which is a great payoff in itself!

My skinny pig breeding program is gene stacked. I do not pile skinny gene on top of skinny gene over and over again. Yes, piling on skinny gene will produce hairless animals 100% of the time, which is more profitable. However it also results in weaker animals who tend to have a plethora of health ailments. Because of this, Our breeding program contains gene stacked animals that have been out crossed to various breeds. This is to ensure that when carriers are produced here then paired, they have a greater genetic diversity.

I practice biology based care. This means that I provide my animals with better nutrition and enrichment. We do not just feed cat kibble here. My hedgehogs enjoy a buffet of healthy foods such as lamb, insects, chicken, freeze Dried raw diet, whole prey items, and of course a little kibble to nutritional completeness. My guinea pigs receive pellets, a variety of grass species/hay, rotated vegetables/fruits and flowers and herbs. Animals who are fed better have less medical issues and produce happier healthier babies.

Enrichment is very important to me. My hedgehogs have their cage items switched up at least weekly. They Receive a mix of wheels ( 2 types saucer and bucket), interactive feeders, various toys, piles of fleece and dig boxes. I have found that when hedgehogs are offered toys and interactive items that are switched up occasionally, they have less boredom and less incidence of boredom related behaviors such as pacing, manic circling and self mutilation.

Guinea pigs are kept in groups based on their behavior and lead lives in family groups. They also receive toys and items of interest so that they do not become bored with their environment.

I'm a small breeder. Breeding hedgehogs and guinea pigs is my passion and hobby, it's not my employment and isn't used to pay my rent or bills. The money my animals earn goes directly back to them.

Approaching breeding as an enjoyable hobby instead of an income source that demands a certain amount of sales per month has allowed me to treat my animals differently. There's no pressure to make sales so investing the extra time and care into my herd is plausible.

It has been my pleasure being able to offer the public an alternative to the local basement breeders. It is a great honor to still be able to serve you as your source of your next beloved family member. Being a licensed breeder has been an amazing journey. My methods are different. They take some getting used to ;) but they're certainly worth it. If I can help you in any way, please reach out. I'm happy to be your breeder.

Feel free to check out the "meet the breeder" page on this website and my blog (in the pages tab) to learn more about me and my thoughts regarding breeding animals. Many interesting articles about genetics and diet are also posted there. The guinea Pig breeding program is also featured in the blog.I like to think of it as our "social media".

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Welcome

Welcome to The Alternative Hedgehog, hedgehog breeder, skinny pig breeder

IMPORTANT please read before proceeding

I do not allow the public access to my home to look at animals

I do not have a pet shop

Animals are selected via photo and video (if requested)

Animals are only held with payment

Animal pick up occurs in public in Providence RI/Pawtucket RI line

We're having a sale! Special pricing on certain animals 7.5.21 through 7.25.21

Licensed Breeder of Hedgehogs & Guinea pigs in rhode island

Contact me for information on adoption and care!

Here, animals are family

Some candid photos of my hedgehogs

Welcome

Welcome to The Alternative Hedgehog, hedgehog breeder, skinny pig breeder

**IMPORTANT please read before proceeding**

I do not allow the public access to my home to look at animals

I do not have a pet shop

Animals are selected via photo and video (if requested)

Animals are only held with payment

Animal pick up occurs in public in Providence RI/Pawtucket RI line

We're having a sale! Special pricing on certain animals 7.5.21 through 7.25.21

Licensed Breeder of Hedgehogs & Guinea pigs in rhode island

Contact me for information on adoption and care!

Here, animals are family

Some candid photos of my hedgehogs

Social

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IMPORTANT please read before proceeding