Domesticated hedgehog

The domesticated hedgehog kept as a pet is typically the African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris). Other species kept as pets include the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) and the Indian long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus collaris).

In the ancient era

Although ancient humans were familiar with the hedgehog, hunting it for food and using its spines in the processing of wool, it was not likely kept as a pet. Aristotle described the behaviour of "pet" hedgehogs kept in the home as a means for predicting weather by someone in Byzantium—Plutarch describes the same, but refers to the man as living in Cyzicus—but this is probably an unusual situation, as hedgehogs were generally not regarded as valuable animals. Other sources suggest that the Ancient Greeks may have kept hedgehogs around the home for their potential to eat beetles and other pests.

The Guinness World Records describe the Romans as having domesticated a relative of the Algerian hedgehog in the 4th century BCE, to use for meat and quills as well as pets.

The Romans did use the quill-covered hedgehog skins to clean their shawls, making them important to commerce, which resulted in the Roman Senate regulating the trade in hedgehog skins. The quills were used in the training of other animals, such as keeping a calf from suckling after it had been weaned.

Modern domestication

In the early 1980s, hedgehog domestication became popular in the United States. Some U.S. states, however, ban them, or require a license to own one.