Emily Cohan, a sophomore who plans to major in political science, bought her hedgehog Poppy from a breeder in August 2014. Since then, Poppy the hedgehog has rapidly become a citywide celebrity through a combination of her public outings and social media presence – you can follow her on Instagram at @Lilpoppybigworld.
Cohan, who calls herself Poppy’s mom (and her roommates, fellow sophomores Ashley Copeland and Kate Boyle, her aunts), answers a few questions for those of you curious about striking the perfect college-hedgehog balance.
@Lilpoppybigworld on Instagram.
Q: What’s it like owning a hedgehog?
A: It’s awesome, Poppy rocks. She’s so cool. She’s nocturnal so she sleeps all day when I’m in class and then when I come back home at night we hang. She does homework with me sometimes and she just crawls around on my bed. She’s a really easy pet.
Q: How often are you supposed to play with her outside of her habitat?
A: You’re supposed to take your hedgehog out to socialize him or her for about 30 minutes a day. They’re naturally very timid creatures so it helps them become less scared around people. When I first got Poppy she would never come out of a ball and now she’s pretty relaxed, so she’s already gotten a lot more social.
Poppy the hedgehog with Cohan.
Q: How old was she when you bought her?
A: I got her when she was about six weeks old. She was so tiny. She’s grown a lot since then and she’ll get bigger. Hedgehogs get kind of chubby.
Q: What questions do people ask you when they find out you own a hedgehog?
A: People ask what she does as a pet. It’s a lot like owning a hamster, she just hangs out in her habitat and she runs around.
People also ask what she eats – I feed her cat food. I did a lot of research and cat food is the best thing for a domestic hedgehog. In the wild they eat bugs and plants.
Q: What made you want to own a hedgehog?
A: Ashley, Kate and I knew we wanted a pet after we moved out of the residence hall, we just didn’t know what. We wanted something easy to take care of. Obviously hedgehogs are really cute, but the more research I did, the more I thought a hedgehog would be kind of ideal for someone in college.
Q: Did you have get a permit or license to buy Poppy?
A: Nope, in South Carolina you don’t need to do anything. In some states you need an exotic animal permit because they’re considered exotic animals, but not here. We just drove up to Walterboro, S.C. where there’s a breeder and bought her.
Q: What does she do to play?
A: Poppy has a wheel in her habitat and she runs on it all night. In the wild, hedgehogs run about 10 miles a day, they love to run. I hear Poppy running at night but it’s so funny, whenever I try to watch her running she stops and just stares at me.
Q: Do you think she knows who you are?
A: I think she does recognize me. She seems more comfortable around me than around other people. Hedgehogs don’t have great eyesight but they have really strong senses of smell so I think she recognizes my scent. One of the first things you’re supposed to do when you get a hedgehog is wrap them in one of your shirts so they can get used to your smell.
Q: What’s your favorite part of owning Poppy so far?
A: I love taking her out with me, she goes all kinds of places. Poppy loves being outside, she has a little carrying case and sometimes we let her run around in the grass.
Q: Are you nervous you’ll lose her when she’s running around outside?
A: No, I’m faster than she is.
Q: How did you pick Poppy out of the other available hedgehogs at the breeder?
A: I knew I wanted a female hedgehog because the males have more medical issues and you have to take them to the vet more frequently, and Poppy was the only girl.
Q: How did you choose the name Poppy?
A: I looked at baby names lists until I found one that I like. I think it fits her.
Q: What are some requirements of owning a hedgehog outside of socializing them for 30 minutes a day?
A: You’re supposed to let them sleep almost all day. They also have to stay pretty warm all the time, that’s the biggest thing. If they get too cold they can die. In the winter we’re probably going to get heating lamps for her.
Q: What’s been the craziest part of owning a hedgehog so far?
A: Hedgehogs do something called anointing. It’s where they find something, like a fruit, that they really like and they want the smell of that fruit all over them because the smell is like perfume to them. Poppy’s done it once, the first time she had a strawberry. She took a bite of it and then she started licking herself all over with this pink, foamy goo. She was like standing up straight and twisting her body to lick herself. It was kind of gross but pretty funny.
A few more photos of Poppy the hedgehog:
