One of our young people has a pet hedgehog which is not only incredibly cute, but hedgehogs are also known to be good emotional support animals. Taken from the website Heavenly Hedges:
‘Forming a good relationship with the hedgehog starts at the very beginning. Hedgehogs often comfort their owners with cuddles, licks, and offer their paws or cuddly bellies for rubs. Their defences completely drop if they are able to form a close connection with their hedgie parents. Sharp and fortified quills become soft and relaxed making themselves available for emotional therapy and mental support.
Techniques, like the ones we mention in our bonding article, are being used to gain the hedgehog’s trust. Once you have a hedgies trust, you have their love. In turn, that love forms a strong bond. A bond that enables the hedgehog to respond to your emotions. And the hedgehog seems to know how to respond to those emotional signals quite well.
It may take a year or so to get to that point of trust. But when it happens, both the hedgehog and human benefit from the happiness such a relationship can bring. Having a hedgehog emotional support animal increases serotonin (the happy chemical) levels in the human brain, encouraging a healthy self image.’
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Here’s our young person’s cutie pie:
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