I can think of a lot of things here -- especially when I remember the times
that Velcro closed up on my fingers!  However I will try to keep this civil.

This section is more for amusement than much else, and to keep track of some
of the ways people refer to our prickly little friends.  Probably the most
popular one I've seen is ``hedgies'' with ``hhog'' running a close second.  I
would argue that the first is probably more pronounceable but they both pale
in comparison to the following from Cathy Johnson-Delaney who contentedly
referred to her FussGus as a ``Tribble from Hell.''

With the media's love of ridiculous catchy names, it probably comes as no
surprise that the term ``Yuppie Puppy'' has appeared in some places
(including the N.A.H.A.?!?!) applied to hedgehogs.

While I'm on the subject, baby hedgehogs are usually referred to as
``hoglets'' or ``hedgehoglets'', or more frequently as ``aren't they so
CUTE!''  The term piglet seems to be used quite frequently in Europe, and
sometimes elsewhere as well.

I don't know if an official term exists for a group of hedgehogs (other than
maybe a ``contradiction-in-terms'' since hedgehogs often don't tend to live
in what we would consider groups.  The official name for a group of hogs is a
``drift'' but I question if that applies to hedgehogs.  Most breeders appear
to refer to their hedgehogs as a ``herd'' but I have to admit the thought of
trying to ``herd'' hedgehogs strikes me as somewhat ridiculous to say the
least!