Headgehog eating.

February 11, 2008 6:49 PM

Hedgehog eating.
posted by 31d1 (63 comments total)

I want my money back. Nobody ate that hedgehog.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:52 PM on February 11, 2008 [8 favorites]

Possibly the hedgehog is named Basil. Or maybe I am hedgehog racist and they all look alike.
posted by 31d1 at 6:52 PM on February 11, 2008

Cute, until the thing grows to be twelve feet long and eats a neighborhood toddler. Then, not so cute.
posted by not_on_display at 6:52 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Are they always so blurry?
posted by Brian B. at 6:52 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I had a guy come in my store the other day covered in scratches on his hands and face. He sold us a bunch of CDs and said he needed the money for his new pet wolverine. I kid you not. It was fucking weird.
posted by dobbs at 6:55 PM on February 11, 2008 [21 favorites]

Are they always so blurry?

They move incredibly quickly. What you're seeing is time-averaged hedgehog: it's a persistence of vision illusion.
posted by mr_roboto at 6:55 PM on February 11, 2008 [5 favorites]

The colour on the video is also off; the hedgehog in question is actually blue.
posted by tehloki at 7:01 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I can't believe it managed to crush through that marble.
posted by itchylick at 7:02 PM on February 11, 2008 [4 favorites]

Dinsdale!

I wish there was one kind of food that made me that happy.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 7:11 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Man i just held myself back from typing 'Dinsdale...' and there it goes. Anyhoo, I am 100% all-day sucker for cute animal stuff. Metafilter could be taken over by Cute Overload and I wouldn't raise a peep.
posted by facetious at 7:14 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I was hoping the critter would leap at the idiot with the exotic pet fetish and rip her face off. Oh, well.
posted by 45moore45 at 7:15 PM on February 11, 2008

Also, what the *hell* was that it was eating? Some kind of crazy fossilized kibble?
posted by facetious at 7:16 PM on February 11, 2008

Well, that wasn't what I expected...
posted by bshort at 7:16 PM on February 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

I have a pet hedgehog, and let me tell you...even when they are madder than mad, they're still adorable. Even when they poop and pee on your new carpet and chew on your hair and make you bleed with their little pointy teeth.
My little girl is the cutest animal I have ever owned.
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 7:16 PM on February 11, 2008

I'm just so glad this didn't link to a recipe.
posted by squasha at 7:19 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

When I was a kid I live in England for a while, and I swear I had roast hedgehog flavored chips (crisps, natch). I don't imagine it was a "real" flavor--I kind think it was a joke, if it existed. Is this possible?

Nowadays, I make my own roast hedgehog chips at home, but I just can't get the spices right.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:19 PM on February 11, 2008

In grade school someone brought their pet hedgehog to class and it shat on my desk. I haven't eaten Beefaroni since.
posted by tepidmonkey at 7:20 PM on February 11, 2008 [5 favorites]

Now you know what to do with those petrified Cheetos you find between the couch cushions.
posted by 45moore45 at 7:22 PM on February 11, 2008

BEST OF THE WEB! Glad Einstein worked so hard on all that science and stuff.
posted by jbickers at 7:24 PM on February 11, 2008

He sold us a bunch of CDs and said he needed the money for his new pet wolverine.

That should have said that the needed the money for food for his new pet wolverine. It's not like the wolverine was shaking him down.
posted by dobbs at 7:26 PM on February 11, 2008 [9 favorites]

Admiral Haddock: yes and yes.
posted by idb at 7:29 PM on February 11, 2008

Domesticated hedgehog (WP)

Hedgehog domestication began in the early 1980s. They still have much of their wild behavior, including a fear of predators - especially humans, but buying from a responsible breeder and proper handling will do a lot to ensure a friendly relationship. Since domestication began, several new colours of hedgehogs have been created or become common, including albino and pinto hedgehogs.

posted by stbalbach at 7:29 PM on February 11, 2008

Also, what the *hell* was that it was eating? Some kind of crazy fossilized kibble?

I just figured it was a baby carrot.

Also, maybe it's just me but I think of hedgehogs as about as exotic as a ferret. Not that I'd own either, it just doesn't seem that odd or anything.
posted by puke & cry at 7:30 PM on February 11, 2008

That should be "think of a hedgehog as about as exotic as a ferret."
posted by puke & cry at 7:32 PM on February 11, 2008

41 seconds of pure bliss.
posted by R. Mutt at 7:38 PM on February 11, 2008

Cute like an Aphex Twin video. I'm going to be having some special nightmares tonight.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:39 PM on February 11, 2008

Adorable. Back the camera up 6 inches so the damn cuteness is in focus please, thank you.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 7:40 PM on February 11, 2008

Was anyone else hoping for Ron Jeremy with a hoagie? No? Just me then...
posted by sourwookie at 7:48 PM on February 11, 2008

sourwookie, that's not a hoagie.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:52 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ferretts and hedgehogs are pets people get because they think it will instill some sort of uber cool halo around their drab stupid lives. Here's hoping they chew the legs off all the furniture so they break the ass bone of their owners.
posted by 45moore45 at 7:58 PM on February 11, 2008

I hate the word yummy. Only stupid people use it.
posted by Xurando at 8:07 PM on February 11, 2008

That's why I say "Yumpers!"
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:13 PM on February 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

I think you got it wrong 45moore45. It isn't the uber cool halo that attracts people to these little mammals. Its the cute factor, personality and sometimes ferrets or hedgehogs are a better for certain people than cats or dogs or fish.

But if you said the same thing about about the people who walk around in public with their pet snakes around there necks, I'd totally agree with you. (*shudder*)

After the initial gross-out, I usually stand there hoping that the constrictor is hungry for master.
Or that they had to get a prescription to carry the snake around as some kind of displacement therapy for micropenis (if it is a dude). If it is a skank carrying a snake around in public, then I know for sure she is indeed a skank. In either case I walk the other way.
[snakist]
posted by isopraxis at 8:16 PM on February 11, 2008

But maybe they smell better than ferrets? These things have been domesticated 20 years? Versus dogs, which have, like, 20,000? I want an animal that's genetically sure to know where its bread is buttered...
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:17 PM on February 11, 2008

ugh - their.
posted by isopraxis at 8:18 PM on February 11, 2008

i has a karot?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:22 PM on February 11, 2008

Probably one for Ask MeFi, but do all Americans have hedgehogs? Or is an Eastcoast Westcoast thing like Hall and Oates?
posted by mattoxic at 8:50 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

awww That was one incredibly expressive little rascal, face all scrunched up. So many faces and facial muscles, that was surprising. Grinning, squinting, that Elvis hair thing going with the head spikes, grimacing, then that lovely, long nose licking tongue and a look of satisfaction. Totally enjoyed that. And what's wrong with "yummy"? It's a friendly word. In my baby gaga lingo I'd say a friendly wendly word. Almost as grating as nummy but as satisfying to say.

Porcupine cuteness.
posted by nickyskye at 8:51 PM on February 11, 2008

I like how it takes the hedgehog's whole face to eat that kibble.
posted by Verdandi at 8:54 PM on February 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

Did you know that Django Reinhardt loved to eat hedgehogs, known in French as "niglos?"
posted by rdone at 8:59 PM on February 11, 2008

How hard would it be to make a ragdoll-physics Steve Irwin to stick into the hedgehog's mouth and scream "AW CRIKEY THAT HURRRRTS!!"?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:07 PM on February 11, 2008

These Premises Are Alarmed, there's one important difference. A dog can kill you. A hedgehog, well--look how hard he's working to eat that carrot. He might be able to chew off your finger, if you gave him a few hours. Or viciously prick you.

The biggest difference between a wild and domesticated hedgehog seems to be the animal's well-being. If you try to make a pet of a wild animal it's going to spend all its time terrified and will probably die quickly. A domesticated animal, on the other hand, will be friendly and accept you as part of its group. It's all in timing: a baby 'hog (or wolf!) is impressionable and will accept you as its mother/father/(God?) very easily, and after a few generations it's a moot point.
posted by sonic meat machine at 9:14 PM on February 11, 2008

Or maybe I am hedgehog racist specieist and they all look alike.

Because I so rarely get to use the noteworthy term specieist, 31d1, I fixed that for you.
posted by humannaire at 9:20 PM on February 11, 2008

I was hoping the critter would leap at the idiot with the exotic pet fetish and rip her face off. Oh, well.

Ferretts and hedgehogs are pets people get because they think it will instill some sort of uber cool halo around their drab stupid lives. Here's hoping they chew the legs off all the furniture so they break the ass bone of their owners.

But tell us how you really feel, 45moore45.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:22 PM on February 11, 2008

oh, thank you 31d1. i needed that.

and that guy, einstein? looked like a hedgehog.
posted by lapolla at 9:22 PM on February 11, 2008

Mango hedgehog.
posted by nickyskye at 9:24 PM on February 11, 2008

The hedgehog was fooled into overeating due to his high intake of artificially sweetened diet Pepsi.
posted by Tube at 9:31 PM on February 11, 2008

I was expecting roast hotchiwitchu. Alternatively, Hedgehog should have its throat cut.
posted by tellurian at 10:05 PM on February 11, 2008

Admiral Haddock, the person commenting on a Flickr photo of mine here confirms your hedgehog flavored crisps.

Also, awwww.
posted by mewithoutyou at 10:20 PM on February 11, 2008

Ferretts and hedgehogs are pets people get because they think it will instill some sort of uber cool halo around their drab stupid lives.

I agree. I had a friend that wanted a ferret because ... well, because it's a ferret! Dude! It's not a cat! It's not a dog! Those pets are for yuppie conformists!

It's only later that you realize that ferrets are pretty much nocturnal. And extremely difficult to litter train. They hoard things. They hide in your closet. They poop in your shoes. And they have scent glands.

It's only then that you realize that your average mutt is the end result of thousands and thousands of years of domestication that has produced an animal deliberately engineered to be a human pet. It fetches! It sits on your lap! It mostly poops where you want it to!

Ferrets may be cool. But dogs actually like you.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:26 PM on February 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Also, maybe it's just me but I think of hedgehogs as about as exotic as a ferret. Not that I'd own either, it just doesn't seem that odd or anything.

When one of my rats got sick, I took her to the emergency vet hospital down the road. They couldn't do anything for her because they weren't trained to deal with "exotic pets." They called numerous places and finally found one for me, and even that vet didn't know too much about rats.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:33 PM on February 11, 2008

I thought it was going to be hedgehogs being eaten as well. I have a book somewhere with a recipe for roast hedgehog, apparently it was quite a delicacy back in teh good ole days. If I can find it, I'll post it.
posted by indienial at 11:47 PM on February 11, 2008

Is this the new drama prairie dog?
posted by wsg at 12:21 AM on February 12, 2008

I haven't even watched the video, so the only reason I am writing this is to brag. I have actually eaten hedgehog, and it was delicious. It is a favorite food of many Rom people around where I grew up in Eastern Europe; I once had the rare chance to partake, and although I was a bit squeamish at first, I had a full serving. No kidding!
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 1:16 AM on February 12, 2008

I love hedgehogs. We quite often get wild ones in our garden. They make a pretty loud sniffing noise whilst hunting for worms and such. So cute though.
posted by triv at 3:25 AM on February 12, 2008

Once in a blue moon, someone posts a YouTube comment that's actually funny. In this case:

damn you. you ruined cloverfield by showing us the monster. damn you
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:19 AM on February 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

I remember once, when I was student, coming out of a hall of residence disco a bit worse for were and seeing a hedgehog in the middle of this yard. Worrying that someone might kick it I picked it to put back under a hedge... at which point I noticed it was literally seething with fleas. I don't think I'd have one for a pet.

Oh and that reminded me of this... and this of course (not for lovers of hedgehogs)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:10 AM on February 12, 2008

I have waited all day to see this, because YouTube is blocked at work. It was worth it.

*dies happy*
posted by essexjan at 9:56 AM on February 12, 2008

MMM, tasty hedgehog crisps

And not crips, as I first wrote...
posted by noble_rot at 11:42 AM on February 12, 2008

Few things in this world are cuter than hedgehogs. However, nickyskye's porcupine may fit that bill.

Whenever I see small spiky animals like this, I have this urge to weaponize them. I want to build a cartoon/ videogame style cannon that fires them at my enemies. My feeling is that even if they don't work as a projectile, the moment they unfurled, wiggled their noses, and made some sweet peep, my foe would fall into an adorable induced fugue.

It's perfect. The bad guys would never see it coming. And with training, I could even get the thorny critters to come back to get shot again. (Now I just have to come up with some little goggles and maybe a scarf for them...)
posted by quin at 1:29 PM on February 12, 2008

When they're not eating baby carrots adorably, they like to run around with toilet paper rolls on their heads.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 8:55 PM on February 12, 2008

(St. Tiggywinkles is a hospital exclusively for hedgehogs, located in the English Midlands. Hapless hedgehogs are sent from all over, mostly through British Rail's overnight parcel service, which has a special rate for shipping injured hedgehogs.)
via idb's link
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:49 PM on February 12, 2008

I was expecting roast hotchiwitchu.

Wait, isn't that a song by the pussycat dolls?
posted by vytae at 11:17 AM on February 13, 2008