Numo the Hedgehog

03.21.05

Meet Numo!
I've never mentioned this on this site, because it was all Top Secret -
I love pets. I wanted a pet. Considering everything, the pet for me was a hedgehog. Yes, a hedgehog. Yes, they do have pet hedgehogs. Then I debated for a full year about whether to get one. Then some Kismet hit me in the face Friday morning. More Kismet later, I met my hedgehog yesterday at the PetChicago show at Arlington Racetrack.

There's pages and pages of story behind this, but it's Monday and I've got to get client work done. So, here's Numo:

He's an African pygmy hedgehog, snowflake in color. He's 3 months old. Veronica Moyle of Hedge Hog'N Around tells me he'll need some patience. I've got patience. As you can see, after his first night, he's sleeping for the day, and wants nothing to do with the camera.

Hedgehogs are diurnal, meaning they wake at dawn and dusk. At dawn he was tooling around in his wheel. I'm not used to this yet, and I groggily woke up and looked into his cage. He was looking back at me. Darn cute face. I can vouche for it without photographic proof yet.

Much more to come after I get my worky work done.

NOTE: I wanted and got a hedgehog, I do not want hedgehog stuff. Really, I mean it. When you see hedgehog stuff, think of me and Numo, but please do not buy it.

posted on 11:01 AM

03.22.05

03.23.05

Numo Time
I just put Numo back in his cage. A couple hours chilling. Numo doesn't have an opinion on America's Next Top Model. (I'm delighted Brandy was kicked off - her 'tude was too bad for such a good opportunity.) Tonight he was a bit more social than Tuesday night, where he just slept and huffed. Tonight he explored a bit. It was so funny when he was awake between a fleece blanket and his hide-y hat and poked his head out. I looked at him and back in he went!

Here's a few pics of what chillout time looks like:

My view of Numo on my lap. Curled up and huffy. On a fleece blanket. He's more comfortable under his hide-y hat, but sometime I leave him out in the open so I can watch his quill relax and his breathing, to learn to read him.


One of his feet pokin' out. His head is on the right side. Hee hee. He was zonked out sleeping. And he does sometimes twitch in his sleep.


Close up on Numo's quills. This is "on guard" mode. Hedgehogs have muscles that when they constrict sort of draw them closed like a drawstring bag, letting them curl up in a ball. When that happens, the quills criss cross making them a very formidable opponent. When they are relaxed, the quills lay down flat.

Oh, and here you can see his coloring. Numo is snowflake color, meaning mostly white with some quills banded with brown. Maybe 70% of his quills are all white, making Numo fairly white overall.

Lousy pic, but here's Numo's nose poking out as he sleeps halfway into his PVC elbow pipe. The tip is black and his face is light brown.

03.24.05

Squirrely Hedgehog
I thought Numo was so inert because he was unaccostumed to his new home. Oh, no! He just needed room to boogie. Veronica had told me that while it'd take awhile for him to get comfortable and snuggly with me, he loves tooling around and needed to come to the next IHOG, hedgehog olympics. (We're in intense training.)

I set up a playpen for him:


Here's a closeup:

and another:


And a profile:


His quills make a mohawk when he's weary:


13 year old kid : Playstation :: Hedgehog : Toliet Paper Tube:

It's pretty damn hilarious.

I AM HEDGEHOG, HEAR ME ROAR!


I even sat in the playpen and Numo didn't really care. Lesson #2: Tuck your pants in your socks unless you want a burrowing animal running up your pantleg.*

*Lesson #1: Canned crickets are stinky.

03.25.05

03.26.05

Home Sweet Home
A shot of Numo's cage. 28" x 28" x 14" Hedgehogs need a minimum of two square feet. The circle shows that he's napping in the tube and shows the scale of hedgehog in relation to his environment. He's not digging going up to the second level. His wheel is up there, and he needs to run. Thankfully, I take him out every day and he runs around in his playpen. If he can't handle that tight top turn, half of my cage will be rearranged to fit a new layout for Numo's cage. Thankfully, last night I did think of a Plan B. No small feat in a 450 square foot apartment.

Sandra will be checking in on Numo the next few days. I'll be back Tuesday. Onto non-hedgehog adventures for a few days.

03.28.05

03.29.05

Reunited!
I'm back from a super trip to Memphis and New Orleans. Numo is alive and well. He's made it up to the second floor of his cage. [sigh of relief] And he's been making a mess, which I take as a good sign that he's getting used to his cage.


Sandra's rendition of Numo. She did a great job petsitting. Asked good questions when we met to set up the sitting. Let Numo out to run around and let me know how much Numo was eating. All good.

Numo's doing his favorite thing - pushing around that toilet paper tube. Like cats who love the little plastic ring from milk jugs, gotta love cheap pet toys. I can appreciate cheap thrills myself.

04.02.05

posted on 2:06 PM

04.05.05

Tough Photographic Subject
Quick and nocturnal.

Corn Smell
Numo's litter is The Worlds Best Cat Litter, which is made from corn. Nice cereal-y smell. Biobegradable. Flushable. Clumping, but won't stick to Numo's parts. Clean, un-dusty. Expensive, but all the other adjective balance that. Plus, thankfully Numo and Numo byproducts aren't big enough to go through WBCL too quickly.

Yesterday, I was watching a matinee of Sin City. I smelled not-so-good Numo smell. Why did I smell like Numo poo all of a sudden?

Oh no. It was the movie theater popcorn.

04.06.05

RollerNumo
Numo's first roll in his giant Kritter Krawler.

Home Improvement
Numo wasn't going to the second floor of his cage where his wheel was. An improvement needed to be made. Thankfully, I thought of a pretty simple solution. I cut more out of the wire panel and switched out the tight curve for a straight Fun-nel segment. Much better. Numo took to going up and down the tube right away. *whew* And he did some wheeling last night, evidenced by the turds in the wheel. In the wild, hedgehogs "go" on the go. Makes sense when you're running across the ground, funny when you're running in a circle.

So it goes.

Next cage challenge - sewing liners that slip over floors like a pillowcase. Numo really like to dig under his liners. The half circle in white shows where he likes to hide. Thankfully, he doesn't poop where he sleeps, but I'm looking to improve the design so he can't get to down to the plastic layer.

posted on 10:26 AM

04.12.05

04.13.05

04.14.05

A-O-K
Numo just came home from a well pet visit at Chicago Exotics. He did just fine. A little huffy, but once he was in one place he'd poke his nose out and start exploring. Dr. Duke said he was sweet. I'll assume he wasn't too much trouble when she took him in back for weighing. 283 grams. And he's got his certificate of health for our trip to Minnesota the beginning of May. All is well.

He was just fine on the cab ride there, and just fine on the bus and train ride home. And above is him checking things out in his travel carrier. I travel with him in a pouch that hangs around my neck that's under my cardigan sweater, and I carry the carrier along just in case. I think he's pretty comfy in the pouch and I like that he's next to me, so I can feel if he's huffy, sleeping or digging around.

posted on 12:02 PM

04.16.05

Turdface
Okay. First off, I should explain that my very first nickname in my time on this planet was "Turdface." I was born a month early and mom's labor was short. I was just like a little turd coming out, my mom says. Thus the nickname Turdface. My dad put a stop to this in a couple days.

Flash forward 30 some years. I take Numo out for his nightly run in his playpen area. He continues his torrid love affair with the toilet paper tube. His plugs his head in and pushes it around. Last night, he quickly pushed himself in a corner and gave up. So, I took the tube out, hoping he'd run around more. When I do this, he likes to try to burrow under and push his litter pan around. Usually this makes me give him his tube back, hoping that he won't tip the litter over on the carpet.

Last night he pushed his litter pan into a corner and he was halfway under it. I picked it up, away from being tipped over. He huffed and curled up and I realized that he had pooed next to the litter pan and was now on top of two poos.

Oh no. I trying to be quiet, so he wouldn't curl up and get caught up in his poo. No luck. One of them stuck to the side of his face! Stuck to the fur, right besdie his right eye. And his turds are surprisingly big for his small stature.

It was hilarious. And I felt embarrassed for him. I was trying to be quiet hoping he would run around and the poo would shake free.

We're still new to each other, which means that the closer I get, the tighter the ball he turns into. Granted, it only takes a couple minutes before he chills out and uncurls. But this means that I wouldn't be able to get close enough to manually get the poo off his face.

Thankfully, he ran a couple feet and then curled up again. The turd was on the outside.

Not before I snapped this pic:

Yes, I am awful.

04.19.05

Chillin' On the Couch
Tonight I read a book under blankets while Numo found a good spot to sleep in:

04.21.05

The First Bath
Tuesday night, after chillin' on the couch, Numo has a little poop explosion and made a big ol' mess. I didn't realize until tonight that he covered a back leg in poop. Thus, his first bath.

On baths, Veronica told me he hates them, and I should really only bath him if he's made a mess of himself. This qualified. I was about to see how much he hated it.

He was fairly lowkey, in Numo terms. I put just enough water in the tub that near the drain was the deep end, but on the other end he had a little room to get out of the water. So, we played the game where I kept nudging him back into the water and brushing his back leg until he was poopless.

He is trying to plan escape from The Vast Tub:


I'm checking the leg for poop:


Numo tired of being in the handball:

04.22.05

Holy Holey!
In the shower just now, I noticed this:

My fingers have holes! A side effect to having a hedgehog. Yes, he does hurt when he's in a ball. No, it doesn't hurt that much. He's only drew blood once, and that was just after I took a bath. Obviously, his quills do break the skin.

But the reciprocal is when he's running over an arm or hand and I get to feel his soft belly fur. Mmmm...soft hedg-eeee bell-eeee.

Numo is ready for his closeup.

04.27.05

Cozy
I was chilled, and I figured Numo was chilled, so I put him in his snuggle sack. That's the pouch thing that Veronica the breeder makes and I got a red one from her. It hangs around my neck, with a top zipper to keep Numo secure and a mesh window for air and a view. Great for travel.

Here's Numo peeking at me after sleeping awhile:

He's surprisingly toasty for his size. Quite the little, living space heater. He took the chill off working on the computer!

04.29.05

Numo drinking.

05.01.05

TODAY IS LOOSETOOTH.COM'S SIXTH BIRTHDAY! HOORAY!

posted on 7:20 PM

05.03.05

Numo Flies!
Tomorrow morning Numo and I head off to the Twin Cities to meet the family. It is a supercrazy story. With my desktop tanking today, that'll have to wait another day.

In the meantime, check out the superfly carrier I pimped out for Numo:






Everyone cross your fingers for me for safe travels tomorrow!

05.05.05

05.15.05

Candids
My desktop is down still, hopefully fixed tomorrow. In the meantime, I've been catching up on some photos. Photos are prepped but I'm too pooped to write the epic about Minnesota. So, for you Monday morning enjoyment, here are pics and captions:

Handful


Numo in his carrier checking things out.


After a safe arrival.


Squinty. What Numo looks like when he's first checking you out after being balled up.


Unsquinty. Moments later, quills relaxed.


It's a paper towel tube!


Louis, the Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, dubious of Numo, watching very carefully.


More investigating.


Gus is quite the hunter, but he never got past slowly veeery cautiously circling the playpen.

05.19.05

Thursday, May 19, 2005

05.20.05

05.22.05

Hedgehog Olympics!
Today, Numo competed in his first IHOG. International Hedgehog Olympic Gym-Bar-E. At a holistic pet fair in New Lenox, Illinois.

This all was as new to me, as it was to Numo. I heard there were five events and we'd need a Kritter Krawler ball for several. So, Numo, carrier, ball, Alise and I were off to New Lenox for adventure. Dawn Wrobel of Ain't No Creek Ranch was the IHOG organizer and judge.

Here's Team Numo:


Five intrepid hedghogs competed in five events:
Sprint

Numo ran to the end of a track for the fastest time. He was scooting along until he got to the last red segment:

Then he went back. Twice. 4th place.

Shot Put
No pics, but Numo pushes another ball down the same track. He was ready for this one. First place.

Slalom
Here Numo starts out on this starting block:

He needs to make the course to the opposite side, to where I was waiting. Numo really liked meandering. He timed out after 2 minutes and placed 3rd.

Hurdles
A series of foam gates to go through getting taller as you go. Numo kept getting stuck at the yellow gate that first got taller. I was told that most hedgies get stuck there. That's the one he's contemplating in the picture below.

4th place.

Floor Exercise
Here's where the real action is. Hedgehog poke around this course:

And get points for different types to actions, like going through the tubes, pushing stuff. Numo was a pro at this, he even pushed over the horse! He poked his nose under it, then got huffy, pushing his visor quills (those on his forehead) forward, getting caught on the horse. SCORE!

Hedgehogs start on this orange square. Here's a great pic of how wide Numo's shoulders are. In most pics, he looks like a lil' ball, but here you can see how small and trim.


I thought Numo had this one in the bag, but Sarah's lanky girl Kiana really took charge of everything on the course and knocked over the horse. 2nd place.

Overall, it was a tight competition, and Numo ranked 4th. Not bad for a rookie. I was just so pleased that he was active and curious about everything. Not at all nervous or hide-y. He's not a hide-y kind of guy, but still good to see him eager to check out new things in a new environment.

A few hedgehog olympics fun facts:
[ ] Events time out after two minutes to keep things moving along.
[ ] You don't applaud for hedgies, the noise scares them. Thus, you wave your hands like deaf folks do.
[ ] The boys run first. If the girls run first, they leave their scent and the boys get nothing done.

A bonus of today was seeing several lovely different pogs. Only five critters, but all different colors and shapes. Like lanky, ballerina like Kiana. Or Boris the bruiser. Diana's Nimmy was sort of golden and nice and round. Linda's Bucky (after Buckminster Fuller!) is a handsome albino. I've got a soft spot for the albino ones. Numo was a wee one. Both young and small.

A nice new adventure. A big thank you to Alise who was up for the adventure and was team photographer.

posted on 8:04 PM

05.28.05

Green Stain
For lunch, I had some collard greens. I set a little bit of chopped leaves aside for Numo. He ate the tiniest bit and then sat on them:

05.30.05

06.02.05

Sandra & Numo

Here's Sandra, our intrepid petsitter, with Mr. Numo. You can read more about Sandra's petsitting prowess at Right-At-Home Petsitting.

Sandra was picking up keys for my upcoming business trip to DC. First, Numo, me and three girlfriends from college head to Grinnell, Iowa for reunion. Thankfully, this is only the second trip that I needed her services, but so far, so great! After IA and DC, that'll be two trips without Numo and two with.

posted on 5:06 PM

06.05.05

Numo Cum Laude

I didn't realize that Numo was dorm-room-colored until we went to Grinnell this weekend for reunion.

Emily, Joy, Lisa, Numo and I headed off in a rental car to "Go west" to Grinnell. Emily thought having a hedgehog onboard was good mojo. I concur.

Numo had an easy ride there. I got him all set up in my dorm room and he hid and chilled out. Then I read the handout/instructions in the room - "Absolutely no pets in the dorm rooms." Huh. Nevermind the cage I just carried partway across campus. Everyone scoffs at this rule and reminded me how permissive Grinnell is. True.

Later with friends, I let Numo run around the room. He had a super time pushing around his toilet paper tube. Lots of unfettered linoleum terrain.

My favorite part is watching folks change their expressions from being dubious of having a hedgehog as a pet to delight when they see how great and silly he is.

06.14.05

G'Morning!

06.19.05

Smaller Than a Breadbox
There's been a lot of confusion about how big Numo is. He looks big. That is, unless he's next to my giant head like below. Here's a few pics for scale.

A quarter and Numo. Numo is much, much bigger than the quarter.


A toilet paper tube and Numo. Numo's favorite toy. He's slightly longer than a toilet paper tube.


A glass measuring cup and Numo. He's about a cup and a half. When he's grouchy about being put in a measuring cup, he's bigger with those quills out.

06.24.05

Friday, June 24, 2005

Victorious!
I clipped Numo's nails!!! The only hedgehog ownership thing that had totally stymied me. You're suppose to keep their nails short so they don't get unruly and caught on stuff and trip the little guys up.

It's darn hard getting a paw in your fingers.

I tried to do it "dry." Numo's very, very good at balling up and good at scuttling away from me with his back paws tucked in and inaccessbile. He's a somewhat huffy, uncuddly guy. He's a Runner and Explorer, not a Lover. So touching his feet is a little too intimate for him.

So, I finally tried the wet, clip-'em-in-the-bath method. The idea is that since they are in water, they can't curl up without getting water in their nose. They are too busy managing being in water that they can't huff.

I put about an inch of water in a plastic tub within my tub. I sat in the tub, legs in each side of the plastic tub. I put Numo in. Went for a paw and when I had a grip on a back paw, I'd clip a tiny bit. Once you get past the paw holding challenge, you get the challenge of not clipping the nails too short and hurting the poor, wet guy. I was conservative, mostly concentrating on the back claws which were the worst.

It worked. While Numo wasn't pleased with the process, he did pretty darn well. He'd simply try to walk away from my grip. Very calmly, like he's thinking, "No, thank you."

*whew*

I got those back paw claws tamed temporarily.

Here's pics post-clipping, while he dries in my travel towel:



I love this shot because in the background is his play area, and in it his favorite thing in the world, the toilet paper tube. He's back in the play area and pushing said toilet paper tube now.

06.26.05

Reciprocals
When I woke up from a it's-too-warm-to-think-anymore Sunday afternoon nap, I realized that while I was napping with a blue blanket on a red bed, Numo was napping under a red blanket on a blue bed.




(Yes, I often end up napping with my glasses on, because I'm watching something or other.)

Flummoxed.
A plastic wall pocket fell off the wall and into Numo's play area. He checked it out and crawled inside. Later, he pushed his toilet paper tube the pocket.

Stuck.

Boy, he really tried to pushed that tube through. Oof! It wasn't going anywhere since he's got the power to push, but not the power to pull.

I watched. Then I got up to checked my email. Turned towards pen again and he was staring at me with a now-it-is-time-for-you-to-help look.

07.05.05

Zonked.
Numo is with me in Minnesota. All went just fine until he puked in his carrier when we finally reached the baggage claim in the Twin Cities. I can't blame him, I was feeling quite blechy after the two flights. Delta allows hedgehogs in the cabin, but it doesn't have a direct flight to the Twin Cities. The O'Hare security folks dug Numo, asking twenty questions while I put my luggage, his carrier, my shoes through and walked Numo with me.



Last night, I was surprised when I let him run around on me and he curled up and fell asleep on me under his blanket. It was out of character for Numo, but I was glad he was comfy.

This morning, I thought I might get a repeat performance of the nap. No dice. He was superhuffy. So, after much huffing, I put him in his play area to run around. He went nuts pushing around his toliet paper tube and the paper towel tube. Definitely a shoving morning, not a napping morning.

After awhile, I found him zonked out like this:

07.13.05

New Digs!
Thank you to Jackie, who gave Numo a new home!


Besides it being lovely that Jackie brought Numo a gift while we were in Minnesota, the best part was that she read my mind! Numo normally sleeps under a polar fleece hat (to the left in the photo, think of a giant yamulke). Cozy, but too warm during this hot, hot summer weather. I was thinking, "Numo needs one of those plastic igloos for his summer home." And low and behold, Jackie brings me one!

Thanks, Jackie! Numo loves it.

07.24.05

No Means No
Today has been 100+ degrees with the heat index. A BIG FAT YUCK. I gave Numo a bath because 1) It's too friggin hot, 2) He was a little smelly 3) I should clip his nails. I got him in the tub, back nails clipped. He was the most cranky I've seen him. I don't blame him, with the heat, I 'm cranky too.

I moved onto the front nails and I got a nip from Numo. That was a first. Nothing painful. Just exactly enough of a nip to let me know it was a "no means no" and "STOP it."

I did.

posted on 3:56 PM

07.25.05

I can't blame ya, Numo.

08.01.05

Uh Oh
If you're just tuning in, Numo's favorite thing is to push around cardboard tubes on his head. If he's pushing a toilet paper tube, he can push it through the PVC corner.

A paper towel tube?

08.03.05

It's HOT!

Imagine both Numo and I in our little Chicago apartment, fans whirring, splayed out and moving as little as possible. It's just too bad Numo doesn't appreciate the James Bond movies and the iced coffee that's getting me through the heat.

08.10.05

Aha!

I caught a hedgehog foot! Hee hee.

posted on 4:29 PM

08.16.05

Free Range Hedgehog
The danger of Numo getting stuck behind a bookshelf or something is just too great. Therefore he spends nearly all his time in his cage (sleeping by day, running by night) or in his playpen pushing around cardboard tubes.

Today he got supervised freedom among my blankets. He absolutely loves burrowing in them, and this has the highest PPF. Purr Potential Factor. This is usually done post-pooping and I hope for the best. Here's pics from the session:









Look at that pointy lil snout. Here he looks most like how hedgehogs are usually drawn with that swoopy nose.

I swear hedghogs are the most ameobic mammals; meaning that they can change their shape and expression so much.

09.29.05

Field Trip!
To Kent's house:

Kent is peering over his chair as Numo runs around it.


Numo in the bathroom sink.


Climbing Mt. Agerbeck. He's an intrepid hedgehog.

We let him explore the bathroom because it looked like a safe, contained area. Numo enjoyed chewing on bathmat then briefly annointing. Then he found a corner cabinet and started to disapear! I grabbed him. Kent figured out where Numo was headed. He said, "Good call. Had he gotten in there we would have had to pulled off the baseboard!"

Always keep an eye on those wiley hedgehogs.

And now you know why Numo isn't a free range hedgie in my apartment.

posted on 9:01 PM

10.09.05

Numo on my lap, peeking out from his pouch.

posted on 1:33 PM

10.15.05

Here's Numo crunchin' on his food. He's so uncouth - he chews with his mouth open -

10.18.05

What you can't tell from this photo is that Numo is asleep standing up. He does this fairly often. My favorite part is when he slowly - blooooop - falls over.

10.25.05

Self-Portrait Tuesday

Here's what it looks like to have a hedgehog on your chest.


This is what he looks like when he's trying to sneak out between my fingers.


Kung fu Numo.

Those are actually his back feet, his front ones are tucked in.


And here in Numo all full of cute.

It was bound to happen - I put this pic on a bunch of CafePress stuff over here. You can get your Numo fix if you'd like.

But a freebie for you too. A pic of Numo for your desktop wallpaper.

11.05.05

The Floor Show Every Night!

posted on 10:27 PM

11.07.05

Heaven!

Emily and Jamie sent along pics of their son Simon. I thought this was such a great pic.

And with all those toilet paper tubes, it's the kind of poster Numo would hang over his bed.

11.09.05

Wuzza Wuzza!
Supercuteness from Numo after his bath and nail-clipping.

12.11.05

Hedgehog Rodeo
Thanks to Andrew for these pics from today's open house. Numo got three rounds of extroversion. He did darn well, considering all the people, though I think I overtaxed him the first time.



(Why am I decked out Western? Because I can. I'm wearing a shirt from my square-dance-band-days.)

Now I'm going to leave him be tonight after all of today's hedgehog-wrangling.

12.26.05

The Tiniest Souffle
Tonight I had a special dinner to make for Numo. In a pan in a biscuit cutter I poured a mix of egg, crickets and cottage cheese:


To make Mr. Numo is own souffle!


The special occasion:

Numo turned one year old today!



Food means nothing to this tube addict. He gave a few licks to the souffle and was soon plowing into me with a tube on his head. (He did eat the few little pieces I left in his cage for him overnight.)


That last photo turned out so sharp that I can show Numo's quills compared to his soft, soft belly fur.


Mmm... belly fur!

01.05.06

Nose to Nose
Numo sniffing out his chocolate counterpart. Mary Ruth broke my no-hedgehog-gift-rule by giving me a box of Purdy's hedgehog chocolates. I'll give her a pass since the hedgehogs are consumable. Which I did. And really enjoyed, down to their Nutella-like filling. Yee-yum.

posted on 7:24 PM

02.21.06

Where Did Numo Go?
I looked over at Numo in his play area and saw this:



Hee hee. I can't find my hedgehog. Where could he be?

He really seemed to be hiding behind his tiny Ikea hedgehog. Not the best cover, kiddo. I don't think Numo will be becoming a spy any time soon.

posted on 10:25 PM

03.28.06

Numo Time



Extreme close up!

I hung out with Numo on the futon this afternoon. Numo was super explore-y. I thought he might just curl up and sleep. Heck no! He loved digging around in my blankets. He even purred a bit! That's super rare. Since I was having a hard time keeping track of him in my blankets (Don't want him off the bed and behind a bookshelf; gotta be on pee and poop watch), I put him in his Kritter Krawler. He ran around for over an hour! He's so fun in the ball when he's in the mood for running in it, not napping in it.

posted on 2:21 PM

04.02.06

Capt Numo?
Today, I set up a set for Numo:

Notice the lack of hedgehog?

Yeah. I Got this cute idea to take a picture of Numo in the toy boat.

Ha ha. Even harder than herding cats. The good thing is that he instantly unballs when I put him in the boat. Then in the next moment he runs away. He's a fast guy. No flies or photoshoots on him.

posted on 4:28 PM

04.05.06

posted on 11:53 AM

04.06.06

The Great Explorer
I put Numo in his hedgehog cozy on my lap while I sit here at my desk. He wasn't still for long.

Numo peeking out.


Numo looking over the cliff of my arm, nose wigglin' and sniffin'.

04.10.06

Numo's little nub tail sticking out from under his igloo.

04.23.06

Numoball
Half the time I put Numo in his Kritter Krawler he naps. The other half he zooms around bumping into every corner of my apartment. Boy, photographing a quick hedgehog in a plastic ball is quite the challenge. These are the better pics:



Sniffing me


Tooling around the kitchen

05.18.06

Gimme My Treat.

Numo peeking out of a tube hole.

We have a nice habit. Everytime I put Numo back in his cage he runs up his tube. I give him a yogurt drop through a hole. He chomps on his treat. There is silent rejoicing.

The backstory is that last year I had a real problem with the mice in my old apartment building. First they ate the corn litter. Then I replaced the litter with toilet paper. They continued to eat his food. Infuriating! One night I was putting Numo's treats of dried cricket, dried mealie worms and a yogurt drop in his cage before I put him "to bed." Within 30 seconds of placing the yogurt drop down, a kamikaze mouse ran up the wall, grabbed it, ran down the wall!!

I honestly don't have a real problem with mice in old apartment buildings. I was not happy about the proximity of the mice and Numo. He can protect himself physically, but I didn't want him to catch some mouse bug. And I wasn't going to put Numo in some hermetically sealed, mouse proof container.

As a semi-solution, I began handing Numo his yogurt drops. So he could eat it before the pirate mice arrived. Now it's a nice routine.

Anyhow, the mice are now gone. The yogurt drop ritual remains.

posted on 3:31 PM

05.19.06

Trying to escape the bath.

06.10.06

posted on 3:05 PM

06.12.06

Din-Din



Dinnertime with Numo. Every night he runs around his play area, around 9:00 to 11:00 pm. While he's out and about, I clean up his cage and replenish the food and water. When I put him in his cage, he runs up the tube, waiting for his yogurt drop. I hand feed him his yogurt drop (like a chocolate chip, but yogurt) through the holes in the tube. About five minutes later, I hear crunching and slurping because he's descended the tube and has dinner. He is surprisingly loud. He eats with his big mouth open and cruches down on his kibble.

posted on 10:32 AM

06.22.06

Numo @ MOMA?
Hedgehog as abstract sculpture:

07.30.06

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Latest Hedgehog Weather Report

It's even hotter. (Here Numo reminds me of my yoga class last Tuesday...)

07.29.06

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Latest Hedgehog Weather Report



It's hot.

07.27.06

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Guest Hedgehogs
Britney in Idaho has been emailing me hedgehog questions because she just welcomed two hedgehogs into her home, Wingding and Elbow.

She sent this hilarious photo she calls "Hedgehog Telecommunications." Love the title!

07.17.06

Monday, July 17, 2006

Rock and Roll

(Really it's just Numo wiggly and P.O.ed after a bath.)

07.13.06

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Comrades in Squinty-ness

Thanks, Cinnamon for taking this pic of Numo and I!

07.04.06

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Red, White & Numo
Lenyr (of Cattastic) sent me an invite to a backyard BBQ. Since she and hubby John are in easy walking distance, I got out Numo's RV, uh carrier, and took him with.

Lenyr & John are Cute Overload fans and apparently had been talking about Numo's latest appearance right before we got there. They welcomed us. After I ate my plate of very tasty vegan food, I brought ou Numo. Lenyr hadn't seen him since I first got him and she commented on how social he's become.

He was a good guest, showing his "nosicle" and letting folks feel his quills with very little huffing. In general, I think his curiousity outweighs his fear, so he's pretty darn social when he's out and about. Granted, he does hit a point where his Numo-meter goes into the red zone of overwhelm and he sorta vibrates at a different frequency. Then it's back to the respite of his carrier.





Here is John inadvertantly replicating his Cute Overload tee.

07.02.06

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Numo News

Look! See! Meg at Cute Overload posted about Frank Ahrens Washinton Post story about Cute Overload. (Diagram that sentence!) Franks is fond of hedgehogs, so Meg posted a Numo pic. Of Numo, Meg says, "perhaps the most famous moist nosicle on the InterWebs."

From the comments, I love this limerick re: Numo by hrh.squeak:


An adorable hedgie named Numo
Could charm everyone in the room, "Oh
My", they would say,
As he went on his way,
"Now that is one cute little mofo!"


I fully support the use of Numo and mofo in rhyme.

08.03.06

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Face Time

Today has been cooler so Numo and I got some face to face time at night. Most nights, after letting Numo push the toilet paper tube around the play area, I lay down with Numo on my belly. Just a chance to let him sniff around and sometimes he curls up and sleeps.

Oh, and we make our plans for world domination and make up new frozen novelties.

08.02.06

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Numo has retreated to his tube for the day.

08.01.06

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Latest Hedgehog Weather Report

STILL HOT.

Back end close up for no good reason.

09.05.06

Brandy Cam

This is what it looks like to have a Numo curled up sleeping in your lap and shirt, while wearing lots of orange.

09.12.06

Hey Cuteologists! Thanks for visitng Numo's home on the Interwebs. At this very moment, I'm in DC (not Chicago) and Mr. Numo is being hedgehog sat by the very capable Sandra of Right-At-Home Petsitting. Once I'm home, I'll promise to post two top-notch pics of Numo!

Here's a pic of Sandra early in her Numo-sitting tenure:

10.02.06

Shoulder Season
It's getting chilly at night here in Chicago. I've started lining Numo's plastic igloo with a fleece blanket. I like to turn it over the entrance like a hotel bed. If I were really creating Hotel Numo, I'd put a yogurt drop on the top.

Here he is tucked in:

posted on 2:25 PM

10.13.06

A Numo Hates Baths Triptych





(He's employing the If I Poop On Her She'll Put Me Down tactic)

posted on 9:31 PM

10.15.06

Roadtripping
I owe you the story, but here's two pics of Numo in his red pouch for riding in the car.

Staring contest


Nose poking. He was fed up with the ride and starting getting pushy.


He was being such a spaz, that I took him out and gave him a talking to.

11.02.06

Disclaimer: I promised I would never write as if Numo was speaking in first person. This is a ever-so-slight break of that promise. But I hope you'll excuse the indescretion as simple caption writing.

Hedgehog to Hedgehog
A woman in the UK emailed in search of a replacement for her son's toy hedgehog from Ikea. She saw Numo had a minihedgie and asked if I would send it. I would. I did. But first, I took last pictures of them together:


"It's a tough world out there, Kid."


[Leans in closer] "The secret of my success? Moxie. And blogging."

posted on 10:42 PM

12.11.06

Numo parts his hair in the center like I do.

posted on 10:00 PM

12.17.06

Numo, Male Model.
Once again, Numo was a rock star at my annual holiday open houses. Eric Bartholomew took these stellar pictures!

Howdy.


Relaxing in his midcentury Danish lounge chair.*


Smiling. Numo is smiling. Check out his crooked teefs. This is so his high school yearbook photo!

12.21.06

Enjoying the high school yearbook photo idea -





(Numo was way more of a jock than I was.)

12.26.06

Happy Birthday, Numo!
Today is Numo's second birthday!

And for you, a new Numo desktop image.

02.18.07

Meeting of the Minds



Numo the hedgehog and Gunther the cat. On January 28th, my 33rd birthday, I adopted a very beautiful gray cat. His name is Gunther. Number one question is "how are Numo and Gunther getting along?"

Not bad at all. Gunther is a cat who does cat things, like gently pawing at Numo. Numo is a hedgehog that does hedgehog things, like huffing when Gunther paws at him. They get along fine. I'm trying to train Gunther to not paw. He's always gentle. Just persistent. Numo is getting accostumed to Gunther, less huffy.

04.21.07

The Floor Show

Gunther loves watching Numo tubin'.

Me and the Boys
So, tonight I laid on my futon, with Numo on my chest. In no time flat, Gunther was at my feet.


He was flummoxed by seeing The Pointy Huffy Guy out of his cage or play area. And on the futon! Heavens forfend. That's Gunther's realm.




Peeking over the crest of blankets. (By the way, that's the African Bird Quilt I made.)

posted on 11:17 PM

07.16.07

Coexisting
The most common question I get is, "How do Numo and Gunther get along?" This is a good image to show you. Gunther's a good kitty. 98% of the time that he's perch near Numo's play area, he sits intently watched. Very occasionally he paws at Numo or Numo's tube. Very gently. Numo huffs, and then Numo relaxes as if to say, "Oh, it's you."

Dude, that's not a cat bed!

Gunther has taken residence in Numo's old cage. I let him be. He's comfy there, and it doesn't look like Numo will be moving back.

posted on 3:55 PM

posted on 10:28 PM

07.19.07

07.20.07

How's the Little Guy Doing?
You can see that this end is alert:


But this end isnt:


His legs shouldn't be dragging like that. He doesn't respond to me pinching them and they are cool to the touch. Despite that, he's bookin' around with his front legs. Just dragging the back.

Kinda obvious, but this is very worrisome. And being worried and sad makes me tired! But I let Numo push around in my quilt, which he loves. And keep that keen eye on him.

posted on 10:44 PM

7.23.07

posted on 3:11 PM

Nurse Brandy and Patient Numo
On Dr. Horton's orders, I moved Numo out of his two-story cage with wheel to a cushy, single level:


Here's the stuff I use to attend to Numo:

I fold a paper towel in half to prep the meds in their syringes. Three are in syringes. The fourth is just .02 CC and I put a drop of it on a worm. Numo chomps it down. After I few days of Numo wearing much of his medication, I began mixing it with Ensure. It helps a lot. The blue fleece is to hold him. A wet washcloth helps blot pee and mop up Ensure and liquid medications off of him. The purple container holds his treats. Toilet paper to catch the turds. All the medications and the food need to be refrigerated, so the plastic tray lives in the fridge.

His Medications, plus Ensure and baby food to help the meds tastier:


This is a cute pic, but it is a symptom of the problem:

Those sweet feets poking out of his igloo after he crawls in his his front paws.

Last night was the worst! I've been holding it together pretty well. Last night my mind was filled with the picture of the xray and thoughts about all the tough stuff going on in Numo's tiny body. It's good to know and hard to know. Late night worrying about my quilly loved one.

Progress Report
Here's Numo getting his Ensure/medication:


And just a sweet pic:

He does have his tired eyes.

07.30.07

Hangin' Tough
Numo is hanging in there. He's not getting better, not worse. He's definitely lost all feeling in his back legs. That makes it easy to hold him on his back like this:




Gunther has been a very good nursing supervisor:

He likes to be close by, but doesn't get in the way.

07.31.07

Numo's Oomph
I hate to say it, but tonight's the night I notice that Numo has lost his "oomph." Rather than nosy about, he curls up to sleep:


On his back, he quickly goes into snooze mode. Tonight I noticed snot bubbles, that led me to believe there's still the fluid in his lungs. Only a guess. Numo's my first hedgie and my first sick hedgie. I just spend lots of time with the Little Man.

Here he just looks peeved.

08.01.07

Last Days with a Wonderful Hedgehog
This is the realist not the pessimist speaking. I've got a follow-up vet appointment with Dr. Horton on Friday, August 3rd. I know that we'll be having the Quality of Life discussion. I know that Numo's back legs aren't improving. He's losing his energy. Barely drags himself around. Sleeping most of the time. He's got his appetite, but not much else. The time I spend holding him is great. By holding him, he doesn't have to carry the weight of the half that's paralyzed. He's nosing around, licking his nose, being damn cute. It's a bit of a visual misnomer, because when I set him down and his falls over, or doesn't move I know he's hurting. Numo is a one-time-Hedgehog Olympian. He loves running in his wheel and pushing around his toilet paper tubes. He can't do either. This is not the quality of life he deserves.

It looks like I'll be putting him down at Friday's appointment. There's that 1% chance some little hedgehog turnaround happens. Accepting the 99% chance, I'm spending lots of good time with him, telling him how much I love him. Taking loads of pictures for me and his fans.

Here are loads:

Looking miffed.


Cleaning his paw.


Laying in my hand, wanting to sleep. Those pokey back legs don't have any feeling. It's a sad novelty, but it is neat that I can touch his paws and belly so much now. A healthy Numo wouldn't let me do that.

I spent loads of still time with the camera pointed at Numo. I'm a nature photographer trying to capture...



The elusive hedgehog yawn!

Look at the crazy mouth! The first time I saw him yawn I was started. That giant jaw. Those pointy teeth!


His mean-give-in-high-school look.


Looks tired with the back lighting.


Frankenstein pose?


Pshaw!

At once I am super, super thankful for this time with Numo. Being at home in hedgehog-hospice mode has been good. I get loads of time with him and I've been doing great work on the site. He's helping me focus on what's important to me. Also, I am exhausted and sad.

And so thankful for Numo being my hedgehog buddy and for the great experiences and adventures I've had with him.

posted on 11:35 PM

08.03.07

This morning, around 11:00 am, Numo was humanely put down at the vet's office. Dr. Horton confirmed that he wasn't living a good hedgehog life and she confirmed that I was making the best decision for him.

I couldn't be there when he was euthanized. And I chose not to see him dead. After experiencing the images of just Numo's xray burned in my brain, I couldn't imagine seeing his dead little body. My last image if of Dr. Horton holding him, while she kindly said, "I can tell you've taken very good care of him."

My friend Josh and I left the vet with an empty carrier. In the car, we told Numo stories. I was very thankful to come home to Gunther, who's been great companion.

Numo has been a wonderful addition to my life. He's been a great little Hedgehog Ambassador, both in person and on his blog. He had such a great, curious personality. While not a cuddler, he was always very social. A super marathon wheel runner, and conqueror of many toilet and paper towel tubes.

Thank you to our well-wishers. I hope you'll forgive me if I don't reply to every message. I hope you'll spend some time looking at Numo's blog archives to revisit the super stories and great pictures of Mr. Numo.