Once this article was published I informed Heavenlyhogs through the Reptile UK Forums of its existence. This morning I received her reply which I post here in its entirety, exactly as it was received by me:

Quote:

Dear Ms Fountain,

I’d like to inform you about a blog article I posted earlier today about you on my site
Hedgehogs as Pets

Thanks for your time

Regards
Spike

Hi there
thanks for that i found it very very interesting what i also find interesting is your lack of Balls to actually name yourself.
Let’s get a few little things straight shall we?
Check my feedback and you will see i have had people to my home recently and it is NOT filthy as your bulls article implies.
Futhermore no vet report was ever received from chazy babe and im sick of her and others using her health issues as a sympathy card whilst meanwhile all those concerned acuse me of using my sons as a so called sympathy card,my sons made the offer,shoot them for their love of me and their pets why dont you.
Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would be aware of the freedom of information act to find out if i was ever indeed prosecuted for any illegal importation of hedgehogs including youand clearly i was not so therefor einstein NO offense could have been comitted.If it was why would they drop the case with no action…deeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr
Why dont you print some lovely articles on the very people spreading RUMOUR and crapola of so called authority on inbreeding and keeping hedgies in plastic boxes with no excercise wheels all stacked one on the other.While you’re at it check out the uk website if you want to see filthy husbandry with lots of zoozones stacked on top of one another with the insides being absolutely appalling and no wheels ect.Those breeding hoglets through inbreeding that were born with extra limbs and non functional back legs and sold with owners merely offered a NEW hog no mention of paying vet feesyet i had a ringworm issue and all hell breaks loose well i guess im really bad for wanting vet reports from BOTH parties before issuing ANY payments.And i’m ever so sorry i will not be walked all over for the likes of you or anybody else,my apologies for that.Why the hell would i issue refunds with no vet report?
As for the breeders list i do not care for it in light of the above.
I am setting up my own hedgehog club and and will mention the breeders you haven’t and this story,there isnt a damn thing you can do about that.No one will drive me away from my passion at that includes YOU.
I am not miss fountain or Viljoen by the way
New husband new surnameand for the record i will leave the money making up to 90% of uk breeders.I am a millionairess why the hell would i care for the disimal money for a hedgie.
IDIOT
Mrs mindyaowngoddamnbusiness

__________________

I think the email speaks for itself and no further comments are necessary from me. I did try to use the Reptile UK user interface to reply to Heavenlyhogs but it appears that she has shut down all means of doing so at her end. I have posted a reply on a forum where she has pictures of her latest litter and that can be found here (please note my username is Alley-Cat on this forum):

http://www.emerald-isle-exotics.com/hedgehogs-f20/some-of-my-boys-t37.htm#258

As this post is likely to be deleted soon I’m also pasting my reply below:

Hi again Heavenlyhogs,

Unfortunately you have turned off the means of communicating with you on the Reptile UK Forum.

Thanks very much for your reply.

My name is Paul Murphy and I live in Verona, Italy. I’m ex-army (SIB) and teach English for a living. I’m 54 and have an 18 year old daughter. (So please stop accusing me of hiding behind my computer.)

Please note that nowhere in my article do I say that you were prosecuted for importing hedgehogs illegally into the UK. Perhaps I’m not quite as stupid as you imagine.

If you can supply me with links to anything or any evidence about what you said about other hedgehog breeders please send them to me and I will carefully consider writing an article about it as well.

Please feel free to make comments on my blog about anything you feel is inaccurate or misleading.

Hedgehogsaspets.com

Regards
Paul

The text below was first sent to me as an email and then posted as a comment on the Follow-up page. Due to its length I am posting it here (as I intended to do with the email anyway, Heavenlyhogs beat me to it). Again it is posted in its entirety.

Hello Paul
i saw your message on my websites guest page.
Firstly may i point out that you have named me and i’m not sure unless you have 100% proof of claims that that is altogether fair or even legal.
This would mean you would have to have all copies of both parties vet bills,along with RSPCA reports and my own vets reports.Otherwise it is hearsay and unreliable.
also the list of recommended breeders are all friends of each other and also the UK reg is not a uk reg but a branch so that needs to be straightened out.
I find your article highly unprofessional in light of what i have said so far.
Let me take you back to the begining,i originally started out as thehoghut several months before becoming heavenlyhogs,i even had a forum to that effect and a member of that forum was Bonnie martin aka happyhogs.I had a male hoglet on reserve from her and 1 other lady Alicia Chantrey at the time.I showed bonnie my site which at the time also had an availables page.Yet she NEVER uttered a word about the available page being inappropiate and was still happy to sell me the hoglet i ha reserved.Now if there was any doubts at that time why would she have been supporting me and giving no mention of the available page.She knew i wanted to breed someday but never uttered a word about it being inappropiate to have an availables page on my website or a FORUM.
Not too long after and just about a week before i was due to collect my boy from both breeders my grandmother(who lives abroad)was taken seriously ill and my partner was hospitalised with ptsd,my personal life has no baring or any business of anyone but out of goodwill i sent both breeders emails telling them i had to let them down and why.And i also closed down the forum as i didn’t have the time to contribute to it then.
I had to go to be by my grandmothers side and at the same time be there for my partner so i thought i acted in the best interest of the hoglets concerned at the time.I thought the breeders would accept this and not talk about how BADLY i had let them down if it was in the best interests of the hoglets.My mistake.
So i went to see my grandmother and fortunately she made a satisfactory recovery.Not long afterwards i had a boy on reserve from another breeder,i emailed the breeder sent my £10 deposit via paypal and collected him a few weeks later.I was delighted and yes perhaps i got a little carried away coming back and opening a new website and forum for newbies but i was fascinated and passionate about these animals although my intentions may have been somewhat misinterprated at the time.However no one said anything and i even went into uk pygmy forum all excited to tell of my site name change,still no one said anything other than it was looking great.
I then went from england to belfast to collect a hoglet for me and one for a friend.I paid double the cost to do that as the ferry i had already booked and paid for refused carrige at the last moment despite previous confirmations that this would be ok.
I had my hoglets 6mts when i decided to breed and alot of new owners do the same when they buy hoglets although they’re afraid to admit their intention to breed due to reprisals.In this 6mts i researched more and more and joined various forums ect.I had already researched hedgehogs a year prior to purchase,in fact i had noticed them and decided on ferrets instead.When i lost my boy ferret i thought of the hedgies i had seen and began researching and finding reputable breeders.
I’ve always been upfront and open of my intentions to breed from the begining i’ve not kept it hush hush as most newbies do.
I had learned a lot about the uk gene pool and wanted to do something about it so i contacted defra and was told in emails and telephone conversations that it was fine for me to import from holland via germany that no quarantine was needed.
So i thought great and set about my journey,yes the email you mentioned was out dated that’s because i didn’t have the original one they sent.Hell i didn’t think i would need it.My mistake again.The reason that later one came about is because i made exactly the same enquiry at the same time defra actually informed me when i of my own FREE will contacted them on the advise of another registra to ask them if they had been mistaken and the hedgehogs should have been indeed quarantined.That in itself just goes to show what a pigs ear they were making of things STILL.It was that email that saved me so to speak.I was told that they would be i touch and no one contacted me until 3 mts later after lengthy investigation to say that i could now keep the hedgehogs in my home since they were there for the 3 months i was waiting to hear.In the meantime i went without buying new furniture for my home and kepy a bidget just in case,my children were upset at my being upset and offered to h!
elp.
All this time myself and my family and other pets were placed at risk.Would i intentionally do this?NO.That’s insane as far as rabies is concerned.
So as i said 3mts later they contacted me to say that the hedgies must rmain on the property until the 6 month period was over and that i should report any symptom to them and a vet immediately.
No charges were ever brought and if i had intentionally imported without the propper papers,procedures then i’m pretty sure i would have been,but i did to my mind do everything by the book and rely on them for the correct information.
I went on to have my first litter and sold all those in the litter as you well know.Yes it is most unfortunate that ringworm was evident.But all i can say is that i apologised to those concerned(i still have their emails)and would do all i could to rectify the situation.
None of my animals showed any visable signs of ringworm at any point so there was no way i would have known about it.I did contact my vet with the intention of binging every hog and it was explained that skin scrapes would need to be made but the best course of action was to treat for ringworm immediately.I was advised by keepers/breeders that imaverol was very sucessful in the treatment of ringworm in hedgehogs and available without perscription.I rang my vet and had a consultation and they had a look at one of my hedgies and said that no sign of ringworm was evident.I told my vet about the advise i had been given on imaverol and they looked up the ingredients to make absolutely sure it was ok to use and they said it was and did i want themto order it in to whichi replied i had already sent for some but just wanted to make absolutely certain of its use.
And i indeed treated all my hedgies.
One of my recent litter babies was also tested to the tune of £100 and tested negative and my vet said there and then it was highly inprobable that any of my other hedgies had it since i treated and practiced good hygene.
I have offered both parties vet fees and i did receive an invoice from iain and julie but i have ot to date ever received an invoice from chazy.Despite my many requests.I was polites and courteous up to the point and a little beyond of the rep uk forums posts.I found it highly offensive and unecessary to word it in the way it was and innacurately say that i was “convicted”of illegal importations.
I still to this day maintain that monies(despite these posts and accusations)for iain and julie will be sent to hedgehog welfare.
To date as i mentioned i have not received anything from Chazy and i would like very much to see this pm’s or emails she thinks she has sent to me requesting the refund.It is standard practice for all breeders to request such documentations.
With regards to stacking cages,yes i do in 2′s and there is nothing wrong with it.Have you even bothered to look at my set ups on the forums or my hedgies to check anything.As for my home being filthy that is also VERY untrue.Ask lota front in my feedback she recently visited my home to deliver a lizard and commented in the feedback that i was a nice person and my reptiles were in fatastic shape so i resent you remarks not only toward my hedgies which are quite clearly healthy looking and in suitable housing but for the other exotics i keep.I would like evidence of this.
With regards to the rspca that is a blatent lie and i welcome yu to ring them,i will give my permission for details to be released on your behalf.
Forgive me if i’m wrong but standard practice for animals hat have beendenied a vet and filthy condition is removal,not time time for rectification when they urgently need a vet.The animals would have been removed there and then.
With regards to other breeders and all i have said i think it is for you in light of what you are doing to research facts thoroughly before publishing works.This in my opinion is most unprofessional.You can find full details of what i have said in the breeders helping breeders yahoo forum in the archives quite frankly i don’t have the energy for this email let alone go delving into what has past.But the same breeder attacking me was accused of bad breeding practices herself.
I find the mention(as an ex army member yourself)of my partners ptsd,my children and my grandma totally uneccasary.They are of no concern to anyone.
It was at my request i be removed from the hhc breeders list as i am emigrating and will no longer be part of the uk.I’m sure i have this email request in my sent folder somewhere.Really i do not have the fight in me.If you’re professional and passionate about what you contribute then this article would never have been made without first consulting all those involved and having 100% proof.
As for money making i don’t think so.
My partner has an incredible job(his own business now)which nets him millions by the year.Also i donate to hedgehog research for every hoglet i sell,unfortunately due to about £1,000 of vet fees in recent month this has not been possible.I am also currently setting up an animal sanctuary.
Michelle

nothing futher to add

In researching this article I have gained some insight into the world of APH breeders. My main impression is that first and foremost they are pet lovers and hobbyists. They see breeding as a part of their hobby and its by-product, hoglets, as a way to finance something that can be very expensive, especially when their pets get sick. Most will claim that they do not make any money from breeding as anything they earn is ploughed back into their pastime.

There are breeder lists on several of the hedgehog internet communities I have visited but before breeders can be added to them they must adhere to a code of ethics. If you do read the UKAPH forum dedicated to this subject it is plainly evident that the breeders that post there are openly hostile towards Heavenlyhogs. They explain this hostility by referring to their past dealings with her when they were lied to or let down by her in various ways when they first tried to help her.

I’ve gone through several exotic pet forums where Heavenlyhogs is a member. She is a prolific poster and seems to be something of an attention seeker. On occasion she does not hesitate to use the “sympathy card” of her disabled children, her grandmother or her post traumatic stress disorder suffering partner when she is criticised for her actions. With her cavalier attitude towards breeding she is very prone to “putting her foot in it” and she has alienated experienced breeders of exotic pets of all types. When she is criticised about her ethics or lack of knowledge she claims that there is some kind of personal vendetta against her.

It seems to me that she is a person who is trying to turn what was initially a pastime into a money making venture. While it is debatable whether this is a bad thing in itself, what concerns most reputable breeders is that in her search for profit her ethics and more importantly the care of her animals have taken second place.

None of the breeders blame her for having the ringworm infection in her herd, although it is fair to say that several believe it is a consequence of her skirting around the quarantine requirement. Ringworm is basically everywhere, it is opportunist and will strike wherever it finds an opening. Nor is it incurable but, as Ian and Julie are finding out to their cost, it can be very difficult to eradicate. What many breeders, and non breeders alike are appalled at, is way in which she dealt with the matter as regards the new owners.  Despite many promises of refunds, after 5 months they have yet to see a penny and are unlikely to do so. As she has publically admitted that her herd has never been checked by her vet for ringworm, but self-treated as a precautionary measure, many breeders believe that her herd is still infected with the disease.

Perhaps this latter belief is based the fact that within weeks of stating she was self-treating her herd for ringworm she was already advertising the arrival of new hoglets for the New Year. It should remembered that Ian, Julie and Chaz have been treating their pets for several months and in one case the infection has still not cleared up!

Michelle Fountain aka Viljoen is still selling pet hedgehogs, mainly through online classified ad sites such as preloved.co.uk. Her name has been removed from the Hedgehog Central breeders list. She no longer advertises on the Reptile UK forums as people are quick to flood her posts with warnings of ringworm etc. I strongly urge people who may be considering buying any kind of pet from this woman to read posts in the links to the forums I have posted on this page: Dodgy Dealers before they make up their minds.

After publishing this article I contacted Heavenlyhogs to inform her about its existence. The next link contains her reply and I will add to it with information about what happens in the future.

Chapter IX – Follow-up

This story began in November 2008 it is now March 2009. As yet neither parties have received a penny from Heavenlyhogs despite her many promises. She has publically stated that only one of her hogs has been examined by her vet for signs of ringworm infection and it was clear. She continues to sell exotic pets.

Chaz gave up asking for a refund as she found the stress of dealing with Heavenlyhogs was affecting her already fragile health. The last email she received from Heavenlyhogs asked her to send her vet’s bill again as she had lost the earlier one. [Author's note: In reality Chaz had never sent an invoice to Michelle]. Pickle no longer shows any signs of infection although the vet has advised Chaz to continue with the medication for another week or so.

Today Ian and Julie’s bill stands at nearly £350 and Leo is still not completely free of his infection which is proving particularly difficult to eradicate. The vet has changed his medication twice. Julie and Kendal’s infections have cleared up. They are very worried about the affects that Leo’s ordeal are having on him as after 5 months of treatment it is highly likely that he associates Ian and Julie with the trauma of being force fed his medication.

A photograph of a severe ringworm infection

Among the many posts Heavenlyhogs has made on the Reptile UK forums my own research found one where she describes the onset of “something similar to eczema” in one of her hands. She describes having “small itchy then sore blisters” on her fingers. I found the above picture on the internet. Its caption describes the photo as a severe case of ringworm. I’m obviously no dermatologist and while I am not claiming this is what Heavenlyhogs hand looked like, I do believe it looks somewhat similar to the symptoms she herself describes.

Chapter VIII – Author’s Comments

After Ian and Julie’s thread was locked, Heavenlyhogs began a new one entitled “No Criminal”. In the first post she pastes an email she says she got from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The email is dated 5 Jun although in the newspaper article she claims she contacted them in April. She also says that any further “slander” will be taken up with her solicitor.

There then follows 28 pages of posts. Many of these are written by Chaz who doggedly plugs away at Heavenlyhogs, repeatedly bringing up the fact that Heavenlyhogs never did (and to date never has) supply the items she promised and the fact that Pickle had never been registered either in the UK nor with the International Hedgehog Register. She also points out that she should have been informed about the injury to Pickle’s nose before he was delivered to her house. Many other well known hedgehog breeders, some of whom are openly hostile towards Heavenlyhogs, heavily criticised the fact that she still hadn’t had her hogs examined by her vet and expressed their concerns about her husbandry, given that she had reported having quite a few problems with several of her animals.

One member even goes as far as reporting Heavenlyhogs to the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Heavenlyhogs said that after their inspection the RSPCA went away happy, the person who reported her stated that this was not the case and what they actually said was that she had been given time to make improvements.

Throughout the thread Heavenlyhogs states that she will repay Chaz her vet’s bills but initially says that she will not pay Ian and Julie’s due to the nasty posts they had been making about her. This later changes when one member posts that the herd of the German breeder she bought her 3 imported hogs from was infected with ringworm. Heavenlyhogs denies having any knowledge of this fact.

Heavenlyhogs then sent an email to Chaz and Ian and Julie saying that she would pay their vet’s bills once they send copies of the invoices. Ian and Julie said that they would like their cheque made out to a hedgehog charity of their choice. Heavenlyhogs later emailed the parties concerned saying that no refund would be made unless they first returned the hedgehogs to her.

At the beginning of December Heavenlyhogs informed Ian and Julie that she would only pay them £100 of the over £150 vet’s bills they had incurred up to that time. This offer was withdrawn on 21 December when Heavenlyhogs stated that her partner was going to carefully check the forum posts and emails before any money would be paid.

Chapter VII – The Aftermath

Before going on with the ringworm story we need to step back several months in time. This part of the story has been the most difficult for me to research as I have not been able to find the forum posts that directly refer to this event.

From what I can understand in June 2008, Heavenlyhogs imported 3 African Pygmy Hedgehogs which originated in Germany. Whether they came directly from Germany or traveled through the Republic of Ireland I have been unable to confirm. To cut a long story short, it appears that somebody in the pet hedgehog community learned that Heavenlyhogs had imported the hedgehogs without putting them into quarantine, this person reported the matter to the relevant authorities. The following link will take you to a newspaper article about it:

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2391904.prickly_problem_for_worried_mumoftwo/

In the article she claims that she informed the authorities of her intentions to import the hedgehogs and was told that hedgehogs did not need to be placed into quarantine. As a result of this she was now facing a £4000 quarantine bill.

It would appear that she later told the exotic pet community that she had placed the hedgehogs into a quarantine facility and that this was being paid for with the help of her two autistic children and the disability allowance they received from the government. She also described how she visited her hogs daily. Another forum member said that he or she checked with the facility she claimed her hogs were housed with and they denied any knowledge of Heavenlyhogs or her hedgehogs. When confronted with this fact Heavenlyhogs stated that the facility owner was lying to protect her [Heavenlyhogs] under the data protection act. This story reappears below with some startling new evidence.

Chapter VI – “No Criminal”

Chazybabe is an 18 year old girl who has been suffering from Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for the past 6 years. She lives near Bristol. She reserved Pickle and after he was born Heavenlyhogs sent her photographs as he developed. When he was four weeks old Pickles got some kind of skin disorder and he lost some of his quills. Heavenlyhogs sent her a photograph of this, stating that it was being treated with antibiotics and that she would bring the vet’s documentation of the treatment with her when she delivered Pickle.

Chazybabe says that in her advertisement and subsequent emails, Heavenlyhogs promised she would receive a birth certificate, his registration, free pet insurance for 6 weeks, an igloo house, a guarantee, a fleece and some food, along with the aforementioned vet records regarding his skin ailment. When Heavenlyhogs delivered Pickle to her, what she actually got was a hedgehog covered in faeces with a large scab on his nose, a blanket and a box of cat biscuits. She was told that all the other items were “going through the system”. Heavenlyhogs explained the scab away by saying it was a just a minor scuff caused by the hedgehog rooting under his food dish. Whatever misgivings Chaz may have had about accepting Pickle were put aside by the knowledge that if she refused to take him he faced another stressful 4 hour long train journey back to Essex. She had also received photographs of Pickle as he grew up and had formed a bond with him. In short she already loved him. Heavenlyhogs pocketed the remainder of his £150 price tag and returned to Essex.

The photograph sent to Chaz by Heavenlyhogs showing his skin infection

In November Chaz received an email from Heavenlyhogs asking her if she had a rash and Chaz told her that she did. From what I can understand here Heavenlyhogs did not tell Ian and Julie that the owner of Leo’s brother also had a skin infection. Chaz had also told Heavenlyhogs that Pickle was scratching a lot and had flaky skin. Heavenlyhogs said that as neither Leo nor Pickle or her own hogs had any visible signs of ringworm, Pickle was probably quilling and that Chaz should give him an oatmeal bath. At this point I can only assume that with all the knowledge she had gained thus far, Heavenlyhogs is either in complete denial, of low intelligence or is still hoping that she could cover this up somehow. Otherwise I can’t explain why she didn’t tell Chaz that both she and Pickle were most likely suffering from a ringworm infection and to seek medical and veterinary assistance.

In the meantime Ian and Julie had written an angry post on the Reptile UK forum which was quickly locked by a moderator. When Chaz saw this post she wrote to Ian and Julie and told them about her situation. Both Chaz and Pickle were subsequently diagnosed as having contracted ringworm.

Chapter V – The German Connection

Several days later Heavenlyhogs posted a thread entitled “How the Hell did this Happen?”on Hedgehog Central [Click here to see the post] claiming that she had “just this minute” been informed of the ringworm infection and asks for advice. In fact Ian and Julie say she had been informed some six days earlier. It seems obvious that at this stage HeavenlyHogs knows little about ringworm, and mentions at one point that she frequently worms her cats but isn’t sure whether the tablets include a treatment for ringworm giving the impression that she believed ringworm was actually a worm rather than a fungal infection. In her posts she comes over as a very concerned breeder, saying that she will pay the vet fees for Ian and Julie if it is found that the infection originated with her. She seems to only be interested in getting to the bottom of what happened and ensuring that the infection does not spread to her other animals or family.

Several knowledgeable people post on the thread and a lot of information is provided about ringworm and how it is transmitted etc. It is said later that much of the advice given in the thread was later quoted by Heavenlyhogs in subsequent emails as coming from her vet.

What we also learn in this thread is that:

• Before Ian and Julie ever visited Hevenlyhogs’ home,Leo’s brother [more about him later] had a skin scrape for a skin infection which Heavenlyhogs says was treated by her vet with antibiotics, although she never categorically states what kind of infection the hedgehog had. When asked whether it was a staph infection she says “I believe so…”
• Before Ian and Julie visited Hevenlyhogs’ home, Heavenlyhogs herself was suffering from a very bad case of what she says was “infected eczema” and she even posts a photograph (top right)  to show what it looks like. [See below for further information about this infection]
• Heavenlyhogs is very keen to shift the blame for the infection on to Ian and Julie, suggesting that they might have brought it into her house.
• Heavenlyhogs never did take her hedgehogs to the vet to have them checked for ringworm. She says that her vet advised her over the phone to treat them for ringworm as a precaution. Later in this story it transpires that to date she has only ever taken one of her hedgehogs to the vet to be examined for ringworm.

With regards the first two points it is very difficult to say that Heavenlyhogs is lying without having access to her vet or doctor’s records, and the author doubts very much that this will ever happen. However, so far we have one hedgehog with ringworm, another hedgehog with an ill defined skin infection, a breeder with “infected eczema” and two people [Julie and Kendal] with confirmed ringworm infections after they came into contact with Leo. There is obviously a large amount of circumstantial evidence here that points towards the source of the infection as being Heavenlyhogs.

As for the idea that a vet would ever advise a specific treatment over the telephone without examining the animal concerned, I am left speechless. I cannot imagine it ever happening and when I told this story to my own vet he simply said “no way”. Secondly why put your hedgehogs, your family and the rest of your animals through a fairly traumatic, time consuming and costly treatment without first confirming there was any need to do so?

As mentioned earlier we now have one hedgehog and two people infected with ringworm. These numbers were about to rise.

Chapter IV – Chazybabe

In this story I use forum user names to identify the people involved.

In October 2008 Ian and Julie drove 250 miles to South End on Sea to pick up their new pet hedgehog from Michelle Fountain aka Viljoen of Heavenly Hogs. At this time they believed they were dealing with a knowledgeable and experienced breeder. What they did not know was that a few months earlier she had been banned from the UK African Pygmy Hedgehog Forums (the home of the UK APH Registry’s Recommended Breeders List) for unethical practices, nor that she had been accused of illegally importing African Pygmy Hedgehogs into the UK from Germany.

UKAPH were particularly concerned by the fact that after owning a single male hoglet for a little over a week, she setup a website and started offering to reserve hoglets for a £20 deposit. She made claims about her breeding methods that she could not possibly backup, and the site contained photographs of other people’s hedgehogs and hoglets, giving the impression that she was far more experienced that she actually was.

When they arrived at the house Heavenlyhogs took them into the dining-room and they were quite shocked to see that it was full of cages of all sizes, containing, rats, snakes and sugar-gliders and that the hedgehog herd were being kept in a stack of cages standing in one corner. There was what appeared to be a urine stained quilt on the sofa and they describe the conditions of room as being filthy. They paid the remainder of the £150 price agreed upon for Leo and left as soon as they reasonably could.

Julie's shoulder with ringworm infection

Once they got Leo home they gave him a few days to settle into his new surroundings and then Julie began to handle him. Julie says that Leo loved to creep under her blouse and sleep on her left shoulder. Obviously, hedgehogs being spiny creatures, she did suffer some very minor superficial scratches but thought nothing of it at the time. About 14 days later her shoulder began itch severely and a red ringed lesion developed. Her doctor diagnosed ringworm and prescribed Terbinafine Hydrocloride to treat it.

Ringworm is a common fungal infection of the skin. The name is a misnomer as the disease is not caused by a worm. Ringworm can be transmitted by infected people or pets or by towels, hairbrushes, or other objects contaminated by them. Symptoms include inflammation, scaling, and sometimes, itching. Diabetes mellitus increases susceptibility to ringworm, as do dampness, humidity, and dirty, crowded living areas. Braiding hair tightly and using hair gel also raise the risk. (Source: health A to Z.com).

Suspecting that Leo might be the source of the infection they took him to an exotic pet specialist who after examining him, and taking Julie’s shoulder into consideration, said he was 99% certain that he was infected with ringworm. He also said that given the extent of the infection Leo was probably infected by his mother at birth. Ian and Julie also have two Samoyed dogs so the following day they took them to the vet and an examination showed that they were clear of any infection. However, a few days later Ian received a very angry call from his ex-wife informing him that his daughter Kendal now had ringworm. Kendal had visited their house and handled Leo about two weeks earlier.

Ian and Julie then phoned Heavenlyhogs to inform her of the situation and let her know that her hedgehog herd might be infected with ringworm. Initially Heavenlyhogs sounded very concerned and said that she would be taking the hedgehogs to the vet the very next day to have them checked. However, it was not very long before Heavenlyhogs started to say that Ian and Julie must have brought the infection into her house that their dogs were to blame. Ian and Julie were also worried by the fact that the knew that one of the hedgies from Leo’s litter had gone to a little girl and felt it important that her family be informed about the risk of ringworm infection.

Chapter III – “How in the Hell did this Happen?”

I came across this story on the Pygmy Hogs UK forums several days ago and it disturbed me enough to want to report it so that prospective buyers are aware of the some of the risks they may face when buying their pet hedgehogs from breeders. The article is quite long so I have divided it up into several “chapters”

Please use the links at the bottom of each page to follow the story in chronological order.

I was also prompted to write this article by the knowledge that the main protagonist of the story, Heavenlyhogs, is still trying to sell hedgehogs and other exotic pets to an unsuspecting  public.

I sincerely hope that people who are thinking about buying any exotic from Heavenlyhogs, Pre-historic Pets or Michelle Fountain aka Viljoen under whatever name she may call her company, read this article before they make any purchases from her.

I have reconstructed the story from several threads on 3 well known hedgehog and exotic pet forums. Some of these threads are very long and a full list can be found at the bottom of the page at the following link:

http://www.hedgehogsaspets.com/dodgy-breeders/

The main characters in this story are:

• HeavenlyHogs /Michelle Fountain aka Viljoen from Essex in the UK, an exotic pet dealer/breeder (she also has another business called Pre-historic pets). She is also referred to as Shell in some of the posts
• Ian and Julie a couple who bought Leo, a pygmy hedgehog from HeavenlyHogs
• Chazybabe who bought Pickle, a pygmy hedgehog from HeavenlyHogs
• Ringworm : Ringworm is a common fungal infection of the skin. The name is a misnomer as the disease is not caused by a worm. Ringworm can be transmitted by infected people or pets or by towels, hairbrushes, or other objects contaminated by them.

Chapter II – Ian and Julie