Hinterland Hedgehogs

Hinterland Hedgehogs Ethical & registered breeders of African Pygmy Hedgehogs and Lesser Tenrec in Hertfordshire.

23/07/2026

When people ask what some of my favourite things about being a breeder are and what I aim to achieve with my breeding programme, a lot of what comes up most often is about breeding happy, healthy babies, and about bettering and understanding a species that’s been all but thrown to the wayside when it comes to what some people have done to the genetics and overall quality of the animals being produced in the UK.

And whilst I absolutely do get an inordinate amount of joy from working on my breeding lines and creating beautiful, well-adjusted babies, one of the things I’m most proud of is the relationships I get to foster with every single one of my owners; all of whom I’d like to think know I’d do absolutely anything to offer support and guidance through their hogs’ lives.

Over my 6 years of breeding, I am so blessed to have been part of all of my babies’ lives from the very start to the very end, and that’s entirely down to hand-picking the best homes. 😌

I absolutely love receiving updates on my babies, whether it’s a week into having them or 4 years down the line. If they were born in my home, they’re my babies for life. 🥰

I’m even lucky enough that a lot of my little ones will come back for holidays, and I’m even more grateful that a few of my owners will trust me to bring little ones back to use as part of breeding programmes to keep some of the limited precious lines we have left in the UK, and this gorgeous little man, Spyro, is one of them. 🧡

3 years ago, Spyro was born to my Marnie and Naboo (who was my first ever Hinterland baby that I was also lucky enough to bring back to breed) - just like his dad, Spyro has come back to be paired with Pickles in the hopes that we can carry on one of my most important pedigree lines: my first. 🥹

Naboo was the only baby I ever got from Minky, my first breeding girl, and Spyro was the only baby I ever got from Naboo, meaning he’s the only hog left in the UK with his lines. But we hope for not much longer. 🤞

It’s such a privilege to see my love and the love of the homes I pick so carefully culminated into such beautiful hogs years down the line.

Isn’t he so gorgeous? Huge thank you to his mummy, Kirsty, for having no hesitations in letting me borrow him back to keep our lines going strong. 💪😍

Let’s take bets… is Paprika (who is currently in labour) going to give me litter tray babies? 😂😅Forget the perfectly goo...
15/07/2026

Let’s take bets… is Paprika (who is currently in labour) going to give me litter tray babies? 😂😅

Forget the perfectly good nest box right next to you, poo pop wee wee substrate is the perfect place to bring children into the world. 🥹🙃

Finally getting round to posting about this fabulous experience - admittedly slightly humble brag because I am genuinely...
10/07/2026

Finally getting round to posting about this fabulous experience - admittedly slightly humble brag because I am genuinely really proud of myself for putting myself forward for things that I’ve previously not been involved in! ✨

Last week I had the absolute privilege of being invited to attend the Companion Animal Sector Council (CASC) Forum in Westminster on behalf of the African Pygmy Hedgehog Club UK and Scaped Nature, with some of my nearest and dearest friends also working in the companion animal/exotics sector, so let’s talk about it! 🥳 (We’ll skip discussing the post-forum pub shenanigans… if you know, you know. 🍻)

Many people who know me through my animals may not realise that before dedicating my life to exotic hedgehogs and tenrecs (and more recently a whole host of scaly, slimy, furry exotic babies!), my academic background was actually in law. 👩🏽‍⚖️ < that’s me before making the (very expensive) decision to stop pursuing a career in law - possibly wish I’d done it prior to the expense of an undergrad and master’s degree, but here we are. 😅😂

Even though I decided to follow my heart rather than my head when it comes to my career, I’ve definitely retained my strong interest in legislation, policy, governance, and how regulations are developed and implemented in the real world. So the opportunity to have a perfect collision of two passions that have massively shaped my life… well, it was too good to pass up on. 🤓

The day brought together animal keepers, breeders, businesses, welfare organisations, veterinary professionals, sector experts, Peers, MPs, and Government officials to discuss and debate some of the most important issues currently facing companion animals in the UK, with topics ranging from rescue and rehoming, licensing and regulation, veterinary provision for small companion animals, and the procurement of animals, through to the future direction of the sector as a whole. 🙌

Plenty of you know how passionate and opinionated I am on the topic of pet-keeping an animal welfare, so the opportunity to contribute not simply as an animal keeper, but from multiple perspectives was so incredibly rewarding and made me feel like there was hope yet that individuals coming together to share thoughts and opinions, could form real change for the animals whose lives we hold in our hands. 🥹

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to gain experience as an exotic animal owner, breeder, rescuer, educator, and business owner, and it was so encouraging to see that practical, real-world experience is increasingly being recognised as valuable alongside academic and professional expertise.

If I’ve learned anything throughout my decade in the animal world, it’s that meaningful change is most effective when it includes the voices of the people working directly with animals every day. Whether that’s breeders, rescue volunteers, retailers, keepers, veterinary professionals, or welfare organisations, each perspective brings something important to the conversation, and, for the most part, are the people providing genuine love and care to these companion animals on a daily basis, and are also spreading that love and education to owners. 🤝

Following the forum, I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to, and put myself forward for, a number of working groups, research projects, and ongoing initiatives where I can hopefully continue contributing knowledge and experience from across the exotic animal community. I’m genuinely so, so excited to be involved and to help ensure that responsible keepers, breeders, rescuers, and businesses have a voice in shaping the future of this sector. 🥰

It’s not every day that life brings your past and present together, and it’s an experience that’s genuinely lit a new fire beneath me in terms of how I can use my skills to help make a difference to the lives of animals and their owners, as I try to do daily with my own business and work. I feel really very strongly about the fact that no one is simply entitled to keep or breed or sell an animal, and that that entitlement should be earned by trying our best to understand them and giving them the care they deserve, and that ethic is something that I’ll take forward with me into, what I hope, will be some wonderful new experiences. 💛🦔🐭🐹🐰🐢🐍🦎🐠🦜🐾🪴

07/07/2026

Kisses from Custard. 😘🥰

Pros of hand-rearing a sugar glider from 3 weeks OOP: they will grow up to accept all the squishy kisses and cuddles in the world. ❤️

Cons of hand-rearing a sugar glider from 3 weeks OOP: they will grow up assuming they rule your entire house and will treat your cats like drive-by cavalry horses to mount at their pleasure. 🥴

Look at that healthy pink snoot, though!

05/07/2026

Tonight’s hoggy munchy, crunchy ASMR comes courtesy of Pudding, who was not only out at the bowl before I could even call lights out, but cared not for her 4 other sisters who were still to get their look in - you snooze, you lose! 😂

Beginning to think we should have gone for the name Pudgy rather than Pudding… 🍮

01/07/2026

Tifa is very much undecided as to whether he’s a tenrec or a boiled egg when subjected to sweltering temps… poor little guy. 😂🥚

Something a bit different this evening - a few of my other babies, not quite the same as hedgehogs or tenrec… but still ...
27/06/2026

Something a bit different this evening - a few of my other babies, not quite the same as hedgehogs or tenrec… but still spiky in a slightly different way! 🐉💕

We have Matcha the Chinese water dragon, Boris the girdled armadillo lizard, and Sriracha the bearded dragon! 💚🤎🧡

I’m a very lucky girl to get to work with such a broad range of amazing species, and even luckier to call some of them mine. 🥰

26/06/2026

Everyone meet tiny Tilly the tenrec. 🥹

Tilly is our keeper from T-Rex & Tabitha’s litter back in September. 😍

As some of you may know, lesser tenrec don’t have any external genitalia, so figuring out if they’re boys or girls can either be done via DNA testing, or sometimes it’s obvious by certain dimorphic features such as face shape, smell, and behaviours, but these aren’t always obvious or guaranteed, especially in young tennies!

Whilst we didn’t end up getting these babies DNA sexed as we kept them over winter to torpor as they were a late litter, the two boys ended up exposing their genders (by exposing themselves 🤣) at a few months old, and we’re pretty certain the other two are girls, so I finally decided who we were keeping! 🥰

Little Tilly was a sure-fire from the start with her lighter colouring coming through like her mama, and her beautiful temperament - I was just lucky enough that she was actually a little girl! 🥲

As you all know I take real pride and pleasure in cultivating my own pedigree lines for the APH, but where tenrecs’ lifespans are so much longer, picking who stays is a much more significant decision. I’m sure you’ll all agree that she’s a perfect little bubba to continue our breeding lines with. 💕

25/06/2026

Enoki would like to remind you all that it’s nearly the weekend! YAY! 🥳

And to confirm that I did not, in fact, make her into a tasty soup… although with the amount of kisses she gets, she may as well be my dinner! 🐹🍄‍🟫😘

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