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Policies

General Adoption

I approve people for adoption depending on whether I think a hedgehog would be right for their family. I reserve the right to turn down any person that I feel would not be a good match for one of our hedgehogs.

If you are a breeder, or an individual with prior hedgehog experience and are interested in breeding, please contact me for more information. We have different policies and requirements for hedgies intended for breeding.

Hedgehogs are reserved in the order deposits are received. Once we get your deposit, you are added to the priority list and you are guaranteed your spot in line for selecting a hedgie. Only approved people who have sent in their deposit are allowed on the priority list.

Upon pickup, buyers are required to sign our Hedgehog Adoption Contract. This covers our health guarantee, the new owner's responsibility toward the hedgehog's welfare, the agreement that the animal is a pet and not a breeding animal, etc. This adoption contract also serves as the legally required USDA record of you receiving your animal.

Deposits

The $50 non-refundable deposit can be made via cashier's check, personal check (must be cleared before making arrangements for pickup or delivery), money order, Venmo, or Paypal (with 4% surcharge). Checks must be made out to me personally (Kimberly Halzen). I accept the rest of the payment when you pick up your hedgie. At that time please have cash, Venmo, Paypal or money order only. If you need to, you can send me full payment before pickup. If you would like your hedgehog shipped, we must be paid in full before he or she is shipped. Please note that if I find someone to be dishonest in their intentions to breed, their residency, etc. they will have forfeited their deposit and will be removed from our approved list.

Health Guarantee

Telos Exotics guarantees that any hedgehog sold by us is in good health, free of parasites or infectious disease, and any known health considerations have been disclosed and discussed with the buyer. Hedgehogs bought from us come with a 30 day health warranty against any illness or disease, unless the illness was caused by abuse or neglect, or contracted from yourself or another pet in the household.

In addition to the standard health warranty I offer a lifetime warranty against Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome for my hedgehogs. Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome is a lethal, degenerative neurological condition typically characterized by a wobbly gait and dragging the hind limbs. However, many other conditions can cause similar symptoms. WHS can only be diagnosed by necropsy (autopsy) to distinguish it from other other health problems. We prefer suspected WHS cases to be necropsied at OSU or CSU. Please contact us if you are concerned about neurological symptoms and we can determine a course of action if WHS seems likely. Neurologic symptoms like ataxia (being wobbly/shaky) are extremely common for non-WHS reasons and it's important to not automatically assume the cause is WHS!

I take my hedgehog's health very seriously and it is important to me to know the health of the animals born here. If you have a hedgehog from me necropsied after death, I always greatly appreciate getting a copy of the necropsy. The information is used to make better decisions as to which hedgehogs to retire (for potentially carrying genetic illness) and for letting other owners know what the health of their hedgehog's family background is like. With your permission, I can also submit your information (even if you did not have your hedgehog necropsied) to the Hedgehog Mortality Database, which collects information about hedgehog lifespans and causes of death, in order to learn how to improve the health of future hedgehogs. For more information, please contact me.

Please note that Telos Exotics is not responsible or liable for any customer's veterinary bills.

Prices

The majority of the babies born here are priced between $200-250. Occasionally I will have a color or gender that is having difficulty finding homes, and I may lower prices for those individuals. Specifics are listed next to each baby. Typically adults, rehomes, or rescues are priced lower than babies, between $50-150, and occasionally free to great home.

Returns/Surrenders

We offer adoption refunds based on the amount of time that you have had your hedgehog. The days are counted from the day you picked up your hedgie, to the day it returns to us. Sorry, but we will only offer refunds on babies born here or adults bought from us. If you adopted a rescue/rehome, we will gladly take him or her back, but do not offer any refund. If you return a sick or injured hedgehog, no refund will be given.

Within 15 days: 50%
Within 30 days: 25%
After 31 days: No refund, but we will still take the hedgehog back.

If you find you cannot keep your hedgie, we will offer to take it back. We won't turn down any hedgehog for any reason.

If you choose to rehome your hedgehog from us, we would greatly appreciate being updated so that we can adjust animal records on our end.

Pickup

We prefer that our adoptive families come to us to pick up their baby, meet us if they haven't already, and have a chance to ask any questions before bringing their hedgehog home. Once the hedgehog you have reserved becomes available for pickup (for babies this is usually around 7 weeks old, sometimes later), you have a full week to arrange a time to come get him or her. After that, discounted boarding fees of $20/week or partial week are added to your total.

Delivery

For those that are too far away to pick up but not far enough to ship, we can occasionally drive to you or meet part way to deliver your hedgie. We approve/schedule delivery on a case by case basis. If arrangements can be made, delivery charges are $20 + $0.75/mile one-way to cover time and gas.

Shipping

We offer airline shipping to legal states in the continental US. Shipping charges are usually around $250 (this is in addition to the price of your hedgehog). This includes the actual flight, the carrier, paperwork, and the cost of transporting your hedgie to the airport. We ship out of the Eppley Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, NE. We will not ship during extreme weather conditions. Once your application has been approved, I can confirm a shipping quote. We're at the mercy of the airlines - cost and scheduling may vary!