Help The Hedgehog Program!

Introduction

I am Judith, 26 years old an i live in Hoogeveen, The Netherlands. Since 2014 i am busy doing studies and research in African Pygmy Hedgehogs as there isn't a lot of scientific information. Slowly but steadily my project -The Hedgehog Program - has began to grow and i am on the brink of making the project a legit company. In that way, i can collaborate with scientific institutes to get more research done and improve the overall health and husbandry of the species through education. 


These achievements are made in the past years:

2014 - Started The Hedgehog Program as a simple Dutch website with the very basic information available on the species.

2015 - I have contacted the University of Utrecht about their possible interest in doing scientific research into African Pygmy Hedgehogs and they reacted very positively!

2016 - Translated the website into English and received more European followers. I have published the first Dutch book about husbandry and care of African Pygmy Hedgehogs in captivity. I got national media attention with the hedgehogs for a period of three months, which includes news paper articles, tv items and interviews.

2017 - The project gained international followers in Europe, Africa, South America and North america. I also published a few summaries on genetics within African Pygmy Hedgehogs as a result of the studies i have done after receiving 406 pedigrees from breeders worldwide.

2018 - A collaboration with the Exotics Hedgehog Club Europe e.V. in Germany has started, which gave me access to over 4000 additional pedigrees to continue the study towards genetics and colors in African Pygmy Hedgehogs. I started to anonymise my data and am currently working on the online research database to display all the data used in the studies. Additionally, i am working on setting up a worldwide registry for pedigrees, which also gives platform to rescues wanting to register the hedgehogs that have moved out and gives owners of bought pedigrees from registry breeders/rescues the possibily to record weights, health issues and more, all on the same website online and all-time accessible with their own account. To connect the two parts of The hedgehog Program, i am also working on building a mobile app, supported on Android and iPhone (and more).


My goals & visions

As described in the picture above, my main goal is to educate owners about the basic needs of their African Pygmy Hedgehogs, but aside from that there is a lot to gain in other species as well. There are 17 species of hedgehogs worldwide, most of them hardly (if at all) researched or studied. It's one of the many families that have been set aside for ages on end, whilst popularity amongst pet owners and breeders arose. A lot of theories have been spread around the pet community without any factual base, as early beeders in the 90's have not left us any documentation. With that, also comes the fact that disproving the theories is impossible and thus the theories are being kept alive. Research is essential in this to once and for all prove or disprove the theories and to gain new knowledge upon the species nowadays known in captivity. 
But aside from research, i also see education as a key word in the project. Without the proper education and promotion of the project, the knowledge gained from researches is not going influence the pet community nor the people working with the other species (think about rescue centers, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and so on). The two key words of the project combined could mean a small revolution in the world of the hedgehogs, both in he wild and in captivity.

How am i planning to achieve all this? 

I'm not going to say it's easy, because in all honesty, it really isn't. But all good things come in time, is what i have learned in these past years. The website is the main platform for captive owners to be educated and staying up-to-date on all the news in regards to the researches & studies. This website mainly focusses on the information about current captive hedgehogs like African Pygmy hedgehogs and in the near future Algerian hedgehogs & Eyptian Long-Eared hedgehogs. This could eventually grow with new species as researches & studies continue. The website of the registry can be used to add new data into the research databases as well as supporting new breeders in their first steps towards becoming reliable and experienced breeders. It's also a way to keep track of the overall lifespan, health issues, weights and development in the pet species. 

With online courses (adds to financial income), another way of educating owners, breeders and rescues can be added to the pile. Online accessible courses on a low level of understanding, with good visuals and audio's, are a perfect way to educate people. Courses about the basic care, about breeding, health, genetics and rehabilitation processes are a few of the options. 

The mobile app that is currently in development is a perfect way to connect the research & education platform with the registry. It has a few pages with information about hedgehogs and a lot of information, but is also has contact forms built in to report data to the researches or te report/editrequest information to or from the registry. It also has a built-in shop to buy & download eBook and other downloadable content. And ofcourse, there's more to come!


Why funding?

Throughout developing the platform, the app and the registry, i currently lack the time to build a financial base for myself or the project. After all: i work fulltime on this project without a regular job (i am a selfpublishing author). The GoFundMe therefore is to hopefully give some financial base for myself and the project until i'm ready to really get into the real deal of making The Hedgehog Program an actual business and developing downloadable and buyable content and products to get structural income. So with donations i hope people are willing to show some love for someone with a pure passion for animals and who might be able to change the future of a few animal species when it comes to the limited information available on them. Not only for the captive pet species, but also for the species that are or might become a threatened species in the future and need protection, after all: rescues need information about the animals too!

If you have any questions about the project, feel free to contact me!