This is a hedgehog.
I have it in tribute to a pet that the state of Georgia does not allow me to have, but should.
That is my favorite hedgehog picture ever. I made that an avatar for my LJ a long time ago.
Hegehogs are fun, but they're stinky and REALLY annoying when you're trying to sleep.
I had a hedgehog for a few months (I basically took it home for a summer from a school because they just left it there, unattended). I named him Mochi (riceball in Japanese). He was sooo cute. Their bellies are so soft... but their backs are so prickly!
I loved him so much. Except one time, he ran up my pant leg and I thought I was going to die. My two friends who witnessed it were laughing hysterically as I frantically, but gently, ran to the bathroom and ripped off my pants. Fortunately, he didn't get angry. But it was still terrifying.
They're a lot of work though. Mochi was allergic to the pine that he had been forced to live in. He also had a rash from living in his own urine and feces for a month. I made him swim daily (to both work off the pounds that he had gained and also to rinse off any urine). *sigh*
He was so cute and so happy. I loved watching him try to eat crickets. It was highly amusing.
I'm so mad that I gave him back to the school. Those stupid fucking kids killed him-they neglected to feed him and his mother. So mochi starved to death and his mother ate him. Wonderful ending, right?
That school doesn't have animals anymore. I'm glad.
...
Your icon spawned that story/rant. Sorry.
I *heart* hedgehogs.