hedgehogsofasgard:

^{African pygmy hedgehogs (photos: West Coast Hedgehogs)}

If you are a pet hedgehog owner you have probably heard or read it somewhere: our pet African pygmy hedgehogs (APH for short) are a man-made hybrid between two species from the genus Atelerix; the four-toed or white-bellied hedgehog Atelerix albiventris and the North African or Algerian hedgehog Atelerix algirus (in this article the species will be referred to as Algerian and white-bellied).
This hybrid theory has been around since people began breeding hedgehogs for the pet trade and most don’t doubt or ever think twice about it. But is it true?

Algerian hedgehog vs four-toed hedgehog

All hedgehogs in the world belong to the same subfamily, the Erinaceinae. Within this subfamily there are five genera, containing a total of 17 hedgehog species. One of these genera is Atelerix, which currently contains four species all living in Africa: the four-toed (white-bellied) hedgehog, the North African (Algerian) hedgehog, the Somali hedgehog and the Southern African hedgehog.

A hybrid is a cross between two different species. Crosses between two species within the same genera are the most common; these hybrids are called interspecific hybrids. Since species within the same genus are closely related and therefore have a more compatible chromosome count they are more likely to produce viable offspring. A well-known example of such a hybrid is the mule, a cross between a horse and a donkey.
Technically speaking there could be an Algerian X white-bellied hybrid. But one of the downsides of hybridization is reduced fertility. Most hybrids are sterile and unable to produce offspring. Some have been able to reproduce e.g. the liger, and the occasional mule foal has been born out of a mule mare and a donkey jack. However, for the majority of interspecific hybrids, these are rare and it would be likely for an Algerian X white-bellied cross to be infertile.
Most hybrids will posses physical and behavioural traits of both parents. If we take a closer look at the two hedgehog species, though, we see the Algerian hedgehog looks nothing like our African pygmy hedgehogs. Instead, they are a perfect copy of the white-bellied hedgehog.

^{White-bellied hedgehogs (photos: Roy Bruce Kemp / haiths.com / Tui De Roy / Kennedy)}

^{Algerian hedgehogs (photos: Wikipedia / canaryfans.com / erisos.org)}

While there are similarities between the two species it is easy to spot the differences, most noticeably the legs and feet. The white-bellied hedgehog has four toes on its back feet just like our pet APH. The feet are small and the legs are short. There can be dewclaws or occasionally a fifth toe on the back feet.
The Algerian hedgehog, however, has very long legs with five toes on every feet, showing it is a faster runner and better climber. Not only are there five toes, the paws are also different and look more like little ‘hands’ with claws.
Wild white-bellied are in the same weight and size range as the APH while the Algerian tends to be heavier and larger. Both species come in different colours. Most white-bellied have brown or grey quills with white or cream tips and a dark mask, often extending under the eyes (cheek patches). The belly is white and the legs tend to be darker.
The Algerian hedgehog usually has brown or grey quills with white or cream tips and most don’t have a mask or only a very light one. The belly fur can be anywhere from brown to (creamy) white and the legs are dark.

^{Hedgehog feet (photos: Hedgehogs of Asgard)}

The picture on the left shows the back feet of an African pygmy hedgehog and the one on the right is an Algerian hedgehog. Note the different number of toes and the shape of the feet.

Geographically illogical

While there were occasional exports of white-bellied hedgehogs to the United States in the late 1970’s and 80’s the mass imports didn’t start until the 90’s when the African hedgehogs became a desired pet and sold for thousands of dollars on the exotic pet market.
Z.G. Standing Bear from The Flash and Thelma Memorial Hedgehog Rescue has interviewed the major exporter of hedgehogs, Richard Stubbs, on several occasions. According to Standing Bear, Stubbs was living in Lagos, Nigeria in the early 90’s, working as an exotic animal exporter (mostly reptiles).
According to Stubbs, some men from Kano approached him in 1991 with hedgehogs for sale; they claimed the hedgehogs were overpopulating around Kano. Stubbs bought 2,000 of them for 50 cents each and shipped them to New York, where they quickly became popular. They were dubbed “African pygmy hedgehogs” (even though they aren’t pygmy; it most likely just sounded cute and they are smaller than the more familiar European hedgehog). By 1993 the APH had become a fad pet and demand increased. It was getting harder to find hedgehogs around Kano, so Stubbs’ suppliers started to venture further north into Nigeria, and into Niger and Benin as well.
Stubbs exported around 50,000 hedgehogs while living in Lagos. The African pygmy hedgehog was the hot and new must-have in the exotic pet world and could sell for as much as $5000 for a breeding pair; other exporters quickly jumped on the bandwagon and together they exported around 30,000 hedgehogs into the US. Combined with Stubbs’ numbers, this totalled an estimated 80,000 hedgehogs, which have formed the base of the population in the US and later that of other countries as well.  
The export of hedgehogs stopped around 1994 when the US Department of Agriculture placed a 90-day quarantine on all animals imported from countries harbouring foot and mouth disease. This included all African countries, which made it difficult to import new hedgehogs.
The exported hedgehogs came from central Africa, in the middle of the range of the white-bellied hedgehog. Stubbs, and later the other exporters, started around Kano (see red marker on the map) and expanded to neighbouring countries as demand increased. Even venturing further north, though, these exporters would never have reached the range of the Algerian hedgehog, bordering the Mediterranean sea, and with the massive Sahara desert in between.

Confused by colour

While it’s highly unlikely an Algerian hedgehog ever set foot in the United States, the story about hybridization had to start somewhere. This is brings us to the colour guide of the International Hedgehog Association (IHA):

“Hedgehog color genetics have come a long way in just 10 years. We currently recognize 92 colors in two distinct group classifications – White-Bellied and Algerian. To understand why there are 2 color groups is to understand the genesis of the domestic hedgehog.  

The domestic hedgehog that we have in North America, South America, parts of Europe and Japan is the result of the crossing of two distinctly different species of African Hedgehog - the White-Bellied (Atelerix albiventris) and the Algerian. (Atelerix algirus).”

“Although the term “White-Bellied” is commonly used to refer to a species of hedgehog, the IHA also recognizes it as a separate color category from that of the Algerian colors. A hedgehog exhibiting the color traits of a White-Bellied may or may not exhibit the physical traits. (Smaller body, shorter nose and smaller ears than that of the Algerian) Since the two species have been interbred to produce the domestic hedgehog, the only true trait of the White-Bellied species left is the color as this does not mix with the colors of the Algerian species.

White-Bellied colored hedgehogs can be easily distinguished by looking at the “eye” or “cheek” patches. If the hedgehog has no cheek patches, or if they are very small, consisting of black hairs, then the hedgehog in question is in the White-Bellied color range. If the mask is strong and golden-brown or orange, then the hedgehog is in the Algerian range. This is a far more accurate means of identification than the older method of looking for white quills, rather than the “cream” or off-white colored quills of the Algerian-colored hedgehog.”
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/colorguide.shtml

As can be seen in the pictures of wild hedgehogs and the descriptions of the species it’s the Algerian hedgehog who is the one without a mask while the white-bellied hedgehog tends to have a dark mask with big cheek patches: in the colour guide however, it’s the other way around.

So where did it change?
The first imports were hedgehogs displaying what is now called “white-bellied” colours. When another batch arrived, coming from another area (probably when Stubbs was venturing north from Kano), the hedgehogs looked different: they were bigger, had larger masks with a golden tinge under the eyes and darker skin (mottling). This confused the breeders and since the exporters were vague about exact locations and species they called these dark traits “Algerian” and the lighter ones “white-bellied” since they thought they must be breeding two different hedgehog species.

^{Hoglets with “white-bellied” (left) and “Algerian” colouring (right) (photos: West Coast Hedgehogs)}

When cross-breeding these two types something interesting started to show up: two parallel lines of colours, exhibiting the “white-bellied” and “Algerian” traits. As turned out certain traits were always linked to each other; hedgehogs with a big cheek patch mask would have darker skin and mottling on the legs, while the hedgehogs with a small mask would have lighter skin and little to no mottling.
For every “Algerian” colour there is a corresponding “white-bellied” version. The “Algerian” colouring is more dominant and both colours can show up in a litter together. You can get “Algerians” out of “white-bellied” parents or the other way around.
While the colours mirrored each other the other physical traits like body size were mixing and aren’t linked to the “white-bellied” or “Algerian” forms anymore.

Very little is known about the genetics behind the colours of the APH. They haven’t been studied, there are no genetic tests, and since they are a relatively new pet the colours are still developing and changing. Most of the information on colour, like the IHA colour guide, is from years ago and might not be completely accurate anymore. But in the wild we can see white-bellied hedgehogs in different colours and with different masks. Could it simply be a colour variation within one species or might it be something else?
Bryan Smith, one of the creators of the IHA colour guide says “We had not one range of colours, but two - two colour ranges that parallel one another perfectly pretty much from the earliest beginnings of North American captive breeding programs. You shouldn’t be seeing this in a single species. These are not blended colours that we’re dealing with. These are two ranges that remain distinct despite any attempts to cross the two.”

Could the “white-bellied” colour variety be a subspecies of the generally bigger, darker white-bellied hedgehogs? It is not uncommon for hedgehog species to have a lot of variation in colour (and general appearance, like size). While the European hedgehog in the UK is usually a dark brown the same species in Spain tends to be lighter in colour and bigger in size. There is a lot of variety within the Algerian hedgehog as well. The species has been imported to certain islands and countries in Europe, and these hedgehogs are sometimes considered a subspecies of their Algerian cousins in North Africa.
There is not much field research done on African hedgehog species and there could be more (sub)species than we currently know about. The differences between subspecies are less distinct, the genes are pretty much the same and they are often able to produce fertile offspring, but they usually do not interbreed in nature due to geographical isolation and other factors.

If we are dealing with just one species, the white-bellied hedgehog, mask + mottling could simply be a modifier not specifically linked to a certain colour; if the base colour of the hedgehog is caused by a certain gene, another gene could modify the expression of the other. In most animals there are genes that alter and dilute colours. If certain genes exist in hedgehogs there could be different variations in the expression of mask, skin colour and mottling within one species.

What does this mean for us as pet hedgehog owners? As for now, we might want to stop using the terms “white-bellied” and “Algerian” when determining colours to avoid further confusion. We now know our APH aren’t a ‘man-made’ hybrid but just white-bellied hedgehogs or possibly a cross with a subspecies. It will remain somewhat of a mystery until DNA research can show us the truth. But that’s what’s so important; if we know where and what to look for, more research can be done. Our pet hedgehogs have changed very little since we started breeding them. We have created more colours and patterns but other than that, our pet hedgehogs are pretty much the same as the wild ones running around on the savannah of central Africa. Research can give us more insight in their behaviour, their diet and their natural environment which in turn can help us provide better care. The African pygmy hedgehog still has a long way to go before we can consider them fully domesticated, and we still have a lot to learn about these wonderful animals.

ellidfics:

the960writers:

kayespivey:

I cannot emphasize enough how much you need to read thoroughly through the terms of any publication before you send your writing to them. It is mandatory that you know and understand what rights you’re giving away when you’re trying to get published.

Just the other day I was emailed by a relatively new indie journal looking for writers. They made it very clear that they did not pay writers for their work, so I figured I’d probably be passing, but I took a look at their Copyright policy out of curiosity and it was a nightmare. They wanted “non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license and right to use, display, reproduce, distribute, and publish the Work on the internet and on or in any medium” (that’s copy and pasted btw) and that was the first of 10 sections on their Copyright agreement page. Yikes. That’s exactly the type of publishing nightmare you don’t want to be trapped in. 

Most journals will ask for “First North American Rights” or a variation on “First Rights” which operate under the assumption that all right revert back to you and they only have the right to be the first publishers of the work. That is what you need to be looking for because you do want to retain all the rights to your work. 

You want all rights to revert back to you upon publication in case you, say, want to publish it again in the future or use it for a bookmark or post it on your blog, or anything else you might want to do with the writing you worked hard on. Any time a publisher wants more than that, be very suspicious. Anyone who wants to own your work forever and be able to do whatever they want with it without your permission is not to be trusted. Anyone who wants all that and wants you to sign away your right to ever be paid for your work is running a scam.

Protect your writing. It’s not just your intellectual property, it’s also your baby. You worked hard on it. You need to do the extra research to protect yourself so that a scammer (or even a well meaning start up) doesn’t steal you work right from under you nose and make money off of it.

Exclusive publishing rights have to have a set time frame! Do not agree to anything that doesn’t clearly state “up to five years from signature” or something like that. 

What if the publisher goes defunct? What if they get bought by another publisher who doesn’t care to promote or publish your work? You still can’t to anything with it, you don’t own it anymore!

For a thorough overview of what you should be aware of regarding your intellectual property and publishing rights, please read through this collection of post [https://kriswrites.com/business-musings/contracts-and-dealbreakers/] by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 

Protect your IP. Do not give away your stories.

Every writer needs to read this before signing that contract:

Writer Beware!

naamahdarling:

gonkmlm:

prolifeproliberty:

luvlydoll:

tilthat:

Til it costs $32,093 to have a normal vaginal birth in the United States, and $50,000 for a cesarian. Not to mention $40 to hold your newborn after birth, $10 a day to use the telephone, $25 for an extra pillow.

viareddit.com

I’m due in June

These costs all vary by hospital, and they’re all massively inflated. They’re part of complex negotiations between the hospital and the insurance company, and they’re a scam.

The hospital puts all these little charges together to “justify” a giant bill. Then they “lower” those costs to what they’ve already agreed on with your insurance company. The insurance company then tells you “look how much we reduced your bill by our negotiating!” and then pays some portion of that bill and passes the rest on to you, depending on your deductibles and so on.

If you have no insurance, you don’t get the benefit of the “negotiated” price - they keep the price that high as part of a deal with insurance companies who are trying to justify why you should pay them so much in premiums every month. If out of pocket patients paid less, nobody would get insurance.

We need price transparency where hospitals have to publish these costs and make them available to everyone. We need to be able to call people out when they charge $20 for a tissue and $30 for a band-aid. We also need to be able to compare prices and choose hospitals that give us the best balance of cost and quality. 

We also need to stop acting like giving everyone health insurance is the solution to our broken healthcare system. The insurance companies are the ones who broke it. 

If you are facing a big bill after a hospital stay, whether for giving birth or for anything else, here are some ways to reduce that bill.

1. If you have insurance, call them and ask for an explanation of what they didn’t cover. The person will probably not have one for you. Say you are not willing to pay a bill if they can’t explain why you owe it. The insurance company will sometimes re-submit the claim and cover more of your cost. 

2.Call the hospital billing department and ask for an itemized bill. This alone may reduce the cost somewhat because they were overcharging you to begin with. 

3. When you get the itemized bill, go through it. Highlight any items that seem exceptionally overpriced or even that don’t apply to your visit (a medication you didn’t receive, a procedure that wasn’t done, etc.)

4. Call the hospital billing department back and go through the itemized bill, asking for clarification on all the items you flagged. They may remove items or reduce the cost.

5. Explain that you are unable to pay your bill in full and ask about a settlement or payment options. Sometimes the hospital will be willing to take a significantly lower amount if you can pay all at once, or you can get a payment plan with no interest that is feasible for you. 

This is based on how my husband has been fighting medical bills for the last couple of years. He has a chronic illness and has frequent appointments, procedures, tests, etc. He frequently gets large bills and then negotiates them down to much smaller ones, or in some cases has gotten bills dismissed completely. 

He says that calling the billing department and the insurance company and simply asking them to explain the charges makes a huge difference every time, because the person on the phone almost never has an explanation for why the bill is so high. 

You ARE being overcharged, and you don’t have to just deal with it. You can fight back!

this,,, thank you this is going to be so fucking helpful

I’m gonna give you something actionable.

If you are in trouble and need help navigating the confusing hellscape of medical billing, these people may be able to help you a lot.

Debt Forgiveness - Dollar For

From their site:

• We can submit an application to the hospital on your behalf.  
• We’ll collect your financial information using our secure application form and handle all the initial paperwork.
• It typically takes us about 4 – 8 weeks to submit your application.
• Once we have submitted your application, we’ll let you know and send you instructions for following up with the hospital.
• 2) We can give you instructions, tips and tools to submit the financial assistance application on your own.  
• We’ll send you emails with instructions for every step of the process.
• You can email us anytime with questions or for extra help.
• You can get your application submitted as fast as you want – even today.

That’s immense for someone who has few emotional resources to deal with red tape. Like sick, disabled, or neurodivergent people, new parents, caretakers, etc.

If you are a social worker, add this resource to your resource list IMMEDIATELY. That little sheaf of endlessly copied phone numbers, mostly out of date, could use some updating, don’t you think?

This shit saves lives. Suicide rates are EIGHT TIMES HIGHER for people in debt. For God’s sake, raise a light to maybe help ease the burden.

Spread this with love.

enemyofrome:

the kind of things me and mochi @spacestationtrustfund​ talk about

cuddlycryptid:

listen. if you had an abusive parent who is good at behaving themselves around other people- ones who stay calm, and smile, and speak kindly when interacting with the public despite never doing that with you? you’re amazing. if you had to hear “your dad seems cool” or “i love your mom” and nod and feel the way they hurt you go unnoticed? you’re so strong.

it can feel like you’re making it up, because all your teachers really like them. or it can sting, when you see how theyre capable of being thoughtful and polite but they choose to hurt you anyways. but you are wonderful, and brave, and things will get better. you will have people who acknowledge how they treated you. you will thrive. keep fighting.

gnetophyte:

gnetophyte:

i miss when you could make political art without placing personal identity (and the self) at the center of everything

this piece (“artist bio” by anna daliza) sort of perfectly sums it up. the emphasis on identity politics and tokenization in art/music/performance spaces feels reductive and exploitative- like it offers a sort of racial tourism for the wealthy white patrons. none of what im saying are original thoughts btw go see White by james ijames

loveletter2you:

readings about antisemitism in folklore 

Anti-Semitic Folklore Motif Index

Archetype Origins: Witch Archetype

Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats?

Blood Libel: The Anti-Semitic Roots of Vampirism

How Vampires Became Jewish

nonbinarycore:

idk what cis woman needs to hear this but trans women aren’t your enemy. they share your struggle against misogyny, even thought it’s sometimes in different ways. it’s all misogyny!! physical and sexual violence, judgement and coercion surrounding appearance, genetalia, and gender performance, poor access to healthcare, violence at the hands of men specifically, fetishization, etc. trans women are women who happen to be in an even more vulnerable position than other women. misogyny affects us ALL and excluding trans women from feminist spaces– or worse, blaming them for violence against women– will never be radical or revolutionary. you’re just denying support and resources to an extremely vulneravle group of women.