Our Policies

Pictures of Babies

• Unfortunately, advance pictures of babies are one thing that we do not offer here at Millermeade Farms.
• We ship very few animals so most of our babies are sold directly to individuals.  We prefer our customers to handle several babies and to choose the baby that they like the best.
• Our inventory changes quite frequently so keeping an accurate inventory and track of each animal would be nearly impossible.
• We have a variety of pictures of our animals on our website.  Some are pictures that we have taken, others are pictures from our customers and some were done by a professional photographer. 

Color Requests

• I personally enjoy having a variety of colors in my herd and it has been challenging and fun for me to produce the various colors.
• I do not however, enjoy trying to determine the true name of each color and trying to describe that color to others.  Hedgehog Central at www.hedgehogcentral.com has an amazing color guide with descriptions if color is an interest to you. 

• I am happy to accommodate broad requests such as standard or normal (shades of brown), something other than standard or something exclusive such as not albino.  As mentioned in the picture section I prefer to have our customers choose their baby after handling rather than by reserving or selecting babies on specific requests.

• Other breeders specialize in colors, are good at identifying the colors, and taking pictures of those babies.  I suggest trying one of the other breeders if you are interested in a particular color.  Breeder listings are available on several sites including www.hedgehogcentral.com and www.hedgehogworld.com.
• We almost always have both standard and fancy babies available.  We hope that you will anticipate the surprise of the exact availability when you come.

Breeding Stock

• Millermeade Farms promotes responsible breeding only after careful consideration of the risks and challenges of breeding.
• It is our policy to only sell pets.  Whether or not you will breed your pet is a decision you will have to make for yourself.
• We will only sell one gender at a time to any individual customer.
• More information about this subject can be found in our Becoming a Breeder guide. 

Birth Certificates and Pedigrees

• We keep very detailed records on all of our animals here at Millermeade Farms.  Many of our hedgehogs can be traced back multiple generations.
• The parents and birth date of our animals sold are recorded on every receipt.  We are happy to provide a downloadable version of our birth certificate for you to keep and enjoy.
• I can assure you that our bloodlines are very diverse and we encourage you to build diverse bloodlines in your herd should breeding be in your future.

Shipping

• Millermeade Farms is currently NOT shipping hedgehogs.
• We understand that there are a limited number of hedgehogs currently available for the pet market and we are sorry that shipping may be the only option for some people. 
• Check out our Purchasing a Hedgehog guide for more information on why there are only a limited number of hedgehog breeders and how to find them.

• It is only through careful thought and consideration that we have decided not to ship hedgehogs at this time.  We hope that you will appreciate and understand our reasons.
  • We enjoy selling to our customers directly.  I personally enjoy sitting down with our customers in our home rather than shipping hedgehogs to someone I will probably never meet.
  • Much more time and expense is required on our part to ship animals rather than have our customers come here.

• Some of our customers have flown into Toledo Express on frequent flyer miles and others have flown private planes to our local airport.  Other families have scheduled their hedgehog pick-up around family vacations or weekend get-a ways.  We would be happy to assist you in making travel plans if this is something that might work for you.

Reserving Babies

• All of our babies are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis unless they are reserved with a deposit.
• We very seldom reserve specific babies rather we reserve the ability to select a baby.  For example, if we have six babies available, we only accept deposits or schedule customers to look at four babies.  That way, the fourth person to make an appointment still has a selection and isn’t stuck with the “left-over” and is still guaranteed to the experience to handle several animals.
• We are able to have a nice rotation of babies by breeding on a regular basis.  It is our experience that there is a delicate balance of supply and demand.  We certainly don’t want to produce too many babies but at the same time we want to allow our customers to have a selection.
• Our highest demand typically corresponds with our lowest production.  This happens for a couple of reasons.
• Our best production is during the summer months when most families are busy with vacations and summer activities.
• Our biggest demand is during the winter months when families are indoors.  This corresponds to our lowest production time of year.
• Most of our babies are born in late spring through early summer when the demand is the lowest.
• More deposit information is available at www.critterconnection.cc under “Policies.”
• We encourage deposits because it allows us to plan our family activities as well as to plan for other customers.
• Placing a deposit allows you advance access to our Customer Resource Center which will help you better prepare for your new pet.

Terms of Payment

• We prefer $10 deposits to be made via pay pal.  More deposit information is available at www.critterconnection.cc under “Policies”
• We prefer cash payment but we can accept VISA/MC..
• We offer CASH discounts. 
• We are sorry, but we cannot accept personal checks.
• More information about costs to expect can be found in our Purchasing From Us guide.

Costs to Expect

• The hedgehog.  You will be told the price before your selection.  We have very little difference in price for colors because we hope that you make your choice based on personality first and color second.
• Food.  The minimum food that we suggest purchasing with your hedgehog is currently $12.00.  This food should be enough to last two months if not longer.  Refer to our Diet Recommendations guide for reasons why we feel keeping the hedgehog on the same diet for at least the first month is important.  Should you decide not to purchase the food we will have you sign a waiver stating that you acknowledge and are accepting the risks associated with not following our suggestions.
• Cages and/or supplies.  We have worked very hard to have quality products available at affordable prices.  These products are arranged in our Hedgehog Shopping Guide.  Our package deals offer the best values but each item can be purchased individually.
• Tax.  We are a real business and pay real taxes. Taxes vary according to when and where you purchase your hedgehog.
• We certainly appreciate your business.  We offer cash discounts because you save us money by not using a credit card.  We also offer an additional cage package discount off the price of the animal.  We appreciate you supporting us by buying your supplies from us.

Breeder Mentoring

• The future of hedgehogs as pets in this country depends on good breeders. 
• The best way for a new breeder to become a good breeder is by working with a breeder mentor.
• Before becoming a breeder we believe it is your duty to become a knowledgeable and experienced hedgehog owner first.
• Much quality online resources are available for you to read and investigate the pros and cons of breeding as well as the joys and pains you are likely to encounter.
• We are happy to mentor new breeders who have bought pets from us and that meet certain requirements.  These customers stay in contact with us, are self-motivated to educate themselves, and are willing to meet the challenges of becoming a breeder.  Our Becoming a Breeder guide outlines our tips for success and things you can do to help yourself through the adventures of breeding.
• We are often asked for breeding advice, guidance through problems, and general ways to make the process work.  We are also happy to do consulting work for non-customers and customers who would like assistance working through our Becoming a Breeder guidelines. 

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