I have temporary custody of my daughter's hedgehog. He can't go to college with her. She promises me that next year she will live in a house in Austin and will take him. This I am counting on. I am tired of boiling eggs for him. I am tired of his shit encrusted wheel. He is, however, terribly cute. And not named Sonic. Say hi to Theodore. He is very shy. But very sweet. In a hedgehog kind of way.
We have issues. After living with him since last Spring, I appear to have become allergic to him. I can't get anywhere near him without my eyes itching and swelling and non-stop sneezing. This makes it difficult to meet his minimal hedgehog needs. And I have pulled a back muscle from all that sneezing. I do not believe that it is psychological. But the good thing about psychology is that you never know...and the bad thing is you never know.
What does a pseudo-academic do when faced with such a challenge? Off I go to Google "hedgehogs and allergic reactions". What do I learn? Every hedgehog information site has the exact same cut and pasted, copied, plagiarized (?) snippet. Quite a few. Same thing. Over and over.
Seems I can't be allergic. Hedgehogs don't have dander. The same thread of reasoning on site after site. My students would assume that was "fact". At least, that is what I have been told.
I understand "students today" don't understand plagiarism. They are so used to this phenomenon of cutting and pasting the same "truth" over and over that they think all knowledge is open season.
Except, a ha! Pulled up were also the posts you usually ignore. But the ones with all the truth. Posts written by owners, offering hedgehogs--with all their hedgehog accessories--to good homes because their owners have developed allergies to them. Many have long sad stories of love and commitment backed up by commodity fetishism. I have bought this for them...that for them....tried this bedding...that bedding...
Most clicks does not equal most accurate is my supposition. Nice example of the Google version of truth and reality.
Don't worry. Teddy and I will make it through. New bedding is on the way. This weekend I managed a bath--for the hedgehog. I will keep pretending that a solution is in sight. Baby girl, you better make it to Austin.
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6 comments:
Might it be a reaction to the poo?
The allergies that is...
Whew! Thank goodness for that second post. LOL.
I am rolling all poo issues into the bedding issues. Yes we can....conquer this. With truth and American Express at my side.
See "Hedgehog Hives" in Archives of Dermatology (1999;135:561-3). http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/135/5/561.pdf
Eeeuuwww. I did not need to know all that. Changing the bedding helped. I am no longer sneezing. but the poo remains a problem. All that information about fleas and mites is added incentive to continue with regular bedding replacement. And the rightful owner is soon to return for Christmas.
DUH! Just got it. And, of course, the lesson to be learned--which was the point of the post--ask a librarian for true research! Only then will you find the correct information that you seek. The post really wasn't about hedgehogs, you know. I just forgot.
So, if you must Google, make it for directions and hours of your local College or University library.
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