My Ickus was sent to me with Malachite from Tig of Hedgehog Valley. His breeder however was Alaska Hedgehogs. Due to what I believe was a move on the part of Alaska Hedgehogs he was staying with Hedgehog Valley. I never recieved his papers, and I'm not really sure when he was born. Ickus was a quite boy, who never, and I mean never hissed or puffed. He was a shy guy and wasn't very active. One special thing about Ickus was he had giant ears. They were so funny. That quality is what inspired his name. There is a nicktoon called Aaah! Real Monsters that has a character named Ickis. This Ickis also has enormous ears. I always thought there was something 'different' about Ickie. It was just a feeling I had. What that difference was became apparent not too much later.   In August of 2004, I moved to Florida from Virginia to finish my degree at a new college. During the time of my move I noticed he wasn't moving much. Once in Florida is became obvious something was very wrong. Ickus couldn't walk. I thought maybe it was due to a mysterious cut on his arm he had gotten. (Later I realized he probably had fallen in his two story cage. I've had the cage for several years and never had any problems.) I took him to the vet to get treatment for the cut. They gassed him for the examination. Him being sleepy probably masked his true problem. A little after visiting the vet, when the gas was wearing off, I realized his whole left side was immobile and he was getting around by rolling. Needless to say, I was a basket-case by this time. My Aunt kept him for me as I was in the process of moving into my apartment, and getting settled in a new school. She kept me updated of his condition by phone. At first it seemed like he was doing better. I chalked the funny walking up to being drowsy. About a week later, though, I got the call that he was completely paralyzed. The vet diagnosed it as Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome. WHS had come on quick and hard. Ickus was euthanized in September. Because my Aunt was caring for him I felt uncomfortable asking for a necropsy. From reading discriptions of WHS on websites I am confident this was an accurate diagnosis. I found this website to be very informative about WHS, and I wish I found it before my Ickus was put to sleep. Unfortunately the only pictures I had of Ickus were not digital. For the life of me I can't find them. Most likely they were lost during my move. The little movie-clip above is all I have to remember him by.