My name is Gail Dick and I am the owner of Millermeade Farm's "Critter Connection". My first introduction to the animal business began in 1984, when I was old enough to join 4-H. My father and I started raising New Zealand White rabbits together for meat and for show. We maintained the rabbit business together through my college years. My years in 4-H and the time spent raising rabbits with my father were priceless learning experiences that gave me an excellent foundation for raising animals and running a business. I had the privilege of working with my dad raising hedgehogs at "Hedgehog Headquarters" from 2002-2006.

The original Millermeade Farms was a 200- acre farm owned by my grandfather in the early 1930's. Millermeade means "Miller's Meadows". In 1995 my grandfather gave me two acres of the original Millermeade Farms to build a new building for an established rabbitry that I purchased in my senior year of college. Since I was the 5th generation to own the property, I kept the name Millermeade Farms for my new business.

In 1997, I married and moved to northwest Ohio. My husband, Jeff, gave me a trio of hedgehogs to compensate for leaving my new rabbit building behind and thus Millermeade Farm's "Critter Connection" was established. I fell instantly in love with the hedgehogs and our interest in exotic animals was born. We started attending Exotic Animal and Reptile shows, swaps, and auctions across the country. We collected bloodlines for various critters from coast to coast and from Canada. The care sheets found on this website are based on our knowledge of each animal through research and experience.

We have seen many changes in the exotic pet industry and our business has changed many times since we began in 1997. At one point we had 23 different species of animals in our breeding program but we are currently focusing our time and energy on hedgehogs.

New exotic animal laws and USDA regulations have made a huge impact on the exotic pet industry. Retail pet stores and breeders must be USDA licensed which makes sales of small animals such as degus, spiny mice, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, duprasis etc. more and more limited. Many of the exotic small animals are extremely difficult to breed making the cost of raising them higher than the market can support. Many exotic small animals on the market in the past were either direct imports or descendants of imported animals. Importation of African rodents into the U.S. was stopped in 2001 as a result of the Monkeypox ban.

We still try to attend the Midwest Reptile Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, on a regular basis (but we will not be able to attend every month as we have in previous years). We would love to catch up with you at a show. Please check our Upcoming Events page for our latest schedule. Do contact us first before making a special trip to one of the shows.

The first time I saw hedgehogs was at a pet store, when I was visiting my friends in Missoula, Montana, in 1993.  Hedgehogs were $650.00 each at the pet store and my friends joked that I should stop raising rabbits and raise hedgehogs instead.  By 1997 when my husband bought my first hedgehogs and I DID exchange my rabbits for hedgehogs, the price had dropped to $35.00 each from small breeders. I was very much intrigued by the hedgehog's personality and uniqueness and hence a desire to breed them was born. The person who bred my first hedgehogs knew very little about them and the only information I was giving to my customers was to keep the hedgehogs in a 10-gallon aquarium and feed them cat food. Initially I wasn't able to pick up my hedgehogs without gloves and I had no idea if they would bite me or if they would be friendly. I have devoted countless hours to the study of hedgehog care, handling, husbandry, nutrition and health since my first introduction to hedgehogs many years ago.  I love the research surrounding hedgehogs, educating customers, and the challenge of breeding to improve the quality of the hedgehogs in the pet market.

Critter Connection is a home-based business so I am a full-time mommy to Weston, Ashton, Logan, Addison, and Caroline as well as a full-time businessperson. My children are very important to me and I feel it is a privilege that I can work from home. I don't get as much quiet computer and phone time as before I had kids and when you call you may hear the noise of our family life in the background. Please be patient if I don't respond to emails or phone calls right away. If you don't hear back from me within 24 hours please try again because I may not have received your message. My husband, Jeff, also plays a role in "Critter Connection" and I am very thankful for his support. Millermeade Farms wouldn't be able to function without him!

Fridays and Saturdays are especially busy on the farm. Our average customer travels three hours to purchase their pet and Fridays and Saturdays are typically the best travel times for our customers. We do not have appointments at the farm on Sundays so that we also get time to spend with our family. Please check out Upcoming Events to see if we will be near you! Whether you meet us at the farm or at one of our "Hedgehogs on the Road" events, we will always spend time with you explaining proper hedgehog care, handling hedgehogs in ways that encourage bonding. We also have a question and answer opportunity to get our customers off to a great start with their new pet.

We believe purchasing an animal is a big decision and that education about your new pet before purchase is equally as important as the information you will need after your purchase. It is our goal to give you the information and instruction necessary to help you have a positive experience with your exotic pet.

I hope that you take some time to look around our website and check out the care sheets for our animals. I have tried to answer many of our most frequently asked questions and more in the care sheets. The guidelines and suggestions we provide are based on our knowledge and experience. And we are still learning!!

We have also done a considerable amount of research on the best cages, equipment, food, and supplies available in the pet industry. We have assembled a variety of products that we feel are best suited for exotic pets' needs. We understand that everyone wants to get the most for their dollar and we do our very best to keep our prices low. Our cage packages are designed to offer you great products at a discounted price. We hope you choose to shop with us. Your business is greatly appreciated.

When you come here to Montpelier we will spend a considerable amount of time helping you get acquainted with your new pet. We spend about an hour with each customer helping them learn handling tips and techniques as well as diet and care information. We are also more than willing to answer questions after the sale. Please feel free to email or call between 9 AM and 9 PM EST and I will do my best to help you.

We hope that you choose to do business with Millermeade Farms!

• Millermeade Farms is a team effort of myself, Gail Dick, the support of my husband, and several part-time staff members
• It truly takes a team to provide quality care for the animals, accurate record keeping and committed customer service.
• My five kids and busy household keep me hopping so my team helps me to stay on track

• I am a professional breeder. I love and enjoy animals and I have chosen to make this my livelihood. Some hedgehog breeders are hobby breeders and simply breed for the love of their hobby.
• There are other breeders who breed only as a means to the end and do not enjoy the customer education or quality care aspect of their job.
• I have help from my husband and employees so that I can focus my time and attention on you the customer as well as my children.
• My knowledge and experience with hedgehogs and other animals has been gained through years as breeding experience as well as through formal education.

• Our customers have driven and flown from across the country for our unique buying experience. We will sit down together on the floor and play with and handle several animals.
• We firmly believe that hedgehog handling is best learned by experience and practice. It is not easily learnt by reading, watching a video, or by verbal instruction. Certainly these options are valuable when shipping is the only option.
• A good comparison to handling hedgehogs is learning to knit. You first have to have the basic concept of how to hold the needles, where to put the thread and how to make a stitch. You can certainly read a book, watch a video, or have someone give you instructions over the phone but certainly you will learn more quickly and get better and faster results by watching someone and having someone guide you in person.

• You will be given LOTS of information throughout the buying process.
• We have spent hours writing articles and developing this website and we won't stop trying to make it better.
• Our very own Hedgehog Handling Video has been shot and is COMING SOON
• We always do our best to answer questions both before and after the sale. Please be respectful of our time though and check out our site to make sure we haven't already answered your question!

• You will find quality, hard-to-find cages at a reasonable price at our spacious shop.
• We've searched high and low for quality hedgehog tested accessories and have done our best to bring them to you.
• The food we use is available for purchase with your pet. This is the one item we insist on for the health and well-being for your hedgehog.
• We are budget-minded people and have put together package discounts for your best value
• We certainly appreciate your business when you choose to shop with us!

• We have a customer only Yahoo Group where our customers can share their pet updates, ask questions and network with other hedgehog owners.
• When we write new articles we will post them to the yahoo group for a peek-preview and input.