Hedgehogs may not be the traditional choice for a pet, but the small, prickly creatures have captivated Carroll Meek’s interest for years.

She is now the proud owner of three African pygmy hedgehogs: 4-month-old Sir Lancelot Hufflepuff, and 3-year-old sisters PetitPointe and GrossPointe.

Today Meek will oversee a show in Anacortes — A Hedgehog Gathering III.

According tho the International Hedgehog Association Web site, hedgehogclub.com, hedgehogs are native to both Africa and England, with English hedgehogs the larger of the two. Hedgehogs are nocturnal, but contrary to popular belief, they are insectivores, not rodents.

Meek’s fascination with the tiny creatures began after a chance phone call from a neighbor who had found an abandoned hedgehog.

“A neighbor called me one night in September, eight years ago, and they wanted me to come up and ID it,” Meek said. “I said, ‘I think that’s a hedgehog,’ and I called a vet.”

The veterinarian explained to Meek that hedgehogs are not native to the area, and it was likely abandoned.

Meek named the rescued hedgehog Franconia and kept her for three years. When Franconia died, Meek decided she couldn’t be without the tiny creatures and called her vet to find out where she could obtain another. She eventually got in touch with Sharon Massena, the co-founder of the International Hedgehog Association, who told her about a hedgehog show in Kent.

“I said, ‘How do you show a hedgehog?’” Meek recalled. “She said, ‘First, you put the hedgehog on the table in front of you and then you do everything in your power to keep the hedgehog from falling off the table.”

Meek regularly attended hedgehog shows, and when Massena was badly injured in an accident, Meek began setting up her own hedgehog shows. At her first show, in October of 2003, a hedgehog breeder from Alaska sold 20 hedgehogs and the event drew quite a crowd.

Today’s show will likely draw a crowd of about 300 to Anacortes.

Judges Marc Hines and Bryan Smith will evaluate the hedgehogs on several criteria, including attitude, color, shape and hair quality. Hedgehogs will be separated into three categories: Junior, for hedgehogs 3 months to one year old; Adult, for 1-to-3-year-olds; and Senior, for hedgehogs over 3.

Meek said that attitude is one of the most important aspects judges consider. Ideal hedgehogs are gentle creatures who are relaxed and don’t bite. Judges also are looking for a classic pear shape, as well as thick shiny hair.

As Meek explained, the quills are really “air filled hair,” and are prone to dullness and can fall out if the hedgehog is stressed.

“They’re all different,” Meek said. “I love the feel of them. They’re kind of waxy. And as my husband says, they’re prickly and nocturnal just like me. So it was natural that I’d be taken by them.”