[image description: four images of prickle fidget animals/hedge animals, shaped like monkeys. The monkeys are show in red, blue, green and yellow and have a prickle ball centre topped with a smiling monkey face, outstretched waving hands, and hand-shaped feet. The faces have white snouts, ears and nose, with small black dots for eyes, all spray painted. Some are better painted than others. First image shows the hedge monkeys in a clear plastic bag with the product name “Alpen Parties for Everyone” in rainbow lettering and a white price tag of $3.50. Second shows the camera focusing on the green monkey, a white person’s thumb and forefinger stretching one of the body’s bristles to twice its length. Third shows the four monkeys free of the bag, the green and yellow monkeys propped against the red and blue ones. Fourth image shows the monkeys compared to two different sizes of hedge/porcupine/prickle ball and two prickle fidget dinosaur creatures.]
Spiky Monkey / Hedge Monkey: $3.50 AUD for a pack of four from a local dollar shop (found in the party section). These are from an Australian company/distributor, so I have no idea as to their availability worldwide.
I really love my prickle fidget toys, so when I saw a pack of hedge monkeys, I couldn’t leave them behind. Unlike my other spiky/hedge toys, these ones are made from a stretchable rubber: arms, legs, tail and spikes all stretch to about twice their length. Because they’re stretchable, they’re softer to touch than the dinosaurs and balls in the fourth photo; the prickles compress under a fingertip. I like that they’re stretchable, though; it fills a hole in my stim toy kit! The tail is really nice to stretch! The rubbery softness, too, means they’re great for rolling in my hands.
(I believe the Stimtastic Mini Hedge Ball set, $1.25 USD for five, is also stretchable, for those wanting the stretchable variations of these toys.)
They have a slight rubbery smell, nowhere near as bad as most puffer toys. They leave a very slight residue on my skin, so slight I’d call it negligible. They don’t bounce. Surprisingly, I can rub away any dust they pick up! People who care about face paint should know that I had to hunt through several bags to find the best set. Most were awful.
I really like these. They only need a little loop so I can attach them to a keychain or lanyard - they’d be perfect, then!