SVonhof He's the nicest little fellow you'd ever want to meet. As long as something doesn't frighten him he keeps the quills down. But even with the quills up they won't, or will just barely break the skin. His under belly fur is the softest of any fur I've ever felt.
We worked a bit to socialize him when he we got him (3 months old) and he's been gentle and cuddly ever since. Just don't rub his quills the wrong way! He really is an almost no maintenance pet as he sleeps all day and makes no loud noises of any kind. We clean his cage out once a week, put new water and food in his bowls each night, and bring him out to handle and look at when we feel like it. You only see him when you want to as he's never normally out and about except from midnight to 6:00 AM. Now he's not like a dog or a cat that seeks affection, but he does seem to enjoy being taken out of the cage every now and then. Probably about the same as having a pet rat except he's not particularly athletic or intelligent.