Hedgehog in nature. The common hedgehog is a brave wanderer

Hedgehogs are very cute creatures that we often meet in the forest or in gardens. From fairy tales and cartoons we remember how these animals store mushrooms and fruits for the winter, but this is nothing more than a myth, because they never store supplies for the winter.

And what hedgehogs eat, we know very vaguely. When we feed these forest dwellers, we make a big mistake, because most often we give them milk.

Who are hedgehogs?

The European hedgehog familiar to us belongs to the hedgehog family. These animals reach twenty to thirty centimeters in length and weigh no more than a kilogram. The most memorable thing about their appearance is their spines, of which there are about five to six thousand on the body of hedgehogs.

The common hedgehog lives in small forests, on the edges and near bodies of water in Europe, the British Isles and even in New Zealand. They coexist well with humans and can often be found in villages and gardens. Hedgehogs lead night look life, and during the day they take refuge in their nests, which they build in the roots of trees, abandoned holes, bushes and holes. They are homebodies by nature, because even at night they prefer not to stray far from their shelter.

In winter, they close their burrows and hibernate until the air temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius. And if, as we know, they do not stock up on food for the winter, then a logical question arises about what hedgehogs eat in winter. In fact, all summer they stock up on fat, which must be more than five hundred grams for the animal to survive hibernation.

What do hedgehogs eat?

What hedgehogs eat in cartoons and fairy tales is only part of their diet. Hedgehogs, like people, are omnivores. From animal food they prefer amphibians, caterpillars, worms and small animals. They often eat eggs and chicks if they are in a nest located on the ground.

But mice and rats are very rare prey, because the prickly animals cannot keep up with the nimble rodent. Main feature of what hedgehogs eat is that the most poisonous creatures, such as vipers, May beetles and hairy ground beetles, do not cause any harm to their health, because hedgehogs are resistant to various types poison.

But among plant foods, hedgehogs still prefer fruits and berries, although they also eat mushrooms.

What does a domestic hedgehog eat?

Very often these cute animals become pets. And, if in nature they live on average three to five years, then in captivity their life expectancy can increase to ten years. Of course, few people are ready to catch beetles and innocent frogs for them, and you won’t find special food for such pets in the supermarket. Therefore, it is very important to know what hedgehogs eat if they live in your home:

Lean cooked meats such as beef, chicken or turkey breast;

Chicken by-products: giblets, liver, hearts;

Fruits such as apple, pear. Do not feed the animal exotic types of fruits and citrus fruits;

Berries only in season. It is best that they come from the garden or agriculture;

Some of the vegetables are also small quantity: pumpkin, cucumber, carrots;

A raw chicken or quail egg should be given no more than once a week. It is best that they are homemade;

Live insects or zoophobes;

And of course drinking water, best distilled.

Often forgetting what hedgehogs eat in the wild, owners give them what they eat themselves. This is a huge mistake that can lead to the death of the animal. Here is a list of foods that should never be given to hedgehogs:

Onions and garlic;

Exotic fruits that do not grow in the hedgehog habitat;

Dried fruits can cause serious intestinal obstruction in animals;

Seeds and nuts. They contain too much fat, which can lead to gastrointestinal upset;

Milk. Hedgehogs do not digest lactose, and the fact that they love milk is the most common myth;

Fried, salty, spicy, and other things that people love so much, but are so destructive for the body, especially something as small as that of a hedgehog;

Food for cats and dogs. They are absolutely not intended for these animals;

Alcohol, carbonated drinks and other “delights” of civilization. All this poisons humans too; what effect will such a “delicacy” have on a little hedgehog!

What hedgehogs eat in the wild should be present in their diet and at home. Only when balanced diet the animal will be healthy, active and live a long and happy life. However, everything here is the same as with people.

The hedgehog is the most common animal on the planet, especially in Russia. It happens that even an ordinary city resident can see this creature without going out into nature, because sometimes a hedgehog can be found even in the city. How can you pass by this funny animal? I would like to take him home with me so that he will delight you with his cute appearance every day.

Tear the animal away from natural nature- not exactly a good thing, but for that matter, you need to create all the conditions for keeping your new pet. First of all, you need to know that you will not be able to fully provide him with the diet that he followed in nature, but you can try to get closer to this.

What does a hedgehog eat?

If you look at the classification of hedgehogs, you can immediately see that they belong to the order Insectivores. From here we draw a logical conclusion: their main food is various kinds of insects, and not fruits and mushrooms, as children’s fairy tales tell us about. The list of what a hedgehog eats also includes small rodents and frogs, worms, mollusks, and lizards. Sometimes they get themselves more difficult-to-find food, for example, bird eggs, even the chicks themselves. Amazing fact is that hedgehogs eat snakes.

This is a very cute, but arrogant creature. What other animal is capable of destroying and eating all the striped inhabitants there without harming itself?! Hedgehogs don't care at all, not even strongest poisons, so they calmly eat snakes, bumblebees, bees and wasps. This immunity of hedgehogs is considered amazing feature this animal, but zoologists still have not found out what their secret is. Imagine what a breakthrough it will be in medicine if, thanks to hedgehogs, we can find a universal antidote!

What is in nature and what you can feed them are completely different things. After all, where can you find a bird's nest that your pet would gladly destroy by eating raw eggs? Of course, based on this, hedgehogs can be fed quite successfully chicken egg. Worms, larvae and other insects that these animals eat can be easily found at any pet store. In addition, your hedgehog will not refuse minced meat.

Everyone has heard about hedgehogs' favorite treat - milk. Don't forget about this fact, pamper your pets! Another delicious nectar for hedgehogs is honey. Plus, it can act as a medicine for your pet's immunity. If you add up the weight of all the food a hedgehog eats per day, you get about 200 grams of varied food.

Feeding for hibernation

These small creatures eat a disproportionate amount. On average there are daily norm- at least 60 May beetles. Therefore, feed your pet well, it is especially important to feed it abundantly before wintering. Hedgehogs hibernate at this time of year, so in order to survive the winter, the animal needs to gain considerable weight - at least 700 grams.

Be sure to let your pet hedgehog hibernate, otherwise the animal will get tired of constant winter activity and will soon die. Therefore, provide him with all the conditions for hibernation:

• the weight of the hedgehog must be more than 700 grams;
• temperature - from 0°C to 5°C;
• put a lot of dry moss and leaves in the cage.

In general, answering the question of what a hedgehog eats, we can say that, like humans, it is omnivorous, especially since it has such a feature as resistance to poisons.

Hedgehogs are active and spend most of their time searching for food. They are curious nocturnal animals that spend a lot of time exploring their surroundings. To keep a hedgehog at home, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the intricacies of keeping them, namely what they eat. After all, for the normal development of an animal, a complex of nutrients is necessary.

What do hedgehogs eat in the wild?

Hedgehogs eat both plant foods and meat; they are omnivores. Most of their diet consists of insects, slugs, worms, lizards, frogs, snakes, etc. These animals are resistant to poison, so they can easily eat a poisonous representative. Also, if a hedgehog finds a bird’s nest in the access zone, it will destroy it and may eat both eggs and chicks. Hedgehogs are the orderlies of the forest, because when they find carrion, they eat it.

A smaller part of the diet consists of plant foods, namely berries and fruits. If a hedgehog has settled on your property, then do not be upset, because it performs a useful function, namely, it eats harmful insects and can easily destroy a nest of wasps and snakes.

What do hedgehogs eat at home?

In order for a hedgehog to live a long and happy life at home, it needs to be provided with a nutritious diet. Although the hedgehog is considered an omnivore, you should not feed it everything. For a hedgehog, consumption of citrus fruits, dried fruits, salt, spices, milk, nuts, bakery products etc. The hedgehog's diet should be close to the diet in wildlife. Its menu should be varied and include:

• Meat. A hedgehog's diet should include raw or cooked meat. You can feed hedgehogs: beef, lamb, chicken, horse meat, turkey, mice, frogs. It is not recommended to feed hedgehogs pork. The meat should be cut into small pieces or minced. Under natural conditions, hedgehogs eat raw meat, but at home it is recommended to boil the meat or scald it with boiling water. This is necessary in order to disinfect it.

• Insects. Hedgehogs love to eat beetles, larvae, worms, grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, moths, etc. Insects can be given raw or baked. In the summer, insects collected or purchased by yourself must be baked in the oven, then placed in jars and tightly closed with lids.

• Vegetables and fruits. In small quantities, hedgehogs eat tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, sweet peppers, carrots, pears, apples, strawberries, raspberries, etc. Hedgehogs eat grated carrots best.
• Porridge. You can include buckwheat, rice, millet, wheat, pearl barley porridge, but they must be cooked strictly in water without adding spices. You can add minced meat to this porridge, bone meal, small insects.
• Fish. In nature, hedgehogs do not eat fish, but at home, fish can be included in the diet. It is better to feed hedgehogs fresh sea ​​fish, because river fish may cause vitamin deficiencies.
• Cottage cheese. You can add cottage cheese to your hedgehog's diet in small quantities, about half a teaspoon per day.

• Liver, offal. These products must be given boiled. Hedgehogs love liver, heart, stomach, spleen, lung, etc.
• Eggs. Several times a week chicken or quail eggs, raw or boiled, must be included in the hedgehog’s diet at the rate of 30 grams per meal.
• Potato. You can only feed your hedgehog boiled potatoes. It can be improved by adding fishmeal, bone meal, minced meat and form into balls.

It is also necessary to introduce greens into the hedgehog’s diet, namely sprouted grains, dandelion leaves, etc. Vitamin complexes can be purchased at veterinary pharmacies. It is very important to ensure your hedgehog is clean drinking water, it needs to be changed every day. She must be with him around the clock.

In order for the hedgehog to develop and live properly long life, it is necessary to provide him with a comprehensive diet that contains a sufficient amount of nutrients.

The hedgehog is a funny animal, familiar to us from children's pictures, where it has a beautiful apple on its back. What does a hedgehog actually eat, and is it possible to keep one as a pet, such questions often arise in children.

Where does a hedgehog live and eat?

Hedgehogs' habitats include forests and parks; sometimes these bizarre creatures wander into dachas and the private sector. Animals are practically not afraid of people and often suffer from this, since near human habitation they often become victims of dogs, from which their natural protection- thorns.

Sometimes hedgehogs die under the wheels road transport. The spines do not allow one to carry such a load on the back, but serve more for protection. The main enemies of hedgehogs in natural environment habitats are foxes, wolves and dogs.

What does a hedgehog eat in natural conditions?

Surprisingly, but unlike our ideas, that hedgehogs need milk and apples is far from the truth. In fact, the animals belong to the order of insectivores. That is, what hedgehogs eat in nature is actually worms, beetles, all kinds of larvae, snails and everything that these amazing animals can find in fallen leaves. They can also feed on lizards or small snakes. However, this is only possible in the fall, when due to temperature regime The mobility of cold-blooded animals decreases, and the hedgehog can catch up with them.

Hunting begins especially actively in autumn period, before hibernating for the winter. The most interesting thing is that the diet of our ordinary hedgehogs and what they eat sea ​​urchins, very similar. Both are omnivores, despite different environment habitat.

Of course, a hedgehog can also eat an apple, but if you treat it, you first need to cut the apple into small pieces. Hedgehogs also eat mushrooms and berries, but not as much as is commonly believed.

What does a hedgehog eat: forest diet of hedgehogs

The natural habitat for these mammals is forest. And that is why what a hedgehog eats in the forest is mainly pasture, which it finds in old leaves. As we have already said, these are various beetles, larvae, and so on. Maybe cute creature even eat chicks or mice caught along the way.

On winter period the animal goes into hibernation. Before this, it actively accumulates fat, eating large number affordable food. If your children suddenly persuade you to feed your hedgehog something “tasty,” try to limit yourself to foods that best suit the animal’s natural diet. Without much harm, you can offer pearl barley or millet porridge; food for cats or dogs is also suitable. But still, try to release the animal into its natural habitat.

What does a hedgehog eat: hibernation

Few people know that hedgehogs have their own life cycle similar to bears. Both one and the other have an active life phase and passive phase. Spring, summer and autumn are the active phase, respectively, and the winter period is the sleep phase. During the active phase, hedgehogs gain the necessary amount of calories to survive during hibernation. The question of what a hedgehog eats in winter is somewhat imprecise in its formulation. Rather, it would be appropriate to ask how the animal survives in winter. And the hedgehog survives due to accumulated fat reserves and slow metabolism during winter sleep.

If you suddenly have a hedgehog left for the winter, then do not try to wake him up, otherwise he will simply die. For sleep, hedgehogs make a nest for themselves from the same leaves and grass.

What does a long-eared hedgehog eat?

In addition to the familiar species of hedgehogs, there is another species that lives on European territory - the long-eared or desert hedgehog. The difference is appearance, he has long legs and ears measuring about five centimeters.

This type of hedgehog lives mainly in deserts or steppes; its spines are located only on its back. The paws and abdomen are covered with light gray hair. Eared Diet desert hedgehog similar to the diet of a regular hedgehog. What the long-eared hedgehog eats are spiders, ants, snails, slugs and centipedes. These touching creatures can eat toads, lizards, small birds, and do not refuse seeds and fruits. A desert hedgehog can survive without food for up to ten days. Although this happens very rarely. Another difference from a regular hedgehog is that the long-eared one warm areas may not hibernate. But where natural conditions colder ones, the desert hedgehog also goes into hibernation during the cold season.

If you suddenly encounter an animal on your property, try to move it closer to its natural habitat. This will save you from death. Remember that, first of all, this is a wild animal and it is quite difficult to tame it.

In addition, with its nocturnal life cycle, the hedgehog will only disturb you, because when it moves, it stomps quite loudly, and its snoring while awake is also quite loud. Besides, hibernation and the smell from the animal are also two important points that will prevent you from keeping a hedgehog at home without violating your comfort zone.

Video: feeding a newborn hedgehog

If you decide to have a hedgehog at home, we recommend that you reconsider your decision. Indeed, despite the fact that this animal is extremely unpretentious, the conditions of its detention and its way of life may well cause you to be indignant. Just imagine, he will constantly make noise, go into hibernation in the fall and not give you rest at night, since the hedgehog is. At this time of day in the wild, he is used to hunting, but not sleeping peacefully in his hole. So, if you decide to purchase this creature, then our article about what a hedgehog eats at home will be useful for you.

What does an animal eat in the wild?

The main food is butterflies, frogs, dragonflies, and worms. Sometimes hedgehogs can even destroy a bird's nest if it is on the ground. While in the apartment, the animal will save you from cockroaches and mice, if, of course, you have them. If you plan to keep a hedgehog in a private house or cottage, then summer period he will be able to get his own food. They love frogs very much, so if possible, let your prickly pet go for a walk in a place where they can be found.

at home?

Before starting the story about how to feed an animal at home, I would like to note that it must have clean water in a bowl. Periodically
you can pamper him with milk. So, what does a hedgehog eat at home? The diet of a voracious animal should include:

• liver, fish, boiled meat ( raw foods It is not recommended to give, as they may contain germs and bacteria);
• cottage cheese, milk;
• mealworms (you can buy them at the flea market) - treat them sometimes
  your pet;
• apples, carrots.

The most important thing to consider when feeding a hedgehog is that the food should not contain sugar and salt, and should not be very fatty. You can also feed your pet with leftovers from the food you eat yourself, the main thing is that it meets the requirements described above.

What else does a hedgehog eat at home?

The hedgehog's body will benefit from fish oil, which contains many useful microelements and vitamins, a mixture of carrots, crackers and porridge with milk. You can also catch insects yourself, dry them and feed them. pet. Hedgehogs eat apples and carrots - cut them into small slices to make eating them more convenient.

What should you not feed your hedgehog?

• Sweets (the animals love them very much, but their consumption threatens liver failure,
  since in nature animals are accustomed to everything natural).
• Fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt).
• Black bread.
• Unnatural products (sausages, chips).

Their diet is similar to what we looked at earlier. That is, only natural low-fat products, with minimal sugar and salt content. Try to keep the food varied and well processed (boiled if we're talking about about boiled meat - if we are talking about milk).

In this article we told you about how to feed hedgehogs. We hope that the information received will be useful to you.