How to distinguish a hedgehog from a hedgehog. Hedgehog in the house

If an animal was caught on the street and brought into the house, that’s one thing. It's very difficult with him. The hedgehog has its own regime. He was used to sleeping during the day and hunting at night. You won't be able to re-educate such a hedgehog, don't even try. But something purchased in a store is different. They are already adapted to the room and usually do not know any other life. But a wild hedgehog should not be dragged into captivity at all. If only for a while and then not for very long. So that they do not lose their hunting skills. And remember, wild hedgehogs are carriers of many diseases. And that includes rabies.

What to look for when buying a hedgehog

What can you allow hedgehogs to do at home?

You can sometimes allow your pet to walk around the house, but only strictly under your supervision, since hedgehogs love to sharpen their claws on the carpet, rummage in pots with indoor plants and, what is especially dangerous, chewing electrical wires. If after such a walk you notice foam at the mouth of your hedgehog, do not be alarmed. They have this feature. Hedgehogs are very sensitive to odors, and when they encounter a strong-smelling object, they begin to lick it. This causes them to drool heavily in the form of foam. The hedgehog lubricates itself with this foam. What causes this mysterious behavior is not yet known.

What to feed a hedgehog

We have already touched on feeding issues in previous articles, but I want to remind you again. The best option for feeding pet hedgehogs would be dry food or canned cat food. That is if your hedgehog approves, but with the exception of fish. Hedgehogs willingly eat white meat of turkey, chicken, and rabbit. Now regarding milk. Milk, especially cow's milk, is not given to adult hedgehogs. It can cause severe diarrhea and serves as a breeding ground for harmful bacteria to multiply in the intestines and stomach.

Sometimes you can treat your pet to nuts (not salted ones) or fruits. Hedgehogs love them very much. Of course, the ideal food for a hedgehog is live insects, for example, which you can raise yourself or buy at a pet store.

For those who are squeamish about insects (there are some), we can recommend this as food for hedgehogs: chopped meat. Such minced meat should be prepared from environmentally friendly meat and should not contain pesticides or hormones. Before feeding, minced meat should be scalded with boiling water and mixed with wheat flakes. Don't offer your hedgehog all the food at once. Introduce each type of new food into the diet gradually. It is best if you offer him something new to eat once a week. If your hedgehog suddenly develops an allergy to a new product, you can track it and refuse it in the future. Some owners practice feeding their hedgehogs garden slugs and. Do not take risks, since these mollusks in nature are often infected with internal parasites, and by eating such a “treat” the hedgehog can become infected himself.

A hedgehog is an animal that belongs to the phylum Chordata, class Mammals, order Urchiniformes, family Urchinaceae (Erinaceidae).

The origin of the Russian word “hedgehog” has not yet been fully studied. According to one version, the hedgehog got its name from the Greek “echinos”, which means “snake eater”. Supporters of another version see in the word “hedgehog” the Indo-European root “eg`h”, meaning “to prick”.

Hedgehog: description and photo. What does the animal look like?

The body length of a hedgehog, depending on the species, ranges from 10 to 44 cm. The weight of a hedgehog varies from 300 grams to 1.5 kilograms. The animal also has a tail, which grows from 1 to 21 cm in length.

Hedgehog tail

The animals have a large wedge-shaped head and an elongated muzzle with a pointed, mobile and moist nose.

The hedgehog's teeth are small and sharp; there are 20 teeth on the upper jaw and 16 on the lower jaw. Some types of hedgehogs have up to 44 teeth. The first incisors are enlarged and look like fangs.

The hind legs are longer than the front legs, each limb ends in 5 fingers, with the exception of the white-bellied hedgehog, whose hind legs have 4 fingers.

Long middle fingers help the hedgehog clean its spines.

The hedgehog's spines are hollow, with thin, sparse, barely noticeable hairs growing between them. The head and belly of the animal are covered with regular fur. On average, each hedgehog carries up to 10 thousand needles, which are gradually renewed.

The color of the needles of most species is dark, with alternating light stripes. The color of a hedgehog's fur, depending on the species, can be black-brown, brown, sand or white. In some places, the black color displaces the white, forming peculiar spots.

Most species of hedgehogs are distinguished by well-developed subcutaneous muscles. In times of danger, the hedgehog curls up into a ball, and in this it is helped by the subcutaneous muscles located in the places where the spines grow.

Like most nocturnal animals, hedgehogs have poor vision, but their hearing and sense of smell are well developed.

It’s hard to call these animals fast, average speed the speed of a fleeing hedgehog is 3-4 km/h. Despite the fact that the hedgehog is a land animal, most species are excellent swimmers and climbers.

Hedgehog lifespan

The lifespan of a hedgehog in nature is 3-5 years. At home, hedgehogs live up to 8-10 years, as they do not die from natural enemies who hunt hedgehogs in wildlife. The main enemies of hedgehogs are wolves, foxes, ferrets, owls, badgers, martens, mongooses, hyenas, jackals, honey badgers, eagles, and other predators.

Where do hedgehogs live?

The habitat of hedgehogs is quite wide: this prickly animal is found in all European countries - from southern regions Scandinavia to the British Isles, the hedgehog lives in Russia and hot Africa, Asia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

In nature, wild hedgehogs live in forests, deserts, steppes, cultivated landscapes and even cities. They dig burrows under tree roots or in bushes, and also settle in abandoned rodent burrows.

How do hedgehogs live in nature?

By nature, hedgehogs are nocturnal animals and solitary animals, leading a secretive lifestyle. During the day, hedgehogs sleep, hiding in self-dug holes up to 1 meter long or occupying empty rodent homes. Populations of foothill areas use crevices between rocks and voids under stones as shelters. At night, wild hedgehogs go hunting, preferring not to go far from home. Unfortunately, statistics show that quite a few hedgehogs are killed by cars while trying to cross motorways at night.

What do hedgehogs eat in the wild?

The hedgehog is omnivorous, but the main diet consists of adult insects, earwigs, beetles, spiders, ground beetles, caterpillars, slugs, woodlice, earthworms. Hedgehogs also love to eat toads, locusts, bird eggs, crustaceans and invertebrates. Northern populations of forest urchins feed on lizards, frogs, mice and other small rodents.

All species of the hedgehog family are resistant to any, even the most toxic poisons That's why hedgehogs eat poisonous snakes and scorpions. The hedgehog does not disdain carrion, and also food waste, which can be found at summer cottages. Plant food forest hedgehog- these are mushrooms, moss, acorns, cereal seeds and any sweet berries - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries.

Over the summer, the hedgehog must fatten well, otherwise the animal may die during hibernation.

A substantial supply of fat allows hedgehogs to remain in a state of suspended animation from October to April.

Types of hedgehogs: photos, names and descriptions

The hedgehog family includes 2 subfamilies: real hedgehogs(Erinaceinae) and rat hedgehogs (hymnurs) (Galericinae), represented by 7 genera and 23 species. Below are several interesting species hedgehogs:

• Common hedgehog(European hedgehog) ( Erinaceus europaeus)

One of the most common types of hedgehogs. The body length is 20-30 cm, the tail grows up to 3 cm, weight - about 800 g. The hedgehog's needles are no more than 3 cm long, the color is brownish-brownish with dark crossbars. The color of the muzzle, limbs and belly can be dark or yellow-white.

The common hedgehog is a typical inhabitant of woodlands, plains and parks in Western and Central Europe, Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries, the Western Siberian region, the north-west of the European part of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Shedding common hedgehog goes slowly, in autumn or spring. Every third needle is changed. Needles grow for about a year and even a little longer.

• long eared hedgehog(Hemiechinus auritus)

Is different long ears, sometimes growing up to 5 cm in length. Representatives of the species are small, the size of the hedgehog reaches from 12 to 27 cm in length, the weight is 430 g. The needles of the long-eared hedgehog have a length of 1.7 to 1.9 cm. In case of danger, the animals rarely curl up into a ball, trying to escape.

This type of hedgehog prefers dry steppes, deserts and semi-deserts, where it lives in damp ravines and abandoned ditches. Habitat covers Africa, Lesser and Central Asia, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. In Russia, the long-eared hedgehog lives in areas from the Volga region to the Ural Mountains.

The animals feed on insects, lizards, toads, beetles, ants, small birds, berries, seeds, and fruits.

• Eastern European hedgehog(Erinaceus concolor)

Reminds me European hedgehog, but the color of the front of the neck and belly is much lighter than the fur on the head and sides. Adults grow up to 35 cm in length, and the weight of a hedgehog is summer period can reach 1.2 kg.

The Eastern European species of hedgehogs is common in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean islands. It is found in a wide variety of areas: on the edges of forests, in parks, garden plots, fields and river valleys.

Hedgehogs feed on caterpillars, ground beetles, beetles, earwigs, snails, woodlice, slugs, earthworms, moss, acorns, sunflower seeds, berries (strawberries, raspberries, strawberries, mulberries), and mushrooms.

• African pygmy hedgehog (white-bellied hedgehog) ( Atelerix albiventris)

It has a body length of 15 to 22 cm. The weight of the animal reaches 350-700 g. The color is usually brown or gray, the hedgehog's needles have white tips. Usually the African hedgehog quietly snorts or squeals, but in case of danger it can scream loudly. The hedgehog's tail reaches 2.5 cm in length. The animal's eyes are small, its ears are round, and females are larger than males.

African hedgehogs live south of the Sahara Desert, in countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania. They eat spiders, insects, scorpions, snakes, snails, and worms.

• Long-spined hedgehog (dark-spined, bald hedgehog) ( Paraechinus hypomelas)

It measures up to 22-27 cm in length with a body weight of 500-900 grams. The species got its name due to a small bald spot on the crown and long, thick needles, up to 4-4.2 cm long. The hedgehog's needles have different colors: it can be black with a white base or very light, almost white.

The bald hedgehog lives on plains and foothills, preferring rocky and sandy landscapes. The range partly passes through Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf Islands, through Iran and Pakistan to Kazakhstan. It is listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and is also protected by the state on the territory of Turkmenistan.

Long-spined hedgehogs eat insects, locusts, cicadas, ground beetles, weevils, click beetles, small invertebrates and reptiles, including snakes, and rodents. Does not disdain carrion.

• Ethiopian hedgehog(Paraechinus aethiopicus)

It is distinguished by light brown needles, short, dark limbs and a dark “mask” on the face. At the same time, the remaining parts of the body are white. An adult grows up to 15-25 cm in length, and the weight of a hedgehog ranges from 400 to 700 g. In general, the species is distinguished by rare gluttony.

The Ethiopian hedgehog lives in deserts and sun-scorched steppes North Africa: from Egypt and Tunisia to the Persian Gulf coast.

Ethiopian hedgehogs feed on insects, scorpions, snakes, bird eggs, frogs, termites, beetles, and locusts.

• Daurian hedgehog(Mesechinus dauuricus)

Belongs to the genus steppe hedgehogs and differs from most of its relatives in the absence of a strip of bare skin separating the needles of the head into a parting. The spines of the hedgehog are short, sandy or Brown, the fur is coarse, colored gray or dark brown.

This species of hedgehog is a typical inhabitant of forest-steppes and steppe areas from Transbaikalia to Mongolia and northern China. Hedgehogs eat beetles small mammals(hamsters, pikas), bird chicks and eggs, snakes, frogs, toads, cotoneaster and rose hip berries.

• Ordinary gymnura(Echinosorex gymnura)

Belongs to the subfamily of rat hedgehogs. Gymnura grows in length from 26 to 45 cm with a body weight from 500 g to 2 kg. The hedgehog's tail, covered with sparse hairs and scales, reaches 17-30 cm in length, and its back part is colored White color. The back and sides are black, the hedgehog's head and neck are white.

Gymnura inhabits wet rainforests southeast Asia from Malacca to Borneo. It feeds on invertebrates and small vertebrates, crustaceans, frogs, toads, fish, and fruits.

• Small hymnura ( Hylomys suillus)

The smallest in the family. The length of its body does not exceed 10-14 cm. The tail reaches 2.5 cm. The weight of the animal is 45-80 grams.

The animal lives in mountainous areas and on hills in countries South-East Asia(Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China). Lesser gymnura eat insects and worms.

Reproduction of hedgehogs

At the end of hibernation, when the air warms up to 18-20 degrees, mating season begins for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs reach sexual maturity at 10-12 months. Northern populations reproduce once a year, southern populations produce offspring twice.

Female hedgehogs build nests in their burrows, lining the bottom of the hole with dry leaves and grass.

Males often fight for the female, starting fights with sniffling and snorting, biting each other on the face and legs, and pricking themselves with sharp needles. Then the winner circles for a long time around the female, who thoroughly smoothes her needles before mating. Hedgehogs are polygamous animals and immediately separate after mating.

The gestation period ranges from 34 to 58 days, resulting in the birth of 1 to 7 (usually 4) cubs weighing 12 grams.

Newborn hedgehogs are blind, covered with completely bare, bright pink skin. During the first day of life, soft, light and dark needles grow on the body of small hedgehogs. After 2 weeks, the animal’s needle-like cover is already fully formed.

For the first month, the female hedgehog feeds the cubs with milk, then the young begin to live independently.

Keeping a hedgehog at home and caring for it

Nowadays, hedgehogs are considered quite popular pets, but catching a wild animal and bringing it home is an unwise decision. A wild hedgehog can be a carrier of a number of dangerous diseases: ringworm, salmonellosis, hemorrhagic fever, rabies. In addition, you can almost always find fleas and ticks on hedgehogs. That's why, The best way purchasing a funny animal - turning to breeders who guarantee the pet’s health, good heredity and adaptation to existence in captivity.

When do hedgehogs hibernate?

The most important thing that the future owner of a prickly pet should know: even in captivity, a domestic hedgehog needs hibernation, albeit not as long as in natural conditions. Otherwise, by spring the animal may die. True, this does not apply to African pygmy hedgehogs that do not hibernate. In autumn, hedgehogs need to be fed intensively, since it is during this period that hedgehogs accumulate fat reserves.

At the end of October - beginning of November, the animal will experience a period of numbness and lethargy, this means the beginning of hibernation. Usually in nature, hedgehogs spend the winter in their nest, so the animal needs to be given a secluded place where the temperature does not exceed 5 degrees Celsius: on a loggia, attic, or in a barn. In warm weather, the hedgehog may not hibernate. To the nest pet hedgehog you need to put dry leaves, sawdust, straw, rags. And then you can identify your pet there.

How to wash a hedgehog at home?

You can bathe a hedgehog at home only if we're talking about about an adult healthy animal. Small newborn hedgehogs, as well as sick, weak animals should not be washed. Take a basin and fill it warm water no higher than 34.8 degrees Celsius. The water level should not exceed 5 cm. Instead of a basin, you can use a washbasin to bathe your pet hedgehog; the main thing is to monitor the water temperature.

Supporting the hedgehog under its head and chest, you can lower it into the water. You need to let the hedgehog get comfortable, but don't let him swim. Wash the hedgehog's belly and paws, then its back and quills. Do not pour water on its face, otherwise your pet hedgehog may get scared. To wash the hedgehog's needles, you can use a toothbrush and neutral baby shampoo, which should be rinsed thoroughly. After washing the hedgehog, you can wrap it in a towel. But under no circumstances should you dry it with a hairdryer and protect your pet from drafts.

• The ancient Romans used hedgehog skins to comb sheep.
• Gypsies eat hedgehogs, and fried hedgehog is a favorite gypsy dish.
• Serbs treat alcoholism with hedgehog urine, and use the animal’s heart as a talisman against illness.
• At the beginning of the 20th century, the McDonalds restaurant chain killed many unfortunate hedgehogs. Cups from the popular McFlurry ice cream ended up in the trash, which was something that hedgehogs with a sweet tooth did not fail to take advantage of. The animals happily licked the remnants of the ice cream, sticking their heads into the neck of the glass, but they could not pull it back out due to the container’s too poor diameter. As a result, thousands of hedgehogs died, essentially walled up in glasses. As a result of protests from animal rights activists, the diameter of the necks of the glasses was changed, and animals stopped dying.

This question is probably asked by many lovers of these cute animals who breed them at home, or even by those who, while walking through a park or forest, accidentally discovered a prickly ball curled up in the grass and decided to shelter it at home.

The relatively exact number of years a hedgehog has lived can be determined by its external signs– the number of needles, their thickness and degree of hardness, the condition of the teeth, the color of the fur, as well as the weight of the animal.

It is known that average duration The lifespan of a common hedgehog is about 5 years (in captivity up to 8-10 years). Accordingly, the age of the prickly “find” will be located in this numerical range.

Determining the age of a hedgehog by needles

The spines of small hedgehogs are soft, but with age they harden, so you can see sharp spines in adult animals. Old hedgehogs have dull spines and their fur looks “rumpled.” Smooth, elastic, sharp and evenly growing spines indicate that the animal is two years old. The color of the needles in first-year plants is light, then it begins to darken.

How to find out the age of a hedgehog by its fur?

The hedgehog is born naked and completely helpless. In the first year of life, its fur on its face and sides is characterized by a light shade, which darkens with age. An older animal's fur may look disheveled and sloppy.

Teeth are one of the age indicators of a hedgehog

The condition of the teeth also indicates the number of years the spiny animal has lived. In hedgehogs that have reached 3- summer age, they, as a rule, are already ground off, and their bite is like a strong pinch. Therefore, adult hedgehogs chew slowly. Young hedgehogs have sharp teeth, which, like an awl, are capable of biting until they bleed, therefore, it takes them much less time to grind food.

But here it is worth making a small remark: the condition of the teeth indicates the state of health and living conditions of the animal rather than its calendar age.

Hedgehog weight and age

A hedgehog that has reached 3 years of age weighs on average about 400-500 g. Newborn hedgehogs weigh no more than 25 g, and by the age of two months they are actively gaining weight (on average up to 300 g). However, like in humans, the weight of spiny glomeruli is purely individual - its indicators are directly influenced by the diet and features of keeping the animal.

It is worth saying that you are unlikely to find a method for obtaining reliable information about the exact age of a hedgehog. For the simple reason that it does not exist. At least you can only determine approximate quantity years lived by the animal.

Thanks to the efforts of breeders, today African pygmy hedgehogs have become real pets.

Unlike its relatives, the African white-bellied hedgehog is small in size. The weight of an adult individual of this species hardly reaches five hundred grams, and the length is twenty centimeters. With due care and proper nutrition These animals live up to five years.

When a hedgehog is in a calm state, its back muscles are relaxed, its spines lie parallel to its body, and you can calmly stroke it on its back.

Hedgehogs are quite smart animals, and they all have a distinct personality. Females and males are no different in behavior and character, since boys do not mark their territory, and girls do not suffer from false pregnancies and do not go into heat.

As a rule, hedgehogs are kept at room temperature. These hedgehogs do not hibernate at home during the winter, and any medium-sized cage, as well as a plastic dune cage, is suitable for comfortable keeping. The bottom size should be from 40 square centimeters. The bottom of the cage must be solid and not lattice. Hedgehogs have very thin legs and can injure or damage a leg if it falls through the bars.

Since hedgehogs do not chew their cage, the housing can be made of wood, but the floor must be waterproof. It is best to use sawdust for filler. The lighting in the cage should be good, however Sun rays should not be placed in a cage on hot days. Do not keep a boy and a girl in the same cage (except during mating periods). Otherwise, the male may eat all the babies. If you want to keep several same-sex individuals together, then you need to take them in at a young age.

What should be in a hedgehog's cage:

Feeder.

In this case, preference should be given to flat ceramic feeders, the height of which does not exceed six centimeters, and the diameter - 8-15. Of course, you can use plastic feeders, but hedgehogs often turn them over as they are very light.

Drinking bowl.

It is best to use an automatic waterer; they can be found in any pet store in the rodent section. If you have one hedgehog, then 300 ml of water per day will be enough for him. If you use a saucer as a drinking bowl, it will often fill with sawdust and the hedgehogs will not be able to drink.

House.

A wooden house with a removable roof is best suited. However, you can also use other more original items, for example, ceramic jugs. For one hedgehog, the size of the house should be 15x15 cm.

Running wheel.

Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, so their cage must be equipped with a wheel so that they can run at night. After all, it is at night that they are especially active, and they need some kind of exercise machine. It is best to purchase the largest one you can find, but its diameter should not be less than 20 centimeters. Very important factor The material the wheel is made from is also a factor, because small hedgehog paws can get stuck in the grill, and it is best to look for a wheel made of solid material.

Hedgehogs are suitable for food that contains little fat and a lot of protein. In Europe there are already special foods that are intended specifically for hedgehogs, but food for kittens is also suitable for them, but you need to make sure that the food is of the highest quality. Sometimes you can give canned cat meat, but their temperature must be at room temperature; you should not give cold food to hedgehogs. The diet should also include food insects, boiled meat, and fruits and vegetables in small quantity. Dry food for hedgehogs should always be in the cage, but other food should be given infrequently and be sure to remove the remains of fresh and raw food.

Among insects, hedgehogs prefer crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, zoophobes and cockroaches. Insect meat is pure protein, so you should not feed it to your hedgehog often. If you use frozen food, be sure to defrost it before feeding.

It is strictly forbidden to give milk to hedgehogs in any form, since hedgehogs do not have enzymes that digest lactose, as well as any raw meat, frozen or cold food, as well as sweet and spicy foods. They should also not be given fish with bones.

Please follow these rules, and keeping hedgehogs at home will not cause you any problems!

Look at the animal's face first: the eyes should be clean, clear, and without any discharge. The nose should also be clean and free of discharge. The ears should be clean and short, without any irritation on the skin or inside the ear itself. Sometimes small hedgehogs bite each other's ears, but if the damage has already been healed, then there is nothing wrong with that.

The fur on the hedgehog's belly should be shiny and soft, the needles should be even, without bald spots. If a hedgehog has bald spots in skin, this means that the animal is unhealthy. It is also best to check the cage in which the hedgehog was kept and examine its droppings. If the droppings are what they should be, then the animal is healthy, but if it is green or liquid, then it is better not to take such an individual, since this hedgehog will be unhealthy. The hedgehog should be of normal build, that is, not emaciated or overweight.

Be sure to check the hedgehog's gait by placing it on any flat surface; it should not wobble and should stand straight. When the animal breathes, it should not make any extraneous sounds, such as wheezing or hissing.