Pedigree and homeland of a hedgehog, some types of hedgehogs and a description of their exterior, tips for keeping the animal at home, the correct process for buying a hedgehog. On the territory of our Motherland, it is probably impossible to find a person who would not be familiar with a hedgehog. Perhaps, almost each of us met this cute little beast in various places, this is in the village with his grandmother, and in the park alleys, and the usual residential areas of cities are no exception. It was also possible to meet with this funny creature on the pages of many books of fairy tales or on TV screens, watching cartoons.
Many of us, as children, having met this prickly cutie, brought him into the house, praying and dreaming that mom or grandmother would allow her to be kept for herself. But everything was not so simple, you probably heard that he would not be able to live at home, that somewhere his family was waiting for him, which he had to feed, because right now he was wandering around our house, looking for some delicacies for his children, and that he would simply die while in the house. For this reason, most often the dear guest was treated to a bowl of milk, and at this his visit came to an end, he was kindly released in search of his relatives.
In our modern era, one can firmly and confidently say to all children and adults: "Your childhood dream is quite realizable!" To date, keeping this little animal with needles at home is by no means a surprising process. Every day, the hedgehog, as a pet, more and more often replenishes people's homes.
So, if you have dreamed of such a pretty little friend all your life, or have now decided that you want to have a hedgehog in your house, you can safely do it. But before you rush to buy it or take it from someone you know into your "good hands", you should learn a little about this animal. After all, no matter how domestic it is, it is a small predator and keeping it in the conditions of a house or apartment is a matter, albeit very entertaining, but still responsible.
Family ties of the hedgehog
The hedgehog is an animal belonging to the class of mammals and to the hedgehog family (lat. Erinaceinae). Nowadays, in nature, there are a fairly large number of various species of the hedgehog family, there is also some data on those representatives of this large family that are considered extinct. Some sources say that it was the hedgehogs that had not survived to this day that were much larger than their modern counterparts and some of them reached the size of an average wolf. Depending on the species, the Fatherland of these pretty animals also differs.
On the territory of Russia, you can often find an ordinary or European hedgehog. He is also an inhabitant of most of Europe, Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, the Amur region and parts of China.
Types of hedgehogs and a description of their exterior
According to literary sources, in the open nature of various nooks and crannies of our globe, there are approximately 20-30 different species of thorny animals. The most famous and best-studied representatives of the "prickly" world of hedgehogs are presented to your attention.
Common hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus. This natural wonder with needles can be found in a wide variety of places where there are small shrubs and trees, with the exception of dense dense forests and large swamp areas.
The length of the body is from 22 to 32 cm, the tail grows to 2.5–4 cm. The weight of a hedgehog typically differs depending on the season, if in spring its weight is about 450 grams, then in autumn this figure rises to 1150–1250 grams.
His cute little face is slightly elongated, it is decorated with a pointed nose, which in healthy individuals is always wet, black eyes with the shape of a regular circle and small somewhat rounded ears. The entire surface of the body of this European cub is covered with needles, with the exception of a small area - a strip on the middle part of the head. The back, sides and head are wrapped in needles, the length of which is about 2 cm, each of them has a cavity filled with air. On average, there are 4,000-6,000 needles on the body of one common hedgehog. Its abdomen is covered with thick hair, bristly in structure. The color scheme of the color varies depending on the area of the body. So the shade of the face, limbs and abdomen can vary from white-yellowish to deep brown. Spiky elements of brown shades, decorated with dark stripes, which are located across.
This entertaining little animal can emit various sound signals: snorting, snoring, grunting, sneezing, and can even click its teeth.
Badgers, eagle owls, wild boars, crows, ferrets, cats, foxes, as well as people are dangerous for this fragile mammal.
Algerian hedgehog
Atelerix algirus - these funny creatures are also called hedgehogs - travelers or North African hedgehogs. These animals worship the lands of northern Africa as their homeland, where they can be found at a distance from the hot Sahara to Morocco and Libya. They also make their wanderings around some states of the European continent, such as Spain and France.
These are very small creatures, their body length is approximately 18-33 cm, and their body weight ranges from 250 to 600 grams. The muzzle of this miracle is decorated with a mask of dark shades and large ears. The caudal process is short, and the limbs are relatively long; the Algerian hedgehog has five toes on each paw. The nature painted the mask and paws of the African wanderer brown, while his abdomen is white, wrapped in soft thick fur, dark brown, less often black. The needles are painted in black and gray tones.
The favorite habitats of these traveling animals are zones of tropical shroud, desert and fields. They do not like noisy companies, so they live alone. Since these animals are natives of hot Africa, it is not typical for them to hibernate.
The duration of pregnancy in the Algerian prickly female hedgehog lasts for 30–35 days, at the end of this period from 1 to 9 babies are born. All newborns are about 2, 5-3 cm and they are born blind, but they grow and develop very intensively. At the age of 40–44 days, these babies are already entering an adult and completely independent life.
These thorny Africans are protected by the Berne Convention.
Chinese or Amur hedgehog
Erinaceus amurensis. Korea, Manchuria, China and Primorye are considered the birthplace of these cubs. At first glance, you can see a similarity with an ordinary hedgehog, but if you look more closely, you can see the distinctive features that are represented by color, several shades lighter.
Their body length is approximately 17-25 cm, and their body weight can be from 600 to 1200 grams. Their needles are relatively long, about 2.5 cm each, painted in light shades of brown. The abdomen is covered with brown hair, which is tough in structure.
The natural habitats of Amur animals are fields on the slopes, river valleys and forests. Are not attracted to places with high humidity or high heights.
Chinese hedgehogs lead a twilight or nocturnal lifestyle; in the daytime they prefer to rest comfortably in their homes.
The most favorable time for the breeding of these Chinese eccentrics is the end of spring. Pregnancy in a female happens once a year, as a result of which from 1 to 8 hedgehogs are born.
White-bellied hedgehog
Atelerix albiventris. It is also referred to as the white-breasted hedgehog. This representative of the animal world can be found in Kazakhstan, Greece, Turkey, Israel in the Balkans and Crete. In Russia, this animal lives in the South Urals.
This cute little animal can grow up to 30–35 cm, as for body weight, it strongly depends on the present time of the year, so weight indicators vary from 600 to 1300 grams all year round.
Small ears are rounded and almost invisible behind a layer of thick bristly fur. The length of its spines is approximately 2–2, 5 cm. This white-bellied animal has a certain feature - the presence of a blurred birthmark. As for the color of this hedgehog, the head and side of the body are presented in brown tones, and the projection of the neck and stomach is much lighter. The main color of the needles is white, but they have some decoration - black and brown stripes.
Like most descendants of the hedgehog family, these white-breasted creatures are nocturnal. They are very sensitive to cold and rainy weather, so they go into hibernation from the first days of autumn.
These thorny animals reproduce actively in warmer and more favorable seasons.
Owls, ferrets and badgers are considered dangerous creatures for them.
Ethiopian hedgehog
Paraechinus aethiopicus. In the wild, these animals are found in Syria, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt on the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara Desert. This small animal grows up to 25 cm in length and weighs an average of 500-600 grams. In their natural environment, they can live without food for about 10-12 days. These animals with needles walk and hunt at night, and during the day they prefer to rest among stones and in abandoned fox holes. In colder times, they tend to hibernate, but from time to time they wake up and go to refresh themselves.
The color of the forehead, throat, cheeks and abdomen is presented in white tones, and the needles have a beautiful light brown color. A dark mask can be seen in the forehead projection.
A unique feature of this member of the large hedgehog family is that during the breeding season, they emit a special smell. This is what serves as a bait for individuals of the opposite sex.
Mother Nature has awarded Ethiopian hedgehogs with a fairly stable immunity, thanks to this, they are not afraid of most poisonous snakes and insects.
Indian hedgehog
Paraechinus micropus. This miniature animal lives in Northwest India and Pakistan.
The length of its body is approximately 13-24 cm, the length of the tail is 10-30 mm, and its body weight is only 300-400 grams.
The cute muzzle of this Indian eccentric is slightly elongated, in some part due to the upper jaw, which is strongly protruded forward. There is a well-visible dark mask on the face. The ears are not very small in relation to the size of the head and do not hide behind the coat. The tail and limbs are short.
The paws and muzzle are usually identical in their color scheme, which is most often presented in dark brown or black tones. The color of the needles consists of white, black and brown shades, which are harmoniously combined with each other.
This prickly native of India is a solitary animal, does not like to move from place to place, so it lives almost all its life within the same area. He builds housing on his own - he digs holes 40-60 cm long. By his nature, he is very prudent - he collects food supplies. In the absence of food, it can go into a short-term hibernation. If this animal senses the approach of danger, it curls up into a small spiky ball.
Hedgehog maintenance and home care features
Before you bring a hedgehog into the house, you should take care of where he will live and what he will eat.
- Personal square meters. The equipment of personal housing is the key to a comfortable and safe life, both for its inhabitant and for the things of your home. For the reason that the hedgehog is a rather active and agile creature, he can easily penetrate into any part of your apartment and he will do this during your night's sleep. He can easily damage furniture and appliances, and he will get hurt himself. To avoid such unpleasant moments, he needs to be provided with housing. A small metal or wooden cage is perfect for this. On its floor, you can lay sawdust or soft dry hay. One square meter will be enough for your pet for this very active creature to take walks and exercise. This sweet tenant also needs a secluded corner in his house, where he will rest during the rest period. You can do it yourself, or leave it to a hedgehog by putting some dry leaves, hay and moss in the cage, it will only be a joy to him. As for the location of the dwelling, then the choice is yours. We must not forget that initially the hedgehog will be active at night, and his activity is quite loud. Therefore, it is advisable to settle it away from your bedroom. It does not impose any special temperature requirements, you should not just place it in a draft, under direct sunlight and near heating devices.
- Cleaning. The bedding of the hedgehog's house needs to be changed daily, since you are unlikely to like the fact that your room will smell of the waste products of a forest predator and this smell is not very pleasant. But general cleaning and disinfection should not be carried out too often, as your pet is stressed when someone invades his personal property.
- Nutrition. In a separate apartment of this stabbing comrade, it is necessary to arrange his personal dishes. Since he tends to poke his nose and himself in general almost everywhere, you will often have to clean up inverted food and spilled water. We are used to seeing hedgehogs on the pages of children's books, on the needles of which his food is placed - mushrooms and apples. This is not entirely true, or rather not at all true. The diet of your forest friend should consist of a large amount of vitamins and minerals, while it should be quite varied. The list of products that will make up the menu of a homemade hedgehog should include: lean meat, best of all in the form of minced meat, fish - a storehouse of many useful substances, cereals, fruits and vegetables. By their nature, hedgehogs are insectivorous, so they should be regularly pampered with various cockroaches, worms or crickets, by the way, insects are the most effective cure for indigestion in hedgehogs. By and large, hedgehogs are not capricious in their choice of food and you can safely try to give them something new, but this does not mean that they can be treated to barbecue or pizza - they prefer diet food. They should be fed twice a day, and you can experiment with this. Some hedgehogs can change the time of their active period if they are fed during the daytime. Why don't you try it too?
- Wintering. Having fed the hedgehog well during the fall, be prepared for its hibernation. Around November, his house needs to be covered with leaves, hay and moss. He, covered with these gifts, will sleep safely until spring. Only his cage should be placed in a room with a low temperature - from 0 to 6 degrees. This way, you will not disturb its natural biorhythms, thus preserving the good health of your prickly companion.
Purchase and price of a hedgehog
It would seem, what is difficult in buying a hedgehog? After all, it can be easily caught and completely free. But you need to remember that by bringing a hedgehog into the house without the necessary documents, you risk not only your health, but also the health of your loved ones. These thorny animals are carriers of such dangerous diseases as leptospirosis, helminthiasis, encephalitis, and they can also infect humans with rabies. Better to buy the animal after all.
Prices for hedgehogs vary depending on their species and the city in which you make a purchase, on average one such thorn will be estimated from 2,000 to 7,000 rubles.
Interesting hedgehog facts in this video:
