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Hedgehog animal. Hedgehog lifestyle and habitat

Hedgehog, apple, mushroom - this composition is found in many fairy-tale books and popular cartoons for children. The prickly animal importantly carries a still life pinned on needles, and right up to school the children are sure that this is what hedgehogs eat in nature. In reality, everything is much more prosaic: hedgehogs are omnivores and if given a choice between an apple, a mushroom and a piece of rotten fish, they will prefer the latter.

Who are hedgehogs?

Hedgehogs are mammals from the order of insectivores and the family of hedgehogs. The typical hedgehogs in our minds are the common and Eastern European species, the most common representatives of the genus of Eurasian hedgehogs.

A hedgehog is a small animal, ranging from 13 to 35 cm in size. The body weight of the animal depends on the time of year. In spring and summer, an adult hedgehog can weigh about 240 g, but before the onset of cold weather, animals eat heavily to gain weight. subcutaneous fat and survive winter hibernation. That's why late autumn Some specimens weigh up to 1.2 kg.

Most of the body of hedgehogs is densely strewn with needles - hair modified during evolution. A healthy animal loses 1 out of 3 quills per year; hedgehogs completely change their outfit once in their life, when children’s quills are replaced by adults. The needles are hollow inside, their length is about 3 cm, the total number of spines in an adult hedgehog reaches 6 thousand. The belly is the most vulnerable spot hedgehog, therefore, in case of danger, the animal curls up into a ball due to the contraction of a continuous muscle layer located under the skin.

But in the hedgehog’s mouth there is an impressive arsenal of small sharp teeth: 20 on the upper jaw and 16 on the lower jaw. Therefore, it is not surprising that among the things that hedgehogs eat in their vast range are amphibians, reptiles and field mice.

Where do hedgehogs live?

For residents of Australia and America, the hedgehog is an exotic animal, because hedgehogs are not found on these continents. But in most of Europe, Asia and Africa they are widespread and quite familiar.

Hedgehogs are unpretentious and inhabit a wide variety of biotopes, where there is plenty to feed on. They avoid dense forests and heavily swampy places, preferring to settle in open forests, on the edges, in floodplains of rivers, and on plains covered with thick grass.

Often entire families of hedgehogs live their entire lives in towns, villages and gardens, where they feed in garbage dumps and compost heaps. Where they are fed porridge, sausage and meat waste- they regularly come for dinner, because they are active at dusk and at night. During the day, hedgehogs sleep in empty rodent burrows, in bushes and other natural shelters, and nests are built only for hibernation.

It is believed that hedgehogs choose to be close to humans not only because of the available waste, but also for safety reasons. After all, in an area inhabited by people, the probability of becoming a victim of a badger, fox, ferret or owl is too negligible. However, not all hedgehogs are lucky enough to live next to kind-hearted people and most have to forage for food in the wild.

What do hedgehogs eat in the wild?

The favorite diet of hedgehogs is food of animal origin; hedgehogs do not disdain carrion. In the first place are all kinds of insects: caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, numerous beetles, earwigs. Interestingly, hedgehogs eat poisonous blister beetles with pleasure without harm to health, just like other animals whose poison is fatal to most mammals, for example, vipers.

A significant portion of the diet consists of slugs, snails, caterpillars, woodlice; sometimes hedgehogs hunt for earthworms and eat frogs and lizards. Mouse-like rodents are caught while running, reaching speeds of up to 3 m/s. A special delicacy for hedgehogs is the chicks and eggs of birds nesting on the ground. With such a passion for protein foods, hedgehogs introduced to the Hebrides became a real threat to the population of lapwings, snipes and dunlins.

But the benefits of hedgehogs are also invaluable: the prickly animals destroy cockchafers, nun silkworm caterpillars, gypsy moths and other pests Agriculture. Knowing this, experienced gardeners will never drive hedgehogs away from their plots.

Plant foods, although to a lesser extent, are present in the diet of every hedgehog. These are mushrooms, acorns, mosses, cereal and sunflower seeds. When the berries ripen, hedgehogs eat raspberries, strawberries and mulberries. In the fall, they pick fruits from the gardens - apples and pears, but do not carry them anywhere on their thorns, but eat them on the spot.

Hedgehogs do not store supplies for the winter at all; they go into hibernation, similar to a state of suspended animation, and during this time they lose about 35% of their mass. That’s why it’s so important for them to gain at least 500 g of weight over the summer, otherwise the hedgehog won’t wake up in the spring.

In nature, hedgehogs rarely live up to 5 years; in captivity they can live up to 10 years, but on condition proper care and feeding.

What to feed a hedgehog at home

A hedgehog is a rather specific pet that will hide during the day and stomp and puff loudly at night, exploring all the corners in a house or apartment. But if you get one, you need to be patient and feed it properly.

Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant; your pet should not be given milk and dairy products, even if he eats them with pleasure. Even premium-class food for cats and dogs is also not suitable, it contains a lot of fat and not enough protein. Therefore, the best option is natural food.

What hedgehogs eat at home must include raw and boiled lean meat: beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit. Offal products are welcome - beef and chicken liver, stomachs, heart. Boiled can be given periodically, it is better river fish. As mineral supplements - bone and fish meal.

It is not recommended to deprive a hedgehog of the main components of its natural diet. Periodically, a hedgehog needs to eat insects: grasshoppers, cockroaches, mealworms, which can be purchased at a pet store. Sometimes you need to give raw chicken and quail eggs.

Plant food for pet hedgehog- these are berries, fruits and vegetables. The animal will appreciate an apple, pear, banana or watermelon cut into slices. You can offer any seedless berries. Among the vegetables, the hedgehog will like cucumber, carrots, peas, and lettuce.

Like any animal, a hedgehog should not be overfed. The norm per day for a hedgehog weighing 800 g is 100 g of food, divided into 2 meals. It is desirable that each feeding be balanced: 2/3 animal food, 1/3 plant food.

What to feed your pet hedgehog?

If you want your pet to feel good at home, just for a long time, you need to feed him approximately the food that he can find in wildlife. It is necessary to understand that the food that humans most often eat is not suitable for a hedgehog. The best option in modern conditions are specialized feeds, but unfortunately we may have difficulties with such feeds. Dog and cat food for hedgehogs is not suitable for constant nutrition. Therefore, if you decide to get yourself such a pet, you will have to look out for a special menu.

Products you should feed your hedgehog at home:

Boiled meat - chicken, beef, turkey.

Chicken giblets.

Berries and fruits - strawberries, raspberries, currants, pears, apples.

Vegetables - carrots, cucumbers, Bell pepper, pumpkin.

Raw eggs.

Live insects or zoophobus.

The animal should be fed strictly in doses, not allowing food to sit for a long time; this will save both you and your pet from possible troubles with digestion.

Foods that should not be given to hedgehogs are those that a hedgehog “does not see” in the wild:

Baked bakery products, absolutely everything is excluded.

A variety of sweets, including chocolate, absolutely everything.

Preservation, both store-bought and home-made, absolutely everything is excluded.

Exotic fruits and especially dried fruits, including grapes.

Nuts, seeds.

Various types of spices - onions, garlic.

Dairy products, absolutely everything is excluded.

Store-bought deli meats - sausages, frankfurters, sausages, lard, absolutely everything is excluded.

The generally accepted opinion that hedgehogs love milk is, in fact, deeply mistaken; milk, and like all dairy products, is not healthy for hedgehogs; their body is not able to digest lactose. However, thinking that milk is harmful for a hedgehog and he can die from it is also not true, this is wild omnivore, and if necessary, anything can be eaten, it’s just that milk is not the food that should be given to hedgehogs.

For all their supposedly good-natured appearance, hedgehogs are carnivorous animals, and their diet should include food of animal origin. And of course, the animal must have fresh water in its cage.

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, hibernate in the fall and not give you rest at night, since a hedgehog is used to hunting in the wild at this time of day, 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 pure 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 (it is not recommended to give raw foods, as they may contain microbes 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 fish fat, 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 to your 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 a minimum content of sugar and salt. 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.

Since childhood, every child knows the hedgehog from the cartoon character where he stocks up on apples and mushrooms for the winter. In fact, hedgehogs do not make any preparations for the winter. Both in the wild and at home, they accumulate fat from spring to autumn in order to survive the winter. To do this they need to eat a lot.

The hedgehog is the most common animal, its habitat is the territory of Europe, Siberia, Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, and China. They eat a wide variety of foods, it all depends on their habitat.

Usually hedgehogs live in forests and parks, but very often they can wander into a country house or residential area. Jerzy not afraid of people at all and therefore often suffer when they become victims of dogs - in this case even their thorns do not help them. Very often these animals die under the wheels of cars.

Hedgehog nutrition in nature

First of all, hedgehogs are insectivores. In nature they feed on:

insects and their larvae;
slugs;
earthworms.

They can also catch mice (in the wild - voles). They can catch frogs and snakes, but only when they are inactive. Hedgehogs love to feast on eggs or chicks, but can catch more active animals. In addition to all living creatures, hedgehogs love to eat fruits and berries.

Besides beetles and ordinary snakes, hedgehogs can eat very poisonous individuals - vipers, blister beetles, May beetles, and hairy ground beetles. After such food, the animal does not die and does not become ill, since its body is resistant to various poisons.

What does a hedgehog eat at home?

At home, a hedgehog usually eats what its owner eats. But you shouldn’t feed him this way; food from the table is very harmful for this animal. If he dies early, then no owner will understand why this happened. The best food for a pet hedgehog is special feed. But in our country it is almost impossible to buy them, so you can replace them with cat food, and then only for the first time. Then you should create a special menu for this prickly pet.

List of products you can feed your hedgehog at home:

chicken offal;
lean boiled meat - chicken, turkey;
a small amount of fruit - pear, apple, strawberry, raspberry;
some vegetables - cucumbers, sweet peppers, carrots, pumpkin;
live insects;
raw chicken or quail egg - once a week.

Care should be taken to ensure that all products were fresh and warm(room temperature). After eating, all leftover food must be removed so that the hedgehog does not get poisoned by spoiled food.

Under no circumstances should hedgehogs be given:

garlic, onion;
citrus fruits, pineapple and all exotic fruits;
dried fruits, as they are difficult to digest;
grapes - can choke on the seeds;
nuts, seeds - may cause stomach upset;
milk;
fast food products.

It is a common myth that hedgehogs love milk. Milk is contraindicated for them, since their body does not digest lactose at all. The lifespan of hedgehogs is usually 5-6 years, but a hedgehog that drinks milk only has a lifespan of 1 year.

Most importantly, the hedgehog should always have fresh drinking water. It should be remembered that hedgehogs are predators and therefore should always eat food of animal origin, which is rich in proteins.

Where do hedgehogs live?

There are 23 species of representatives of this class in the world, they are distributed throughout the territory globe, and in Russia - almost everywhere. Hedgehogs do not live only in South America, Australia, Madagascar and Antarctica.

Their settlements can be found under the roots of the trees, in thorny bushes, in a pile of brushwood or in an abandoned rodent hole. Hedgehogs live individually and protect their ball areas. In such areas, hedgehogs build separate nests, which are lined inside with moss, dry leaves and grass.

Hedgehogs go out hunting at night, and during the day they go to sleep in a shelter, curled up in a ball. With the onset of winter cold - period: late September, early October to April, when the air temperature rises above +15 degrees, hedgehogs hibernate. Their heart rate and respiratory activity are greatly reduced at this time. If the animal has failed to accumulate fat over the summer, then during hibernation it will certainly die of starvation.

In unfavorable years during hibernation up to 45% of adults die and up to 80% of young people eat. In nature, hedgehogs live from 3 to 7 years, and at home their life expectancy increases to 15 years.

Anyone who loves animals does not refuse to keep hedgehogs, especially since it is not difficult.

The hedgehog easily adapts to life next to a person and is very often kept as a pet. Even the Romans in the 4th century. BC e. They raised hedgehogs for meat; they baked them in clay along with needles. Hedgehog skins were widely used for leather.

The common hedgehog is useful in exterminating harmful insects and harmful in that eats chicks and eggs of birds that nest on the ground.

Also, this prickly animal can be a carrier of diseases such as salmonellosis, fever, rabies. On their skin they start in large quantities fleas and ticks. The study of ticks has proven that hedgehogs are fed by ticks in all phases of their development. The hedgehog is unable to get rid of ticks that have climbed between the needles.

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