Dwarf white-bellied African hedgehog. Genus: Atelerix \u003d African hedgehogs. What can not be fed Dwarf Hedgehogs
People like hedgehogs because they look cute and are interesting to watch. But if ordinary (European) hedgehogs we are used to, whom you can meet in the forest, in the park or in the country house, are usually not very friendly and affectionate creatures, then the African dwarf white-bellied hedgehog is a very cute creature both outside and inside.
African dwarf hedgehog does not occur in nature - it is an artificially derived species of hedgehogs. It appeared relatively recently and immediately gained popularity among admirers of home exotics all over the world. This hybrid breed was created specifically for home maintenance as a result of crossing Algerian and other representatives of the genus African hedgehogs. Breeders set a goal to get a small animal with a friendly disposition and not hibernating. And they succeeded! The mini-hedgehog easily fits in the palm of your hand: the length of its body usually does not exceed 20 cm, and it weighs no more than 500 grams. This applies to females; males are even subtler. African hedgehogs are practically odorless and do not cause allergies.
The appearance of a dwarf hedgehog
Externally, the African dwarf hedgehog is similar to a regular hedgehog, but much smaller in size. The upper part of the body of the mini-hedgehog, like all its counterparts, is covered with needles. By the way, when the hedgehog is in a good mood and relaxed, his needles are not at all prickly, soft. And the hedgehog has soft hair on its face and belly, shiny curious bead eyes, a pointed nose, round ears, a short tail and very touching tiny claws with claws.
What color are African hedgehogs?
Micro-dog breeding began purposefully over twenty years ago in America. During this time, breeders have managed a lot, especially in terms of variety of colors: once a modest gray color, today African hedgehogs delight the eye with a rainbow of colors. Now you can find such colors as “chocolate”, “apricot”, “cinnamon”, “champagne”, as well as spotted and albino. And enthusiasts are not going to stop there.
Is it difficult to care for African hedgehogs?
Caring for these prickly creatures is not too complicated. To be happy, a home hedgehog needs an aviary or a spacious cage (the bigger the better), a bowl, a drinking bowl and a house for privacy. As a litter, usually use a regular diaper, straw or sawdust.
And you also need to consider that miniature hedgehogs are heat-loving animals. They will feel comfortable at a temperature of + 22- +25 °
C. At temperatures just below these values, the hedgehogs become sluggish. If the thermometer in the room where the pet is kept shows +15 °
C and below, then for a hedgehog it’s just a frost, in which he tries to fall into hibernation. In no case should this be brought to this - there is a high probability that the African will simply not come out of hibernation.
Dwarf hedgehogs are usually neat: they arrange a toilet exclusively in one place. You just have to put a tray there and clean it daily.
And one more thing: so that the miniature hedgehog does not turn into a bun, and does not get bored for long nights, it must have at its disposal the equivalent of a treadmill - a running wheel. By the way, obesity in mini-hedgehogs is a fairly common problem: they really like to eat. The normal weight of a pygmy hedgehog is 300-400 grams. However, it can easily be fed up to a kilogram, but would a hedgehog be good from this? They are fed dry cat food, lean boiled meat, various insects. You can read more about what and how to feed African pygmy hedgehogs in the article.
Important: take care of your hedgehog from colds: do not allow drafts, do not drink cold water. Water for rare water treatments should be warm.
Although by their nature they are nocturnal animals, they are unlikely to cause much concern to their owners in the dark. Unlike their forest relatives, these crumbs do not even stomp. And with some persistence, you can slightly change their natural habits: to accustom them to stay awake in the daytime, and sleep at night.
What do dwarf hedgehogs like?
Mischief with this prickly, sniffing and slightly awkward crumbs not to occupy - and that look will get somewhere and hide. In general, hide and seek is their favorite pastime. And not looking at their prickly appearance and independent disposition, these pets are usually quite sociable. Many hedgehogs love toys - rattles, tweeters and the like, and some are not even averse to running after the ball. And when they get tired, they can, like cats, curl up on their knees and take a nap.
Where to get an African hedgehog?
It is better to buy African dwarf hedgehogs from experienced breeders, and not at a pet store, and even more so, not at a spontaneous market. The factory owners will always help with advice, and you can make sure that your future pet is kept in proper conditions. Documents must be attached to each animal.
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Names: white-bellied hedgehog, eastern European hedgehog, white-breasted hedgehog.
Area: Russia (South Urals), Turkey, the Caucasian Isthmus, Kazakhstan, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Greece, Asia Minor, the Greek and Adriatic Islands, Israel, Crete, Iran. It lives at altitudes up to 1100 m above sea level. In the Alps, a white-bellied hedgehog was found at an altitude of 1792 m in the belt of a curved-wood forest.
Description: looks like an ordinary hedgehog. Five fingers on the feet. The eyes are round. Ears are short (less than 3.5 cm) rounded, almost invisible due to fur. The back and sides, excluding the muzzle and legs, are covered with needles. The length of the needles is 2.5-3.5 cm. The fur is hard, bristly. A white spot is blurred on the chest. Sexual dimorphism in white-bellied hedgehogs is absent.
Color: the head and sides are dark brown, much darker than the throat and abdomen. The needles at the base and at the end are white, in the middle with black and brown stripes. The fur on the abdomen is brown.
The size: up to 35 cm, tail length 20-39 mm.
Weight: depending on the time of year - 600-1230 gr.
Habitat: from semi-deserts to alpine meadows, avoids continuous high-stemmed forests. The white-bellied hedgehog prefers the edges of deciduous forests, canal banks, forest belts, steppe ravines, cultivated land, bushes, villages, personal plots, squares and parks.
Enemies: birds of prey (owls), badgers, ferrets and other martens.
Feeding Features: earthworms, beetles, caterpillars, slugs, snails, ground beetles, woodlice, spiders, amphibians, lizards, snakes, birds and their eggs, small rodents, moss, berry (strawberries, strawberries, raspberries, mulberries), acorns, seeds (cereals, sunflower), mushrooms, stems and leaves of plants, carrion.
Behavior: white-bellied hedgehog is active at night. For recreation, males use natural shelters. The nest (from leaves, moss, hay and twigs) builds only for the winter. More sensitive to cold. Hibernation lasts from September to March-April. During hibernation, the white-bellied hedgehog loses up to 35% of its weight. Therefore, in order to winter well, a hedgehog must weigh at least 600 grams, otherwise it will die during hibernation. Often lives several years in the same nest. When targeting and hunting, it uses its sense of smell. Hunts at night (about 6 hours).
Social structure: loner.
Reproduction: a hedgehog brings litter only once per year. A brood nest 20-30 cm long, 15-20 cm wide, is located in the bush, under mounds, in the rocks or under the raspberries. Inside, the nest is lined with dry leaves, grass or twigs.
Season / breeding season: stretched for the entire warm season.
Progeny: in one litter 3-8 cubs. Yezhats are born naked and blind. Eyes open on day 12.
- Class: Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 \u003d Mammals
- Subclass: Theria Parker et Haswell, 1879 \u003d Viviparous mammals, real animals
- Infraclass: Eutheria, Placentalia Gill, 1872 \u003d Placental, higher animals
- Squadron: Ungulata \u003d Ungulates
- Order: Insectivora \u003d Insectivores
- Family: Erinaceidae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817 \u003d Hedgehogs
- Species: Atelerix (\u003d Erinaceus) albiventris \u003d African pygmy hedgehog (\u003d White-bellied hedgehog)
Species: Atelerix (\u003d Erinaceus) albiventris \u003d African pygmy hedgehog (\u003d White-bellied hedgehog)
An African pygmy hedgehog is found in southern Africa from Senegal to Sudan and Zambia. In a relaxed form, it is mainly oval in shape. The limbs are short and therefore the rounded body of the animal is low above the ground. The African pygmy hedgehog has a very short tail. When he is at risk, the animal can, thanks to a reduction in the series of muscles, turn itself into a compact spherical shape (like a ball), which will make its spines stick out in all directions. In a relaxed state, the thorns fit snugly against the body of the animal.
The average body length of an African pygmy hedgehog is approximately 7-9 inches when the animal is in a relaxed state. When it takes on a characteristic defense, turning into a ball, the hedgehog becomes the size of a large grapefruit. The average body weight is 600 g. Sexual dimorphism is poorly developed, there is a slight difference in size: females are slightly outsizing males. Typical body color is agouti type color. Hedgehogs with this coloring have spikes that are painted brown or gray with cream color. The face and lower body are covered with soft, white fur. There are other, rarer colors, although agouti is by far the most common.
A sexually mature female usually gives birth once or twice a year. As single animals, during the breeding season, they seek partners of the opposite sex. As a rule, they mate in the rainy and warm season, when food is abundant: as a rule, from October to March in southern Africa. Pregnancy lasts 35 days. Cubs are born with already developed thorns, but they are coated. Within a few hours after birth, this membrane dries and the spikes immediately begin to grow. Weaning starts at about 3 weeks and ends between the 4th and 6th weeks. The kids leave their mother soon after. Young people become sexually mature at the age of about two months.
The average number of offspring is 6, the average gestational age is 35 days, the average weight of newborns is 10 g, the average age of sexual or reproductive maturity in females is 84 days, and the average life expectancy in captivity is 11.4 years.
African pygmy hedgehog is a single animal. In a night creature, she constantly moves, covering up to several kilometers in one night. Although they are not territorial, individuals keep their distance from other African pygmy hedgehogs. For example, men usually keep at least 60 feet between themselves. There are several unique behaviors present in this form. One of them is the process of self-anointing. When an animal discovers a unique taste and aroma creates a foamy saliva which he proceeds to spread across his body in a series of remarkable distortions. The reason for this behavior is unknown. This is most likely related either to reproduction and partner selection or self-defense. Other behaviors use an animal in summer hibernation or in winter hibernation to help it survive when the temperature is not at an optimal 75-85 degrees.
Eating habits of Atelerix albiventris is omnivorous butprimarily insectivorous. It feeds mainly on invertebrates, such as spiders and insects, sometimes also a lot of Smalll quantities of plant matter or small vertebrates. African pygmy hedgehogs are opportunistic feeders with extremely high resistance to toxins. They are known to eat small scorpions and poisonous snakes without any negative consequences.
In the United States, many successful breeders sell animals to the pet trade. In addition, since Atelerix albiventris eats many things considered “pests” by humans, the hedgehog diet makes it an important part of the ecosystem and local pest control.
Conservation Status In addition to wildlife in the African deserts, closed animal husbandry exists in the United States to serve the pet trade market. It is no longer legal to transport animals from Africa, so their population there does not threaten animal trafficking. IUCN Red List No worries More information Other comments African pygmy hedgehogs have been living in the wild for about 2-3 years. In captivity, they can live up to 8-10 years, mainly due to the lack of predators and improved nutrition.
A bony trunk, and even on short legs, with the addition of a ponytail and an elongated muzzle, on which a pair of black eyes - beads - is a typical portrait of a white-bellied hedgehog that lives in the savannas of Central and East Africa 
In a hedgehog, all sensory organs are well developed, in favor of this are rounded ears and a long little tendrils. There is one feature that distinguishes the hedgehog from all other prickly brothers. On the legs of a hedgehog, there is no 5th thumb, which is quite unusual for other hedgehogs.
White-bellied hedgehogs, or African dwarf hedgehogs, do not like the forest climate and most likely will settle in dry and grassy, \u200b\u200brocky areas. In search of housing, they usually climb up to a height of 2000 meters above sea level.
In harsh lands, their neighbors are very formidable opponents. These are the Pale Owl, the jackal, the hyena and the badger, the presence of which forces the hedgehog to use its needles.
Energetic and active, white-bellied hedgehogs can walk several hundred meters until they find their favorite treat - beetles, spiders, snails, even scorpions and poisonous snakes. Hedgehogs have good immunity to all poisons and toxins.
The best temperature for hedgehogs is from 23.5 to 30 degrees Celsius. Anything lower or higher is a serious signal for hibernation, which the hedgehogs perform safely.
A funny moment, smelling an unfamiliar odor, the hedgehog gives off foamy saliva and begins to actively lubricate its thorns. Most interesting, no one knows why?
Photo: HolokerWorks
