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European hedgehog, orCommon hedgehog(Erinaceus europaeus)
Phylum —chordata
Class — mammalia
Order — eulipotyphla
Family — erinaceidae
Genus –erinaceus
Appearance
The animal appears brownish with most of its body covered by up to 6,000 brown and white spines. Length of head and body is ~160 mm (6.3 in) at weaning, increasing to 260 mm (10 in) or more in large adults. This species has an extremely short tail as an almost vestigial feature, typically 20 to 30 mm (0.79 to 1.18 in). Males tend to be slightly larger than females, but sex differences in body weight are overshadowed by enormous seasonal variation.
Habitat
European hedgehogs are commonly found throughout Europe and central Asia. Native to these areas, it occurs from the Azores Archipelago as far to the east as Kazakhstan and is commonly seen across northern Europe, up to Scandinavia. Though not generally found south of the Mediterranean Sea, it has been seen in Lebanon. It also lives in New Zealand, having been introduced there in the late 1800s.
Behavior
Hedgehogs are nocturnal, non-territorial and predominantly solitary. They can go as far as one to two kilometers in a night when foraging for food. They can run fairly quickly, are good swimmers, and are well known to roll into a tight ball as a defense. In winter they hibernate in a nest of leaves, usually under log piles or sheds. As with all hedgehogs, the European hedgehog has the interesting habit of 'self-anointing', where it produces foamy saliva in large amounts and licks this over its spines. The reason for this behavior is unknown, but it is triggered by new foods, strong smells, and being in the presence of others of their species. These animals are not particularly noisy, making mostly grunts, snorts, and hoarse squeaks. Adults make these sounds during mating and feeding, and sometimes when captured. The young may whistle and squeak while in the nest.
Diet
European hedgehogs are omnivores, but feed mostly on insects. They prefer beetles, earwigs, ants, bees, wasps, butterflies and moths, and will also eat snails, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, eggs, lizards, frogs, snakes, small rodents, and carrion.
Reproduction
European hedgehogs are polygynandrous, males and females having multiple mates each season (promiscuous). Mating starts when they emerge in April from hibernation and continues until September. The males emerge first, 3 to 4 weeks prior to the females, and will expand their home range in the mating season to increase their chances of finding a female to mate with. Gestation is for about 35 days and four to six young per litter are born, often two litters per year being produced. 24 hours after birth the spines of the young are revealed, and within 2 to 3 days their muscles are strong enough for them to hold their spines erect. These white spines are replaced with darker ones after about 1.5 days. After 2 to 3 weeks, pigmented adult spines replace this second coat of spines, and around this time the young start to open their eyes and can learn how to roll up into a ball. The young are weaned by the age of 4 to 6 weeks, and then become independent of their parents, being able to mate around the age of 1 year.
In the wild, European hedgehogs can live up to six years. In captivity, they can live as many as ten years.
In captivity
A hedgehog is a very active animal. He will require a large cage even though he is small. Fortunately, there are many cages of adequate size available for reasonable prices. He will also need time outside of his cage to explore and run around.
Since hedgehogs are nocturnal, they are best for people who are home in the evenings and at night. A hedgehog may not be a suitable pet for small children. Sometimes kids can be overzealous with their affection causing a hedgehog to become afraid and extend his quills. This could lead to injury of a child or pet.
A hedgehog is fun to watch, quiet, not aggressive, and is fairly easy to care for. It is a clean animal and has very little smell. His food is easily attainable and inexpensive. A hedgehog can be a wonderful addition for someone who wants a unique and entertaining pet.
