Hedgehog lore and legends - Snakes alive!

Are hedgehogs in danger from snakes?

It's not surprising that such a strange-looking little animal as a hedgehog should be the subject of some extraordinary legends and beliefs. Strange hedgehog activities such as running in circles and 'self-anointing' (smearing their spines with their own frothy saliva), are definitely fact, not fiction, through we don't know why they do these things.

But there are also a number of intriguing legends about hedgehogs, most of them dating back to the distant past.

The myth, particularly prevalent in South Africa, that snakes have been found with hedgehogs in their stomaches, is a long stretch of the imagination. It would be quite impossible for a snake, no matter how big, to swallow a rolled-up hedgehog.

A hedgehog under attack from a snake would immediate roll up and protect itself with its bristling spines. If the snake persists, it is likely to damage itself severely on the spines, and the hedgehog may seize the opportunity to sink its teeth into the snake and roll up again. In the end, the hedgehog often makes a meal of its former enemy!

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Hedgehog Lore and Legends - Morning milk

Do hedgehogs suck cows' udders?

It's not surprising that such a strange-looking little animal as a hedgehog should be the subject of some extraordinary legends and beliefs. Strange hedgehog activities such as running in circles and 'self-anointing' (smearing their spines with their own frothy saliva), are definitely fact, not fiction, through we don't know why they do these things.

But there are also a number of intriguing legends about hedgehogs, most of them dating back to the distant past.

It is possible that hedgehogs occasionally attempt to suck milk direct from recumbent cows. And there's another way they obtain milk in the wild - early on a summer morning, cows sit quietly chewing the cud and waiting to be taken for milking. Their full udders often ooze drops of warm, sweet-smelling milk onto the grass, attracting any passing hedgehogs.

But nobody really knows!

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Hedgehog lore and legends - Fruit picking

Why should Hedgehogs collect apples?

It's not surprising that such a strange-looking little animal as a hedgehog should be the subject of some extraordinary legends and beliefs. Strange hedgehog activities such as running in circles and 'self-anointing' - smearing their spines with their own frothy saliva - are definitely a fact, not fiction, though we don't know why they do these things. But there are also a number of intriguing legends about hedgehogs, most of them dating back to the distant past.

Some people claim to have seen apples punctured as though by spines around a hedgehog nest. Others tell of a hedgehog picking up apples in its mouth, assembling them in a group, then turning over on its back and rocking to and fro on top of them. Others say they have seen a hedgehog waling away from a tree, carrying apples impaled on its spines.

But even if hedgehogs are physically able to carry apples, there's no point in doing so. They eat hardly any fruit and can easily take what they find lying on the ground. Nor do they hoard food for the winter; they store their energy supplies in the form of fat.

So don't believe everything you hear! A dose of good common sense goes a long way in protecting these beautiful little creatures from any misunderstandings.

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Do Not Disturb! - a nesting or hibernating Hedgehog

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If you suspect that a Hedgehog has made a nest somewhere in your garden, leave it alone! In the summer it may be a mother and babies; in the winter an animal might be hibernating. Look forward to seeing the hedgehogs again when they emerge.
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Sometimes a Hedgehog might be spotted virtually in the open, sleeping on a bed of leaves. Leave it alone, it might just be napping and, if it gets cold enough, it will soon wake to find a warmer spot. Hibernation is not continuous and periodically the hedgehogs wake up and their temperature returns to near normal. They seldom move about, but simply remain alert in the nest.
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By mid-winter, most hedgehogs will have started to hibernate. Any late-born youngsters still found wandering about on these cold winter days are unlikely to survive for very long. I never advocate removing any wild creature from nature, but in the case of very young hedgehogs, I will collect them when I find them late in the season and keep them in a fenced area where I can provide shelter for them, sometimes even keeping them in the house until the worst cold is over. The problem with keeping them inside is that they don’t know it’s winter and will spend the time awake, running about!
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Hedgehogs often make use of man-made hibernation spots like boxes or any other structures that offer protection, so think about providing a few cosy spots where the hedgies can find a safe place to hibernate or nest.

It is therefore a good idea not to remove leaf litter from your garden in winter (luckily there are lots of trees shedding their leaves in winter!), it provides a warm and safe haven for any little mammals visiting your garden.

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Are Hedgehogs Intelligent?

The answer usually given to this question is, "not very". The hedgehog is a primitive animal; its brain and the rest of its anatomy have remained largely unchanged since the first hedgehogs rolled off the production line some 15 million years ago. This is because the hedgehog's way of life - for example, having a food supply which is abundant and readily available - does not demand the sophisticated mental and physical skills that are required by, for example, a leopard.

People who have a tame hedgehog often report that their pet has acquired a number of basic skills, such as responding to its name and using a litter tray. Many hedgehogs can distinguish between their carer and other people. Researchers have taught hedgehogs simple tasks, such as choosing between a black trapdoor and a white trapdoor to reach food regularly placed behind one but not the other. One researcher even taught his tame hedgehog to roll and unroll in response to the relevant commands! 

Hedgehogs seems to have quite a good memory, especially for places, and, remarkably, this memory is not affected by hibernation - during the winter, the hedgehog brain shuts down almost completely, yet when the animal emerges in the spring, its memory is 'switched on' again, unimpaired; it will head without hesitation for a place where food has been regularly put down for it. As human beings, we tend to think of sight as the most important of the senses, but hedgehogs are chiefly active during the hours of darkness, so good eyesight is not particularly important. Also, as the hedgehog's eye-view is only a few inches above the ground and is often obscured by vegetation, it relies heavily on other senses.

 

But they can distinguish between shapes - particularly silhouettes against the sky - and moving objects. They may have a limited degree of colour vision, but as they're usually asleep during the day, they don't often have the chance to use it. The sense of smell is the one on which the hedgehog chiefly relies. It is mainly by smell that it finds its food (even under about three centimeters of soil), detects the approach of danger and recognizes other hedgehogs. The hedgehogs external ears are small and inconspicuous, but its hearing is very sensitive and is important in locating food and recognizing danger. An earthworm moving gently in the soil of a beetle rustling in leaf litter is making really loud noises to hedgehog ears. Its hearing is particularly sensitive to high frequencies; clicks, squeaks and hand-claps will cause a hedgehog to instantly crouch down, bristling its spines. 

Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

Rise and Shine

"WAKING UP"

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Hibernation is not continuous; a hedgehog usually rouses for a short time every seven to 11 days. Its body temperature returns to normal, and it usually just remains alert inside its nest, although sometimes it may leave the nest and be active for several days or even move to another nest.

We don't know why this happens; it doesn't benefit the hedgehog, since fat, and therefore energy, is consumed in the process of waking and going back into hibernation. Arousals seem to be spontaneous, but some may be due to outside factors such as flooding, disturbance of the nest by animals or humans, or unseasonably warm weather.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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Early to bed

IS HIBERNATION NECESSARY FOR HEDGEHOGS?

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The nest provides good insulation, maintaining the inside temperature for most of the time at between 1ºC and 5ºC: an ideal level, as the hibernating hedgehog saves energy most efficiently with a body heat of 4ºC.

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It is commonly believed that hibernation is a necessary part of the hedgehog's life cycle, and that the hedgehog will suffer in some way if it fails to hibernate. This is not so.

The descendants of British-born hedgies transported to warmer climates only find it necessary to hibernate for a few weeks, or sometimes not at all. In colder countries like Scandinavia, on the other hand, where winters are longer, hibernation is extended.

Hibernation is fraught with hazards. Although the hedgies are inactive, they are as likely to die during hibernation as at any other time. Nevertheless, hibernation is a complex and valuable strategy that gives a hedgehog the chance to live through adverse conditions which it would otherwise have no chance of surviving.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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When my hedgehogs went into hibernation, I noticed that, on fairly warm days, they would wake up and get out for a snack, so I used to keep a close eye and then offer some high protein food like meal worms as a snack - I always had a ready supply, and they really appreciated that.

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The Hedgehog's Future

NEW HORIZONS

What will be the future for hedgehogs as the countryside changes at such an amazing rate? We can only guess, of course, but some changes can only be for the worse as far as hedgehogs are concerned.

Farmlands are not popular with hedgehogs. Insects are controlled by pesticides, so food is short. And there are few trees, meaning that there is little nesting material, and the open fields hold few nesting sites.

The conversion of pasture to arable land means that crops will be sprayed with chemicals, which destroy insects, slugs and worms, the main parts of the hedgehog's diet. And the grubbing-up of hedges and clearance of small patches of waste ground will destroy many good sites for hedgehog hibernation nests.

But as long as hedgehogs prosper in gardens and suburbs, the future isn't entirely bleak!
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

Hedgehog sounds

Hedgehogs don't often make noises - not that human ears can hear, at any rate. But babies in the nest, for example, make a high-pitched twittering, while non-vocal sounds include the quiet snufflings made while a hedgehog is hunting for food and the 'huffing' noise often heard during fights.

Hedgehogs produce this sound by sharply breathing out through their nostrils. Courtship, sometimes mistaken for fighting, is accompanied by loud and aggressive snorting. But the most alarming sound must be the very loud scream occasionally made by a hedgehog in distress.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

Luckily that's not a sound I've ever heard!

So the hedgehog world isn't really so quiet after all!


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Male or Female?

Anatomy of a Hedgehog -




THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SEXES




It is often assumed that large, powerful-looking hedgehogs are male and that smaller, more delicate ones are female. This is not the case.









If your resident hedgehog is co-operative and lets you take a look at its underbelly, sexing it is a straightforward matter.




In adult males, the penis shows as a large projection (similar to dogs) approximately where you would expect the navel to be, about 5cm in front of the base of the tail.




In females, there are two opening close together, near the base of the tail.

Info from "Everything You Want To Know about hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"










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Hidden Hedgehog traps

Garden Dangers

You've done everything you can think of to welcome hedgehogs to your garden - you've put out food on the patio, left some leaf litter for them to scrounge in and now you're sitting back to watch your first prickly guests arrive - BUT YOUR GARDEN IS SCATTERED WITH DANGERS!

Hedgehogs will manage to get through amazingly small holes to reach the next garden or feeding area. They can also climb over fences or up walls, or reach roof gutters by squeezing up inside drainpipes, and getting stuck in food and soda cans carelessly left lying around.

Another hazard for the hedgehog is getting tangled up in nets. Unless it is rescued quickly, it will very likely die. Tennis nets should be looped out of the way, off the ground; other garden netting should be kept in the shed or hung on a wall. Netting used to protect soft fruit should be pegged down tightly at the edges, this holds the netting taut and so a hedgehog is far less likely to get tangled up.

But they also fall into things - holes, trenches, rubbish pits and ponds. They are not likely to be injured by falling on hard surfaces, since their spines cushion their landing, but being left in a trench or hole for an extended period of time means certain death.

Falling into a pond is not a big disaster as, like most mammals, they are quit competent swimmers. They will happily cross small streams in this way, but if they fall into a swimming pool or garden pond that has nowhere to climb out, they will certainly drown. Make sure your Koi pond has a gentle slope on one side or some vegetation which will provide an easy exit, but plastic pond-liners and fibreglass ponds, with their slippery sides, can defeat the most agile of hedgehogs.

Take care with pesticides, especially slug pellets. Only use pellets that have an unpleasant-tasting substances added, especially to put off hedgehogs, and conceal them where hedgehogs can't reach them.

But one of the most effective ways of controlling slugs and other garden pests is by using the services of the hedgehog itself! A high proportion of the hedgehog's natural diet - slugs, caterpillars, weevils, crane-fly larvae and many more - consists of creatures gardeners would be glad to be without.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

So why not make the hedgehog feel at home?

Dinner is served!

SHOULD WE FEED HEDGEHOGS?



Many of us who put out food for hedgehogs would like to know more about our night-time visitors and how the food affects their lives. How far do they come to feed? How much do they eat? How important is this extra food supply? And are we discouraging them from their natural diet? The answers to some of the most commonly-asked questions are based on a survey of "garden hedgehogs" carried out by a team f biologists.

Hedgehogs don't necessarily live in the garden where they are fed. They may live nearby, or some distance away; some hedgehogs may come half a kilometer to the food bowl.

They certainly don't move their nests to get nearer to the regular food supply. It's not proven that, when they set out on a night's foraging, that they head straight for the food bowl and sometimes might not pitch up at all.

Hedgehogs are not "faithful" to one food bowl. They are likely to visit several gardens, and don't behave as if they "own" the feeding site; they don't squabble with one another when they meet there either.

the hedgehogs' appetites vary. In the survey, the most food eaten at one visit was 94g, more than one-tenth of the hedgehog's body weight. The most eaten in the course of an evening was 157g, but the average was 7g for every minute they spent at the bowl.

People are sometimes concerned that putting out artificial food will discourage hedgehogs from eating enough natural food. And how much is "enough" natural food? One thing is certain - even though hedgehogs may welcome the food we provide, they still seek out natural food even after a hearty meal at the bowl!

And what happens when the regular food supply is interrupted - when we go on holiday, for example? The hedgehogs don't seem to mind - they continue to forage for natural food in the area, as they have done all along!

Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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Bedtime

WHERE DO HEDGEHOGS SLEEP?

During the summer, hedgehogs spend he day sleeping in a light, flimsy nest constructed from grass and leaves. They will have a number such nests, and often sleep in the same one for some time before returning to a nest they have used previously.


Hedgehogs are sometimes found asleep outside their nest or even active in daylight, particularly during the autumn or spring when there is less food available at night.

A nest may be slept in at different times by several hedgehogs; they don't seem to mind who originally built it. In the way, the various occupants pick up fleas and other parasites left behind by previous visitors. But it is very unusual to find two fully grown wild hedgehogs sharing the same nest.

When the weather is warm, a hedgehog may not bother to build a nest at all, but will simply lie up under a pile of leaves or a grassy tussock.

A Trail Through Leaves

Hedgehog territory is a fragile ecosystem consisting of an approximate range of 2 or 3 kilometers, with a variety of grasses, shrubs and trees. When a hedgehog finds himself in a new, strange environment, he will start trotting in small circles, ever widening the circle until he has established the size of this new territory, in which he will then make his home.

Hedgehogs are equally at home in our gardens as in open fields, and if you have a garden with lots of ground cover, leaf litter, logs, water and places to hide, you might be lucky enough that a hedgehog family have made it their home. They will keep your garden free of snails and other pests and you might not be aware of their presence until you come upon strange little meandering 'pathways' that look like little highways criss-crossing the garden. These are there preferred routes and a hedgehog will spend hours trotting out the route until it is well-formed and clear of any debris. I have watched my hedgehogs for hours doing this and, if two hedgehogs' paths should happen to overlap or cross over each other, they will generally turn back and go in the other direction if encountering each other.

If treated with respect and not harassed or frightened in any way, hedgehogs become fairly tame, not being shy to come out at dusk and eat any food you might have put out for them. Their favourite snack is meal worms, which you should put in a slippery glass container, deep enough so that the meal worms can't climb out, but shallow enough for the hedgehogs to reach into. I have found that small fondue containers work very well.

East African Hedgehog

Southern African Hedgehog trotting out his trail

Woodland Hedgehogs living in a temperate climate build nests in which to hibernate during the winter cold. They construct the nest from leaves and grasses or take over old, abandoned nests. At first they may use the nests as temporary refuges for just a few days, but as the weather deteriorates they settle down for prolonged hibernation. Having fed greedily during the warmer months, the hibernating hedgehogs can survive on their reserves of body fat.

Their body temperature drops to a constant 6°C when they are hibernating, while their heart and breathing rates slow right down. The heartbeat drops from nearly 190 beats per minute to about 20 beats. Such reduction in the body’s metabolism decreases the rate at which the fat reserves are used up. And under no conditions should you disturb hedgehogs hibernating in your garden. Don't worry about them, they will be fine.

In mild winters, and in areas where the supply of food remains plentiful through the winter, or if you put food out for them on a constant and regular basis, European Hedgehogs may not hibernate at all. My hedgehogs used to do a sort of semi-hibernation, coming out every second or third night for a snack if the weather is not too cold. In the area where I live (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa), our winters very rarely go below -3ºC at night. Hibernation, therefore, is not a fixed habit of the species, but depends on environmental conditions.

I know keeping a garden free of falling and Autumn leaves is a high priority for most gardeners, but leaving leaf litter in your garden provides safety and food for many garden animals and birds as well as natural compost for your garden.

Info from "Everything You Want To Know about hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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BASIC HEDGEHOG CARE 🐾

BASIC HEDGEHOG CARE
Hedgehogs are wonderful pets who are easy to care for! My first hedgehog joined the family in November of 1995 and since then the family has blossomed to about 50 permanent resident hedgies. We have also raised over 200 litters of babies. So, we feel we can say we do have some experience in raising hedgehogs, though there is still so much to learn about our prickly buddies. The aim of this page is to provide a basic care sheet that says the minimum you'll need to know in order to properly take care of a hedgehog. Please feel free to reproduce this care sheet in part or in whole, just be sure to give credit to the source. Thanks!

HOUSING:
A metal or plastic cage (like those made for guinea pigs or ferrets) works great, or a 20 gallon or larger aquarium. Make sure that the cage gas at least 2 square feet of floor space, and that the cage bottom has no wire grates that little hedgehog feet can fall through and get hurt on. Clean the cage at least once a week, and odour won't be a problem. For more ideas on cages, have a peek here or read the cage reviews.



Provide a hiding place or cover for the hedgehog to hide under, so that it will be less nervous. Large "critter logs," a shoe box or Kleenex box with a side cut out, or a "hedgebag" (available from Hedgehog Valley) work well.

You will want to keep the housing in a warm area of the house. Hedgehogs are from a warm environment and need to stay warm, but not too hot (about 68F to 85F is usually a good range). Reptile heating pads can work well in the winter, but make sure that the pad is not under the entire cage so that if your hedgehog starts to overheat, it can move to a cooler spot.

Unless you are attempting to breed hedgehogs, keep males and females separate. If a female has babies while there are other hedgehogs in the cage, it is likely to cause her stress and either she or the other hedgehog are likely to eat the babies. Also, hedgehogs can get pregnant when they are as young as 8 weeks old, but this is not healthy for them. A female hedgehog should not be bred until she is at least 6 months old. For more thoughts about breeding, check here.

In the wild, hedgehogs are solitary animals. In captivity, some hedgehogs will accept (or even crave) the companionship of other hedgehogs, but don't necessarily assume this is the case. Hedgehogs can have lethal room-mate disputes, so if you decide to try to house two hedgehogs together, be sure to observe them closely (or at least be within earshot to separate them in case of fights) for at least the first 24 to 48 hours. Hedgehogs can emit a blood-curdling scream when upset or hurt, but they can also get into fairly quiet tussles, so be careful.

BEDDING:
Add a one to two inch layer of pine, aspen, ground corn cob, or other small animal bedding to your hedgehog's home. Don't use cedar because the aromatic oils can cause respiratory illness or death in hedgehogs (and many other small animals). There really is no such thing as a perfect hedgehog bedding, so you may want to experiment. Some folks report great results with Astroturf, which they remove to wash on a daily or every-other day basis, and plain newsprint has been used with satisfaction, too. A recent innovation is the use of pads made of vellux material, which also requires frequent washing.

TOYS:
Hedgehogs need lots of exercise, as they tend to become obese with inactivity. A large wheel (11" diameter or so) is recommended. Be sure that the running surface of the wheel is solid, so that the hedgie is not at risk for slipping and breaking legs.

Most hedgies are pretty curious and love toys they can push, chew, or manipulate. Some of the things ours have enjoyed include solid rubber balls, small toy cars, large plastic toy trucks, toilet paper tubes, and rawhide chews. I've even seen a hedgie spend half the night pulling a price tag off of a plastic flower pot bottom! Be creative, but always try to think safe.

DIET:
Diet is an area where there is still considerable controversy. We still don't know exactly what a hedgehog needs, but there have been preliminary studies at the Bronx Zoo. Information presented at the 1998 Go Hog Wild Hedgehog Show and Seminar indicated that hedgies need a diet that consists of good protein and is low in fat. A fibre content of approximately 15% (preferably from chitin, but hedgehogs can utilize fibre from plant sources, too) is optimal. It was found that at this time, no single food fully meets the optimal nutritional requirement for hedgehogs. Many of the hedgehog foods on the market do a pretty good job of meeting most of the needs, but a good quality commercial cat food didn't seem too much off the mark, either, according to the statistics given in the presentation.

The message I walked away with was that we should choose carefully so that our hedgies get a diet that has good quality proteins in it, is low in fat, and provides a good source of fibre. It was noted that hedgehogs require approximately 70 to 100 calories per day, but that they can eat many times this. So, if your hedgie appears to be getting fat on what you are feeding him or her, you may want to limit the quantity that you make available. Hints for helping out overweight hedgies can be found here.

I give my hedgies a diet that is mainly dog food, but offer treats as well, especially treats with fibre in them (rice, beans, baby foods, pasta, as well as meal worms and crickets). Mixing in baby oatmeal flakes is a great way to add fibre, too. My herd really likes Spike's Delite Hedgehog Food

So, what do I feed my hedgehog?
I have seen verifiable reports of individual (or groups) of hedgehogs fed a single cat food that have been diagnosed with nutritional problems. Based on these reports, IAMS cat food alone, Fred Meyer cat food alone, or Science Diet Lite alone do not appear to be good bets for your pet's diet. I'm a firm believer that a varied diet is as helpful for hedgehogs as it is for humans. Thus, my hedgies' mainstay is a mix of foods. Typically, our mix includes a large proportion of Nature's Recipe Puppy and Authority Adult Cat, with smaller amounts of other foods such as Eagle, Pedigree puppy, Spike's Delite, Maxx Nutrition, Purina One, and Eukanuba mixed in. We mix in baby food oatmeal flakes with the dry food, in order to increase the fibre content, and try to offer treats several times per week to increase variety.

HANDLING:
The more you handle your hedgehog, the more it will get used to you is a good rule of thumb to remember.

At first, your hedgehog may be scared. It may ball up or puff air and click its tongue to scare away any potential predator (you). Approach your hedgehog slowly and quietly to gain its trust. Pick up your hedgehog from underneath to avoid the quills. You shouldn't need gloves to pick it up, even if it is scared, since you can slide your fingers underneath to distribute the weight. If you are afraid of being pricked, then take a pair of gloves and get them smelling like you (tuck them under your pillow for a couple of nights, or put them in your shirt for a while) so the hedgie will associate your smell with being picked up.

The article at http://hedgehogvalley.com/hatesme is something I consider required reading for all prospective hedgehog owners.

HEDGEHOGS ON THE NET:
The Hedgehog World & Chins-n-Quills Bulletin Boards are my favourite resources on the net.

Try plugging the word "hedgehog" into any search engine and see what comes up!

Follow the links from this and other hedgehog websites, and have fun!

ONE LAST NOTE:
Don't be surprised if your hedgie starts shedding a lot of quills when he or she is between about 8 and 12 weeks of age. This is a normal process, and is known as "quilling." The hedgehog is simply shedding baby spines and you should be able to see new adults spines pushing through the skin. To be on the safe side, though, you may want to check for mites or fleas. Signs of mites include crustiness around the quills and seriously dry looking skin. Fleas can be treated effectively with Frontline spray on and several options are also available by prescription for treating mites. Ask your vet for more information. When adolescent hedgies are "quilling" they may be somewhat grumpy, but should return to normal temperament once the quills are in.

This care sheet was written by Antigone M. Means-Burleson of Hedgehog Valley