What does a hedgehog eat? Discover the secret

Cute prickly ball ... Invariably a positive hero of numerous children's fairy tales and cartoons. Recently, the townspeople more and more often produce this animal as a pet. And do you know that he eats a hedgehog, how should he take care of him, and in general, what to do, so that even in captivity the animal is comfortable, calm and happy?

Let's try to talk about this in more detail.

What does a hedgehog eat? General information about the representative of this class Having discovered any encyclopedia, you can find out that the hedgehog is considered to be a mammal of the same name with the same family of hedgehogs. It is common in many parts of the world, from Europe to Asia Minor, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Eastern China. The length of the animal's body is on average 25 cm, the tail is very short - 3 cm, an elongated muzzle with a sharp and constantly moist nose. Body weight rarely exceeds 800 grams.

It is generally believed that the hedgehog is covered from the legs to the head with spines, the length of which, by the way, does not exceed 3 cm. This is not quite so. The fact is that if you look closely, you can see that the head and abdomen of the animal, on the contrary, are covered with thick and stiff brown wool.

Hollow inside needles grow at the same speed as wool, and in adult individuals their number reaches an impressive figure of 5-6 thousand.

What does the hedgehog really eat ?

Probably, I will surprise many, if I say that hedgehogs never eat fruit. Absolutely. Not a gram. They are predators, which means that in nature hedgehogs eat mice, snakes and various insects.

Then why are all these apples on needles? Is it just a masterful move in advertising juice? This is not quite true. These mammals do puncture the sour fruit, but not at all in order to, as is commonly believed, take them home and eat.

According to scientific data, the body of this animal originally, literally from birth, is infected with a huge number of parasites, from which it tries to get rid of with apple or any other fruit acid. Jerzy, who chose parks and city squares for their habitat, often do the same, but not with apples, pears or plums, but with cigarette butts. Waking up tobacco kills subcutaneous ticks mite.

Now you yourself understand that the hedgehog is eating a snake, a beetle, a butterfly or a lizard, and in no way that we are accustomed to seeing in the rollers about juice or fruit.

By the way, after winter hibernation the animal wakes up very thin and fairly starved, so the first few days can search for food for days on end.

What does a hedgehog eat? The most interesting information about the mammal

• Think about when you most often met hedgehogs. That's right, in the twilight or late evening. And this is not surprising, the animal is not at all afraid of meeting a person, as many believe, it simply by itself leads a nightlife.
• The animal can be considered an owner in the universal interpretation of the word. He seldom moves away from his house, and alienates them altogether with a kind of grumbling.
• In the usual situation the hedgehogs communicate with each other by whistling.
• After a 49-day pregnancy, babies weighing only 12 grams each appear. They are absolutely naked, blind and helpless.
• Water for this family is disastrous, therefore it is strictly forbidden to bathe mammals who settled in the house as pets. In the wild they prefer to hide even from a slight rain and never settle near swamps and other water bodies.
• Playing, little hedgehogs usually "butt".
• Sticking in the fall on the needles of foliage, the animal prepares for winter hibernation and tries to keep warm in all possible ways.