What Do Hedgehogs Eat? Hedgehogs are small mammals with a unique morphology especially when considering their back hair is made up of sharp spines. These tiny creatures are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Hedgehogs are primarily carnivorous. They eat a diet that comprises of small snakes, insects, mice, slugs, snails, worms, and frogs. Other hedgehog species are omnivorous, which means that in addition to consuming proteins obtained from meat, they also eat plant materials.
Table of Contents
What Do Hedgehogs Eat?
| African Pygmy Hedgehog | Plant matter, insects, spiders, and small vertebrates |
| Southern White-breasted Hedgehog | Beetles and earthworms |
| Long-eared Hedgehog | Small invertebrates, small vertebrates, insects, fruits, and vegetables |
| Daurian Hedgehog | Insects |
| Desert Hedgehog | Small invertebrates, frogs, scorpions, eggs, snakes, and insects. |
Hedgehog Diets By Types
Biologists have identified 24 hedgehog species so far. These species are further grouped into 5 genera. Examples under each of the 5 genera will be used to understand the different types of hedgehogs and their eating habits in various habitats.
What Do African Pygmy Hedgehogs Eat?
| Animalia | Erinaceomorpha | Erinaceidae | Atelerix | Atelerix albiventris |
This type of hedgehog has a very short tail and short limbs and is very low to the ground. Its habitat is mainly in desert regions or areas with scrub forests.
What Do Southern White-breasted Hedgehogs Eat?
| Animalia | Erinaceomorpha | Erinaceidae | Erinaceus | Erinaceus concolor |
This type of hedgehog resides in shrublands, temperate or dry forests, and terrestrial lands, while others live in urban areas.
What Do Long-eared Hedgehogs Eat?
| Animalia | Erinaceomorpha | Erinaceidae | Hemiechinus | Hemiechinus auritus |
This hedgehog species is found in the Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries and Egypt. As its name suggests, its long ears can distinguish this hedgehog species. Its habitat constitutes steppe and desert areas.
What Do Daurian hedgehogs Eat?
| Animalia | Erinaceomorpha | Erinaceidae | Mesechinus | Mesechinus dauuricus |
Minimal information is available on this hedgehog species. This hedgehog species inhabit the steppe, grasslands, and forest steppe.
What Do Desert Hedgehogs Eat?
| Animalia | Erinaceomorpha | Erinaceidae | Paraechinus | Paraechinus aethiopicus |
This is species is also referred to as the Ethiopian Hedgehog. The interesting fact about the desert hedgehog is that it has thrived in population since human habitation. As its name suggests, the desert hedgehog is found in arid desert regions, savannahs, grasslands, inland wetlands, and shrublands.
How Do Hedgehogs Hunt?
Hedgehogs have strong smelling and hearing senses which are instrumental during their hunting process.
- Their long snouts come in handy during foraging. Hedgehogs use their snouts to look through hedges and other vegetation in search of small organisms (e.g., mice, frogs, snakes, insects, worms, and centipedes) which form a significant portion of their diet.
- While they do so, they let out hogging sounds. They then attack their prey and proceed to consume it.
When Do Hedgehogs Eat?
Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal. This means that they tend to be active at night. This further implies they will hunt for food, eat at night, and then rest during the day.
How often do Hedgehogs Eat?
In the wild, hedgehogs can fill their stomachs twice in a nightโs feeding.
What Eats Hedgehogs?
Hedgehogs have a coat of sharp spines on their backs and sides, which tends to deter possible predators. Other animals, on the contrary, do not shy away from having hedgehogs as their meal, and these include foxes, weasels, and large birds. Other hedgehog predators include humans, ferrets, badgers, snakes, and fellow hedgehogs.
Where Do Hedgehogs Fit In The Animal Food Chain?
Hedgehogs are considered good indicators of the nutritional status of the natural world. Hedgehogs feed on the invertebrates found in the soil. In so doing, they maintain a balance in the population of the soil invertebrates.
- A reduction in the number of hedgehogs, or their extinction, would mean the quality of the environment would be negatively affected, especially with the onset of overpopulation of the lower-level organisms.
- Hedgehogs are also vital to the animal food chain because they provide food to some animals in the ecosystem, such as humans, large birds, foxes, rats, dogs, stoats, and weasels.
Cite This Page
Key References
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- โITIS Standard Report Page: Erinaceomorphaโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โHome โ Hedgehog Streetโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โADW: Atelerix albiventris: INFORMATIONโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โIUCN Red List of Threatened Speciesโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โ(PDF) Ecology of the Daurian Hedgehog (Hemiechinus dauuricus) in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia: Preliminary Findings | Buyandelger Suuri โ Academia.eduโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โIUCN Red List of Threatened Speciesโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โHedgehog | National Geographicโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โHedgehog Factsโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โFeeding of Casualty Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) (Techniques)โ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โHedgehog | African Wildlife Foundationโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โBBC โ Earth โ Living in harmony with hedgehogsโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โFile:(Erinaceus concolor).jpg โ Wikipediaโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โAnimal Diversity Web | Flickrโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
- โFile:Pet Paraechinus aethiopicus (Desert Hedgehog) from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, at lunchtime 10.jpg โ Wikimedia Commonsโ. Accessed June 23, 2019. Link.
