Do you know what do hedgehogs eat? Not many people are aware of the hedgehogs diet. This article displays some of the essential hedgehogs diet facts that are rarely known. A hedgehog belongs to the subfamily of Erinaceinae and is a spiny mammal. These animals are known to reside across Africa, Asia, New Zealand, and Europe. At times, these animals are too noisy and they don’t hide themselves when in danger, they use spines to defend instead. Whenever it rolls itself into a little ball, it indicates a sheer disturbance on its part. The muscles of the hedgehog’s body are too much flexible and they contract while the body is rolling.
What Do Hedgehogs Eat
Until recently, hedgehog was considered primarily to be insectivores however, scientists are now seemingly certain that the mammal is also omnivorous. These species predominantly feed on frogs, toads, insects, snails, bird eggs, grass roots, berries, melons, snakes, watermelons, leaves, carrion, worms, lizards, mice, fungi, mushrooms, and stems. North American hedgehog is smaller in size in comparison to the European hedgehog. In the United States, keeping hedgehog as pets is illegal without seeking legal permission or acquiring license to it.
In quite a few areas of New Zealand and Scotland, these mammals have been introduced and later on turned out to be pest. Due to the introduction of these species, many other creatures have been disappeared such as lizards, snails, ground-nesting birds, shore birds, and insects. Hedgehogs have no significant natural predators. These mammals are particularly renowned for exterminating more insects than any other animal on earth. Scientists have realized that hedgehogs have become threats to native insects in places where they’ve been familiarized. For the same reason, organizations are making attempts to reduce the hedgehog population from the colonies where the native species are in danger. Back in 2003, almost 700 hedgehogs were killed in the Scottish Islands of Benbecula and North Uist. In the captivity, these mammals are fed with plants and animal mixture. Some fruits are also fed to the hedgehogs to meet their nutritional needs.
Could I feed my hedgehog ground deer?