African Pygmy Hedgehog
Also known as
“Four-toed Hedgehog
LONGEVITY – 2-3 years; 8-10 in captivity
RANGE – southern Africa; from Senegal to Sudan and Zambia
HABITAT – desert; many live in holes in ground, termite holes, among rocks or
heaps of stones, thick bush, and around buildings.
DIET – omnivorous, but primarily insectivorous; insects, spiders, earthworms,
eggs, some plant matter, small vertebrates; opportunistic; extremely high
tolerance to toxins—40x as resistant to venom as a same-sized guinea pig (can eat
scorpions, wasps, and venomous snakes); consume about 1/3 of their body weight
per night.
REPRODUCTION – breed once or twice/year; 1-7 babies; born with skin swollen
tight with water, spines present but covered with a membrane—protects female
during birthing; membrane dries in a few hours and spines protrude to 3 mm
shortly thereafter; excess water is lost and spines protrude to 6mm within 24
hours; weaned from 3rd-6th week, then leave their mother shortly after.
-OVERADAPTATION – solitary; nocturnal; constantly moves, can cover several miles in
one night. Self-anoints: when it discovers a unique taste or odor it creates a
frothy saliva and spreads it over all its spines (reason is unknown; may be related
to reproduction or self-defense). Undergoes summer estivation and winter
hibernation to survive temperature extremes. A circular “drawstring” muscle
constricts to cause the ~16,000 spines to stick up; may curl up, pulling spines
around face, feet & belly; chuffs & jerks to drive spines into predator; raised
spines are longer than viper’s fangs-can’t bite into the skin. Excellent sense of
hearing & smell – can locate prey 2 inches or more underground. Predators: large
owls, raptors with protected feet and long talons to get beyond the spines,
jackals, hyenas, badgers, ferrets, etc. Can be plagued by parasites (fleas, ticks
and mites) that burrow into the skin causing lethal infections and ulcers.
CONSERVATION – It’s important to native ecosystem for its role in pest & vermin
control. No longer legal to collect in wild or to transport them out of Africa;
protects from pet trade. U.S. has a legal “closed’ breeding stock for its pet trade.
HUMAN USE – Gypsies are reported to have eaten European hedgehogs; wrapped
them in wet clay and roasting over a fire—the spines pull off with the dried clay.
Romans used the spiny skin to buff woolen materials, scrub floors and comb flax.