What is the scientific name of the African Pygmy hedgehog?
Atelerix albiventris
How many toes do A. Albiventris have?
5 toes on front feet, 4 toes in back
(So 18)
This is why they are also known as the 4 toed hedgehog
How many mammary glands do APH have?
They typically have two pairs of pectoral mammae and may have an additional odd number of mammae on the abdomen.
What colors can hedgehogs see?
Their retina contains only rods suggesting that they lack color vision. However, one researcher found that some rods contain cone-type nuclei and he was able to train hedgehogs to discriminate between certain colors. With good lighting, they may be able to discriminate yellow from shades of gray and blue.
What is notable about the trainability of APH?
They are extremely hard to train. In one study, an attempt to train hedgehogs to associate a food reward with an odor resulted in three hedgehogs that required 1500–2000 trials to learn the task (even then they behaved unreliably) and one hedgehog that never learned even after 4000 trials!
What function does the Jacobson’s organ serve in APH?
Unknown. The Jacobson’s organ is involved in the hedgehogs’ unique behavior of “self-anointing,” but little is known of its actual function in the hedgehog.
Do APH have pheromones?
Unknown, but none identified yet
Are hedgehogs more sensitive to higher or lower frequency sounds?
Higher frequency sounds
When do European hedgehogs quack?
The quack has been heard when two hedgehogs meet and once when one was being lifted and returned to its box. It has also been reported to occur occasionally during courtship.
When does an APH serenade?
During courtship. It has been described as varying from a whistle to a coarse squawk. Females responded typically, with hisses, snorts, and evasive maneuvers. In virtually all incidents where adult males were placed with females the serenade was heard. It was never heard to be produced by a female, or a male in the absence of a female or situations other than courtship behavior. It was always reliably produced after the male sniffed the female hindquarters and discontinued when the females trail was lost or courtship ceased.
What flavors do APH prefer?
Sucrose is highly preferred except at the highest concentrations. They show less of a preference for saccharin and have a surprisingly high tolerance of and a slight preference for sodium chloride.
What is the natural diet of APH?
The studies that have been done reveal that their diet is also quite varied and may consist of snails, centipedes, insects, some small vertebrates such as snakes, lizards, and frogs, beetles, ants, termites, grasshoppers, moths, earthworms, slugs, small rodents, eggs and chicks of ground nesting birds, crabs, vegetables, fruit, and fungi.
What should a captive APH diet look like?
African hedgehogs have thrived and reproduced on a variety of different diets in captivity, including, a mixture of ground beef, canned ZuPreem, milk, hard boiled eggs, pureed beef, and vegetable baby foods, apples and ripe bananas without peel; a mixture of commercial cat food, supplemented with small mice, crickets, and mealworms; and a mixture of commercial dry dog or cat chow, commercial cooked meat mixture (Bird of Prey Diet), a small amount of fruit and vegetables, crickets, and mealworms.
What dietary enzyme do APH have that helps them digest insects?
Chitinases
When does an APH self anoint?
Self-anointing is a behavior unique to the spiny hedgehogs and has been observed in several species. The behavior is usually elicited when the animal encounters a substance with a strong smell, taste, or both. When encountering the stimulating object, the hedgehog sniffs, licks, and chews the material until it works up a frothy saliva. It then stretches its head and bends its body so as to be able to apply the foamy saliva to its spines. This can continue for quite some time as the hedgehog applies the saliva to both sides of its body and even stretches its back legs forward so it can apply the saliva to the posterior spines as well. While self-anointing, the hedgehog may seem highly absorbed in the behavior and difficult to distract. Many substances have been observed to elicit self-anointing including: toad skin, tobacco, perfumes and cosmetics, varnish, glue, leather and polish, wool, nylon, fish, egg, coffee, cream, a variety of different plants, dog urine and feces, and even other hedgehogs, to name a few. The substance may be one that is consumed, such as fish, slugs, or worms. It does not necessarily have to be novel.
Why do APH self anoint?
No one knows. There is evidence that the foamy saliva comes into contact with the oral openings of the nasopalatine ducts leading to the Jacobson’s organ. Anointed spines do provide an extremely large surface area, making them an excellent means of dispersing odor. These facts support the explanation that the act of self-anointing most likely serves as some form of personal scent marking. Potentially it could play a role in many different socio/sexual behaviors. It may convey information during sexual encounters that serve to make one mate more acceptable to the other. It may help to leave odor trails around a home range so that hedgehogs may avoid each other. It might also support interactions between a mother and her young. An anointed, separated, nestling may be more likely to be found by its mother and returned to the nest.
Dropping below what temperature can lead to torpor in APH?
A) 75f
B) 70f
C) 65f
C) 65f
When do APH reach sexual maturity?
between 61 and 68 days in both males and females.
What is the breeding season of APH?
African hedgehogs appear to be sexually active throughout the year. More recently, it has been suggested that, similar to other insectivores, A. albiventris appears to be an induced ovulator.
Do male hedgehogs participate in rearing offspring?
No - and they may eat offspring
How long after parturition should APH breeders wait before investigating the nest?
At least 7 days. Many captive female hedgehogs will cannibalize their entire litter if disturbed during or shortly after parturition. In captivity, the mortality rates of captive born hedgehogs may be as high as 25%. Mortality rates of newborns in the wild are not that much better: it has been calculated that 20% of wild-born hedgehogs may die before weaning.
What is the gestation length for APH?
The gestation period of most hedgehog species ranges from 28 to 40 days (average 35 days in E. europaeus and A. albiventris).
How old are hedgehogs when they achieve the ability to curl up?
24 hrs old partial, 2-3 weeks fully
When do hedgehogs develop their spines?
24 hrs after birth
-
Myomorph Rodents474
-
Mini Pigs53
-
Rabbit/Rodent Dental Disease189
-
Ferrets481
-
Rabbits450
-
Guinea Pigs255
-
Chinchillas113
-
Sciuridae26
-
Hedgehogs107
-
Sugar Glider28
-
Pharmacology7
-
Myomorph Rodents #2303
-
Surgery29
-
Clinical Pathology196
-
General Knowledge31
-
Canadian Vet Journal Articles31
-
Veterinary Surgery Articles36
-
Veterinary AnesthesiaAnalgesia37
-
J Exotic Pet Med243
-
VetRecord Case Reports45
-
Veterinary Ophthalmology16
-
JAVMA78
-
VCNA Exotics495
-
AJVR14
-
J Vet Dx Investigation32
-
Cardiology6
-
J Small Animal Practice32
-
Vet Dermatology2
-
J Lab Animal Science11
-
Vet Radiol Ultrasound22
-
VCNA Exotics 288
