Can Hedgehogs Truly Be Domesticated?
When the majority think about hedgehogs, they don’t think of trained pets. Instead, they picture wild animals, hunting in the woodsor in the trash. The good news is that there are breeds of hedgehogs that are smaller than the hedgehogs that you see in natural settings, and they are not only domesticated, they actually could not survive in natural habitats.
The most hedgehog is the African hedgehog, often referred to as the African Midget Hedgehog, even though he’s not essentially a pygmy breed. The African Midget Hedgehog is actually a hybrid of different breeds of hedgehogs, most usually the Algerian Hedgehog and the White-Bellied Hedgehog. This makes the African Pygmy much smaller than all other breeds of hedgehogs.
These kinds of hedgehogs have been trained since the 1980s. Because they’ve not been tamed for an extremely long time period, many folks do not even understand that there is a domestic type of hedgehogs. Similarly , those that do notice that there is a domestic type of hedgehogs fail to understand that while this reproduce could not survive in natural habitats, they still possess lots of the behavior and marks the wild hedgehogs have, because it is inherited, and it has not been bred out of themnot that we would like to do that.
While there are numerous likenesses, for example the will to hide and the ability to roll into a ball and stick their quills up for protection, between wild hedgehogs and trained hedgehogs, there are also many differences now. As an example, wild hedgehogs do hibernate, while tamed hedgehogs must elude hibernation, simply because they cannot survive it.
Instead, a tamed hedgehog must reside in temperatures between 72 and 85 degrees. Wild hedgehogs survive by feeding on insects and plant life. Tamed hedgehogs still have the same diet needs, but do quite well on top quality cat food, with additions of canned worms acquired at local pet stores. Trained hedgehogs also enjoy fruit, plants, and cooked meats.
Wild hedgehogs don’t enjoy the company of people, and are really scared of them. Tamed hedgehogs are handled from birth, and actually enjoy human company. In fact, one could go so far as to say that trained hedgehogs require human company, since they’re not bred to survive in the wild.
Hedgehogs make the list of exotic pets today, although in some states, it is not legal to have a hedgehog. In other states, it is legal to have one, but not legal to sell them. In most states, you can own and sell hedgehogs. Having said having said that, however, a hedgehog breeder is required to register with the USDA.
Pet InsuranceTagged with: African hedgehog • Domesticated hedgehogs • Taming your hedgehog
Filed under: Hedghogs
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