We always have a few hedgehogs at Animal Tracks. They are pygmy hedgehogs which mean they come from Africa originally. Now they are victim of the pet trade in the United States and other Countries where they are bought as pets. They are nocturnal they do not particularly like human contact. They are covered in 5000 spines and they smell a little. They are better in Africa than as pets in our homes. We get calls from animal shelters when people turn them in or they relinquish them to us directly. Here they are spoiled and loved. They can be as nocturnal as they’d like to be. They are fed the best diet, they are socialized and exercised. If you have someone in your life that loves hedgehogs, come here together for an education session rather than buying one as a pet.
ORDER: Eulipotyphla
FAMILY: Erinaceidae
GENUS: Atelerix
SPECIES: Algirus
African hedgehogs are solitary and nocturnal creatures. They feed at night and may cover up to 8 km (5 miles) distance in a night These small animals have many predators and when feeling threatened they roll into a spiny ball making their quills point in all different directions; this way they hope to deter predators. Hedgehogs sometimes perform a ritual called anointing. When the animal encounters a new scent, it will lick and bite the source, then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue. The purpose of this habit is unknown, but some experts believe anointing camouflages the hedgehog with the new scent of the area and provides a possible poison or source of infection to predators poked by their spines. When they need to communicate with each other, North African hedgehogs make hisses or snorts.
Threats
North African hedgehogs are not threatened at present, but they suffer from habitat loss and road mortality.
Conservation Status
LC - Least Concern