African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) — species profile (taxonomy, geographic range, habitat, physical description, behavior, wild diet, reproduction, lifespan)
Authoritative first-hand species account (Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan). All bullet facts are verbatim from the cited source and C1-substring verified.
Geographic Range
- The African pygmy hedgehog ranges in southern Africa from Senegal to Sudan and Zambia.
Physical Description
- A relaxed Atelerix albiventris>>has a generally oval shape.
- The limbs are short and the animal's round body is low to the ground.
- The African Pygmy Hedgehog has a very short tail.
- When threatened, the animal has the ability to contract a series of muscles, rolling itself into a compact ball shape, forcing its quills out in all directions.
Behavior
- The African pygmy hedgehog is a solitary animal.
- As a nocturnal creature, it constantly moves, covering up to several miles in one night.
- Although they are not territorial, individuals do keep distance from other African pygmy hedgehogs.
- For instance, males typically keep at least 60 feet between one another.
- There are a number of unique behaviors present in this species.
Food Habits (Wild Diet)
- Atelerix albiventris is omnivorous butprimarily insectivorous.
- It feeds primarily on invertebrates such as spiders and insects, occasionally also consuming smalll amounts of plant matter or small vertebrates.
- African pygmy hedgehogs are opportunistic feeders with an extremely high tolerance to toxins.
- They have been known to eat scorpions and small poisonous snakes with no ill effects.
- (Kelsey-Wood 1995, MacNamara 1998)
Reproduction
- Atelerix albiventris generally breeds once or twice a year.
- As spontaneous ovulators and primarily solitary animals, this species mates when the conditions are right and they encounter the opposite sex.
- They typically mate in rainy, warm seasons, when food is plentiful, usually between October and March in southern Africa.
- Gestation lasts 35 days.
Conservation Status
- In addition to the wild animals found in African deserts, a closed breeding stock exists in the United States to service the pet trade market.
- It is no longer legal to transport the animals out of Africa, so their populations there are not threatened by the pet trade.
- ( http://www.lpzoo.com/animals/mammals/facts/hedgehog.html ) IUCN Red List Least Concern More information Other Comments African pygmy hedgehogs live approximately 2-3 years in the wild.
Lifespan
- Average lifespan Status: captivity 11.4 years