Description
Scientific Name: Atelerix sclateri
Lifespan: 4 – 7 years
The animal species known as the Somali hedgehog (Atelerix sclateri) belongs to the Erinaceidae family. Somali people have weak eyesight and big, beady eyes. They depend on their improved senses of smell and hearing to find food and avoid dangerous species. Their faces are white, with darker masks around their eyes and snouts that resemble those of raccoons. Although breeders occasionally provide more uncommon hues like cinnamon, chocolate, apricot, and brown, hedgehog pets typically come in salt and pepper or salt and pepper. Price-wise, unusual-colored hedgehogs are often more expensive than salt-and-pepper species.
Habitat
The Somali hedgehog is indigenous to regions near Somalia and Somaliland’s borders. A savanna species is thought to spend the majority of its time in grasslands and other open environments.
Behavior
Hedgehogs from Somalia are not social creatures. They prefer to hunt by themselves in the dark, and they are constantly on the lookout for predators. Hedgehogs generally avoid each other, but if they are foraging in the same location when food is scarce, they may fight. The grunting noises the animal makes while it digs beneath hedges in search of roots are where the name of the animal originates. The creature’s ritualistic self-anointing is among its most distinctive behaviors. Somalis produce foamy saliva that they wipe all over their fur when they smell anything fresh. Although the purpose of the practice is unknown, some experts have hypothesized that it serves as a stress reliever.
As Pet
Tank
If you use a 30-gallon tank, your pet will have more than enough space to live comfortably, but try to avoid getting an enclosure that holds less than 20 gallons. To keep the animal from escaping, the tank’s walls must be at least 4 feet high and at least 2 feet wide. Hedgehogs should not be kept in any small pet aquariums that have wire floors since the animals could get their foot tangled in the mesh. Hedgehog pets do best in tanks with a plastic bottom. To be healthy, they require an exercise wheel in the tank, but try to steer away from wire hamster wheels because they can harm the animals’ feet.
Temperature and Lighting
Hedgehogs from Somalia live in the desert and cannot withstand cold or chills. Hedgehog habitats should be kept at a temperature of between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Hedgehogs cannot be kept in a tank with a heating lamp, in contrast to reptiles and other small animals. The light can disrupt hedgehogs’ nighttime activity that heating lights emit. The tank can be heated with a heating pad made for small animals, and some pet owners use a ceramic heat emitter that doesn’t emit light. However, if the tank’s bottom is composed of plastic, a ceramic heat emitter cannot be employed. The heat may cause the plastic to deform or melt, whereas a metal floor is appropriate for an emitter.
Feeding
Hedgehogs mostly consume insects, roots, eggs, and tiny reptiles in their natural habitat in Eastern Africa. Pet owners had few options for food when hedgehogs were initially imported as domestic pets in the early 1990s. You may now buy dried food made especially for hedgehogs. To simulate the diet of the animal in the wild, the majority of brands include some type of dried insect components in their recipes.
Although live insects and tiny bits of fruit like berries or apple pieces can be added to hedgehog diet, it is a nutritious, major source of food for a pet. Mealworms and crickets make great treats for hedgehogs, but if you give them insects too frequently, they could have difficulties finishing their commercial diet.
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