Walking through the forest, you can often come across a small gray animal that quietly runs about its business, pressing the thorns to its body. This is our old friend - an ordinary hedgehog. It's easy to catch it, the animal relies too much on its needles and does not resist, except that it snorts.
Don't take your hedgehog with you
It's so tempting to catch a hedgehog and take it home. And if you have children with you, they will definitely persuade you, and the poor animal, leaving its familiar forest, will go to a city apartment, which is not at all suitable for his living.
Before deciding on such a serious step, one must remember: an animal, whether domesticated or wild, is not a toy. A person bears full responsibility for it, and must provide living conditions close to natural.
The hedgehog is not a cat, he will feel bad in the apartment. This animal is nocturnal, so, having got a hedgehog, be prepared that its activity will begin when you are going to sleep. He will walk, stomp his paws, rustle in corners, climb on a hill, fall from them.
Hedgehogs are carriers of a number of serious diseases - lentospirosis, salmonellosis and the most dangerous - rabies. In addition, fleas and ticks are always present on hedgehogs. They hide between the needles, and the animal has no way to get rid of them. Once in a warm apartment, fleas will willingly change their owner.
So you need to think carefully before inviting such an uncomfortable guest into your house, from whom, by the way, there is no pleasure - he does not jump on your lap, does not purr, does not dance on his hind legs, does not bring a ball in his teeth.
Hedgehog at home
But there are times when you need to take a hedgehog home. For example, if the animal is injured or in adverse conditions. Then, of course, you need to come to the rescue.
How to arrange a hedgehog
At home, you need a hedgehog to determine the shelter. It is best if it is a box with rather high walls. So that the animal does not climb over them, you need to make the rims. From time to time, the animal needs to be released to run and warm up. In nature, hedgehogs move a lot in search of food, so the animal will feel the need to move.
What to feed a hedgehog
In the wild, the hedgehog's diet is very diverse. He eats many insects, some of which are even poisonous. Frogs, toads, bird eggs found on the ground, chicks, large caterpillars, slugs, earthworms - these are the approximate food preferences of a thorny animal. He rarely eats mice, they are not so easy for him to catch. Also, the hedgehog sometimes eats berries and fruits.
If you keep a hedgehog at home, you can feed him raw and boiled meat, chicken, give cottage cheese with a raw egg, grated carrots. Ideally, newborn (naked) mice, mealworms should be included in the daily menu of the hedgehog. The hedgehog and the May beetle willingly snaps. But milk should not be given to a hedgehog. He, of course, will drink it, but then there will be problems with digestion. For the same reason, it is not necessary to treat all the hedgehogs encountered with milk.
Let him go home
When your pet is well, it is best to let him go where you found him. True, in this case it is necessary to take into account the condition of the animal, the season, the nature of the area and how long the pet has stayed with you. If it takes too long, then he can no longer be released - he has lost his natural skills. In this case, it is better to donate it to someone who has a garden plot. There and settle the hedgehog. By the way, a hedgehog is the first assistant for a garden-garden; in a day he destroys a lot of slugs and caterpillars.
