The “Prickly Hemisphere” meanders through forest paths and village gardens. Sometimes it peeks into human dwellings for a glimpse! And each encounter is bound to cause emotion, but you shouldn't get mesmerized, informs Ukr.Media.
Believe me, behind the charming facade hides a calculating mind and a pragmatic hunter. Catching a hedgehog and settling it in the house is as pointless as raising a crocodile in the bathroom. Too many risks!
And I'm bringing you a bouquet!
It is not for nothing that many scientists call the hedgehog a “sponge for ectoparasites”. Under the needle-like “blanket” there are many surprises. Having mentally pulled the blanket, we find ourselves in a scientific laboratory for the creation of pathogenic species. All pests are comfortable in the depths of the “pine forest”. The epidermis of the hedgehog is literally strewn with pathogens of a wide variety of infections: brucellosis, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis. As a bonus, ringworm.
How do they measure the number of ticks in the forest? They release a completely clean hedgehog into a certain area, then return it and examine it for pest activity. Its needles, like a brush, collect everything that is on them from the grass and bushes! Counting the number of acquired bloodsuckers shows the level of danger of an outbreak of encephalitis!
Still want to hold a hedgehog in your arms? Then remember rabies. Hedgehogs are one of the most active spreaders of this incurable disease.
Bread and salt table
Let's say you realize that you shouldn't pick up a strange hedgehog. But the guest actively sniffs the cat's bowl, and somehow, in a human way, you feel sorry for the little animal. Good old fairy tales come to the rescue again, in which it is written in black and white: he collects apples and drinks milk. Who first came up with this diversion, we will never know, but the myth has become popular!
The hedgehog's food preferences (as it is fashionable to say now) include worms, beetles and grasshoppers. It happily eats slugs, snails, caterpillars, May beetles and even rodents, whose nests it ruthlessly destroys.
Sometimes a vole will drop by for dinner, and sometimes a viper (the hedgehog has long developed immunity to many poisons, including snake venom, arsenic, and hydrocyanic acid). The impressive hedgehog phenomenon is explained by the presence of a special protein in its blood – erinacin. It neutralizes the effects of the most complex neurotoxins, making the hedgehog invulnerable where others seem to be.
Yes, the stomach is used to breaking down protein. But the body of an adult hedgehog, like many other mammals, with age ceases to produce the enzyme lactase, which is necessary for breaking down milk sugar. A hedgehog can drink a cow's milk! Especially since it is greedy for bright smells. But having moved away from the bowl, the hedgehog will not go far. Weakened by bloating and dehydration, it will be unable to escape quickly or curl up effectively into a ball. Which means it will become easy prey for the same fox and owl!
Hedgehogs will not refuse offal: chicken liver, hearts, stomachs. Give the meat raw, after steaming it with boiling water. Unsalted fish is also suitable. Occasionally vegetables: carrots, asparagus, zucchini, bell peppers, cucumbers. Some berries and fruits: apricots, melons, pears and apples, strawberries, strawberries or cranberries. But cereals, bread and fried potatoes are frankly poorly digested. You should definitely not give almonds, avocados, grapes, raisins and citrus fruits – they are toxic to hedgehogs.
It is important to remember that feeding should not replace a hedgehog's usual diet. Regular feedings will wean the animal from hunting on its own… And for a moment, it will still need to stock up on fat for hibernation!
Help financially
If a hedgehog has come to your garden, don't bother him! He is your best helper in the fight against pests. Let him thin out the pests. Having eaten, the hedgehog goes about his business. If you have just dropped the sprayer, it is better to remove the hedgehog away from the insecticides.
For safe contact, wear thick rubber gloves. Garden gloves will do. If you don't have them on hand, any coarse cloth will do, with which you can lift the finder without damaging your hands. Take the hedgehog a decent distance away and release it.
A hedgehog is familiar with all the rules of life in the forest, but he was not given any instructions on apartment maintenance. In a home environment, a step is an enemy, and a toilet is an enslaver. Therefore, dragging a hedgehog into an apartment makes no sense. The only exception: you have a kind heart and you have found a wounded animal. Such a hedgehog should be carefully placed in a box and immediately shown to a veterinarian specializing in wild animals.
Self-medication is just as dangerous here as it is in the case of a person. By the way, a recovered patient walks in English, and you should not try to keep him. Respect nature, our mother!
