What are the methods for keeping hedgehogs in captivity?

Although the hedgehog is a wild animal, it is easy to raise and keep in captivity, with low costs and high returns. Hedgehog meat is delicious, and its skin is a valuable medicinal material. Therefore, farming hedgehogs is also a good way to make a fortune. The techniques for efficient captive breeding of hedgehogs are introduced below:

1. Living habits. Hedgehogs are timid and easily startled, prefer quiet over noise, and prefer darkness over light. They move slowly and are generally nocturnal. They eat very little, are not picky about food, and are not prone to illness.

2. Enclosure construction. The enclosure should be built in a secluded place, such as on one side of the yard or against a wall. First, use bricks to build a small plot with a wall about 1 m high. Then build a small house of 5-10 sq m within the plot; the roof and surrounding walls of the house must be tight and not leak rain. Spread some soft dry grass, leaves, and so on inside the house for hedgehogs to make nests. In the other open areas of the plot outside the house, pile up some mounds of soil, rubble, bricks, and so on, or build a small rockery, for hedgehogs to move around, search for food, and rest. The area of the plot and house depends on the number of hedgehogs.

3. Feeding management. Hedgehogs are omnivorous animals with very strong adaptability. Insects, rodents, aquatic products, snakes, frogs, and many other small animals, as well as various livestock and poultry meats and internal organs, are all foods they like to eat. Their plant-based feeds include corn, dried melon slices, bran, and so on. These feeds can be given alone or in combinations of several kinds. A little table salt should be added when feeding, and it is enough to put out feed once every evening for them to come out and eat at night. Generally, each small hedgehog is given about 25 g of feed per day, each medium hedgehog about 50 g per day, and each large hedgehog about 100 g per day.

4. Mating and reproduction. Hedgehogs generally reproduce by natural mating between male and female. During estrus, the female hedgehog crawls back and forth and has secretions from the genital area. Pregnancy lasts 60 days before giving birth. Each litter has about 5 young, and at most up to 8-10. The survival rate of young hedgehogs is extremely high, almost 100%. Moreover, they are not prone to illness and have especially strong vitality. A newborn hedgehog weighs about 15 g. At 15 days after birth, they open their eyes; at 25 days, they grow teeth and can walk; at about 35 days, they can eat food. Their lactation period is 60 days. At about 100 days, a young hedgehog can weigh about 350 g. This period is the fastest stage of development, so careful feeding and management are required.

5. Skinning and selling. Peel off the skin, dry it, and sell it directly to the local pharmaceutical purchasing department.