Breeding techniques of breeding hedgehog

The hedgehog reached sexual maturity at the age of 11-12 months after birth, and the reproductive peak was at the age of 2-4 years old. Hedgehogs reproduce once or twice a year, each giving birth to 3 litters, some as many as 8 litters.

1. Estrus and mating

The breeding season for hedgehogs is from March to May every year, so hedgehogs that are strong but not too fat should be selected for breeding. Male and female can be identified according to the distance between the reproductive foramen and the anus. Generally, the male reproductive foramen is farther from the anus and the female is closer. Male hedgehogs only drop their testicles into the scrotum during the estrous season, and fights often occur between male prickles in estrus. The female guesses that the activity increases during estrus, the vulva is full, and the pubic hair becomes sparse.

The mating of hedgehogs mostly takes place at night. The male hedgehog makes a cry during courtship, often bumping into the female hedgehog with his kiss and climbing over the female hedgehog. After dozens of minutes of courtship activity, the female hedgehog responds as the body bends forward, and the male hedgehog climbs to the female thorn guess back to mate, and ejaculates in a few minutes.

The breeding mode of artificial breeding hedgehog mainly adopts the following two ways: ①-male and multi-female breeding. This way is often used in captivity, that is, one male hedgehog and four and five female hedgehogs are raised in groups and mated freely in the breeding season. ② is a male-female pair. Cage raising is often used, that is, according to the estrus of the female hedgehog, the female hedgehog is caught in the male hedgehog cage for a few days, during which the mating and pregnancy situation is checked every day, and the vaginal secretions of the female hedgehog can be examined under the microscope the morning after mating, if sperm are found, it is proved that the mating has been successful. The female hedgehog can be taken away and replaced with another female hedgehog in estrus. Male hedgehogs generally mate every other day, and it is appropriate to match each male hedgehog with 4 and 5 female hedgehogs throughout the breeding season.

two。 Get pregnant and give birth

The gestation period of the female hedgehog is about 60 days. After 35 days of pregnancy, the weight of the female hedgehog increases significantly, the movement is slow about 45 days, and the perineum is slightly edema. During pregnancy, attention should be paid to the nutritional status of hedgehogs and increase the content of animal feed and vitamins. The fetus develops very fast in the first half of the month before delivery and needs to be fed once a day. 1 ~ 2 days before delivery, the female hedgehog is restless and looks for grass to make a nest, so she should provide dry, clean and soft mat grass outside the nest for the female hedgehog to make her own nest. Keep the environment quiet during the birth period and do not disturb the hedgehog to ensure its smooth production and prevent the cub from being eaten.

3. Feeding of young hedgehog

The newborn hedgehog weighs 13 to 15 grams, the eyes are not open, the body is smooth, the skin is pink, and there are prickles under the skin. About 10 hours after birth, about 2 mm of white soft thorns grow. After 3 days of age, the thorn length is about 10 mm and hardens, the skin color also changes from red to gray, and new black thorns grow. At the age of 5 days, the body can curl up and begin to respond to external stimuli, such as roaring to stimuli such as touch. He opened his eyes at about 15 days old. The incisors grow at the age of 20-25, and the mother can guess the nest to lick the food. Weaning was about 45 days old.

During the whole lactation period, special attention should be paid to strengthening feeding management. The burden of breast-feeding mother hedgehog is heavier and should be given priority to animal feed, which can be fed with some yellow powder insects, silkworm pupae, etc., once a day in the morning and evening. At the same time, pay attention to observe the body condition, when it is found that the female hedgehog is short of milk or no milk, carry out artificial lactation in time, add 40 ml of water with 1 gram of Wang Buliu line and 1 gram of Tongcao, decoct for 20 ~ 30 minutes, and add it to the feed when the water is left 10 milliliters. It can be effective after taking it for 2 days. If you find that the female hedgehog is sick or lack of milk, you should look for other female hedgehogs with fewer babies and similar delivery period. During the lactation period, the mother hedgehog has the habit of licking the feces and urine of the hedgehog, so it should be kept hygienic in the nest to prevent it from licking dirt and causing disease.

The female hedgehog can mate again after weaning. Hedgehogs are raised in groups according to body weight, and the initial feed should be mainly animal feed, such as all kinds of worms, and can also be fed with flour and milk into thinner milk paste, and calcium powder and vitamins An and D can be added. The cream should be gradually thickened and slowly transferred to normal feed. A 3-month-old hedgehog can weigh more than 300 grams. This period is the fastest growing period in the hedgehog's life. It should be carefully managed and strengthened to improve the quality and width of the hedgehog skin.