Business news
New volunteers!
You may have noticed in recent posts, that some of the articles are written by people who haven’t posted on The Hedgehog Program before and that’s right! We have...
Night of the night event
A few weeks ago we were asked to participate in an event of the IVN organisation in our hometown, to speak about hedgehogs. It didn’t take much consideration to...
The Hedgehog Program has been a company for four years!
Who can remember that we once started as a simple Dutch forum called “Witbuikegel Wiki”? There are probably not many people who can remember that. Back to 2011 when...
We have moved!
After some battles with out previous hosting provider, we decided to move hosting services and now we have officially moved! Maybe you have noticed a bit of radio silence...
Science
Five new soft-furred hedgehogs discovered after taxonomic revision
The hylomys genus has been revised through molecular and morphological data from museum specimens across its distribution, resulting in the description of two new species and the elevation of...
Zoonomia Project includes several hedgehogs and tenrecs
The Zoonomia Project is the latest buzz in the science world, and a very fascinating and important research project as well. Not only for animals but for humans as...
Sonic Hedgehog Gene
These days you will find that every second hedgehog is called Sonic. Mostly people naming their hedgehogs Sonic, in reference to the movie Sonic the Hedgehog. But where does...
Hedgehog, viper and rabbit are the victims of decreasing quality of nature
Despite efforts to increase the quality of nature in The Netherlands, the WNF (World Nature Foundation, the Dutch branch of the WWF) has published a report claiming that the...
Hedgehogs
A long winters nap
Suddenly it’s November and the seasons are changing in Europe. Winter is coming.. And hedgehogs are desperately searching for food to gain weight for hibernation. But why do hedgehogs...
Prickly Patient Found in A&E
A&E nurses at South Tyneside District Hospital were surprised to see a particularly tiny patient come and visit them during their evening shift! A little European hedgehog – affectionately...
Animal husbandry in hedgehogs
Last week we published a few polls on one of the biggest hedgehog groups on Facebook (Hedgehog Snoots, currently 30.144 members). Just for fun, but it turned out to...
Hedgehog countings in The Netherlands was a great success in 2023
You may have already heard about it in the media, but 2023 was a special year for the European hedgehog in the Netherlands. Never before have so many people...
Tenrecs
Tenrecs and their cloaca
Cloaca What are cloaca? The cloaca is the rear orifice in an organism that serves as the only opening for digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts. The cloaca is most...
Hedgehogs vs Tenrecs – What’s the Difference?
Hedgehogs and tenrecs may look like siblings as they share the characteristics of sharp quills, soft underbellies and pointed snouts, but they’re not even related! Hedgehogs and tenrecs are...
Methods for sexing tenrecs
Tenrec owners and especially first time owners often wonder how they can sex their tenrec as they do not have regular genitals to detemine their sexes. In this article...
The sound of quills!
Weird, wonderfull and true! The Lowland-Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) is the only mammal with sounding quills. They are one of Madagascar’s fascinating animals that inhabits the islands tropical lowland...
Community news
Fund a hedgehog rescue center!
Casteford Hedgehog Rescue has over 30.000 folowers on Facebook and has received suggestions to become a sanctuary and build a rescue center. After considerarion, this is exactly what they...
Great Hedgie Health, For Infinity
Best known for her educational infographics and funny hedgehog reels on Instagram @hedge_chef, Sarah Bessie has created a brand new resource to make African pygmy hedgehog care accessible, easy...
African Pygmy Hedgehog Club UK gets new owner
The former owner of the African Pygmy Hedgehog Club UK has resigned and a new owner is assigned. This news was made known last week after Emma Martha Crossan...
Biology 101
Biology 101: Introduction to population ecology
It’s been a while since we’ve posted a Biology 101 post, but we’re back with a very interesting topic! The introduction to population ecology, with the basics and a...
Biology 101: Coprophagia and geophagia
When you work with animals, you know that a varying diet can be hard to maintain. A lot of animals eat plants, fungi, other animals and also insects. In...
Biology 101: Anthropomorphism
If you’ve worked with animals for a while, you probably have heard of the term and might know the meaning of it. But if you haven’t worked with animals...
Biology 101: What is convergent evolution?
And how is convergent evolution relevant to hedgehogs and tenrecs? These are two regularly asked questions whenever i explain that i research both and educate about both groups of...