Nutrition for Health

Fiber Digestion in the African White-Bellied Hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris):

A Preliminary Evaluation1
Wendy S. Graffam,2 Marianne P. Fitzpatrick and Ellen S. Dierenfeld
Nutrition Department, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY
EXPANDED ABSTRACT

KEY WORDS:

hedgehogs

insectivore

chitin

Materials and methods. All aspects of this study were

conducted in accordance with the institutions guide for care
and use of research animals. Three adult female (ages 12.5 y)
white-bellied hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris) were housed individually in 31 cm 3 62 cm 3 31 cm glass aquariums at the
Wildlife Conservation Society. These aquariums contained
paper or cedar chip bedding when fecal and food collections
were not scheduled. During collections, animals were housed
without bedding but were provided logs to hide under. Three
suspended heat lamps were supplied during cold weather to
maintain the temperature above 18C.
A control diet [no added acid detergent fiber (ADF); Zu/
Preem canned feline diet, Premium Nutritional Products, Topeka, KS] and three treatment diets based on the control diet
(Diet A, 15% ADF in dietary dry matter from chitin; Diet B,
25% ADF in dietary dry matter from chitin; and Diet C, 15%
ADF in dietary dry matter from powdered cellulose) were fed.
Practical grade chitin from crab shells (Sigma Chemical, St.
Louis, MO) was ground in a Wiley laboratory mill (Model 4,
Series 3375-E10, Philadelphia, PA) through a 2-mm screen.
The particle size of the powdered cellulose (Solka-floc 200FCC, Fiber Sales and Development, Urbana, OH) was 35 mm.
All fiber sources were mixed into the control diet. When
animals were acquired, they were already consuming the control diet; thus, the study included only a 3-d adaptation period
followed by collection of total feces and left over food (orts)
for three consecutive days. Animals were fed 20 30 g of diet
once daily (1600 h), such that food was always remaining. Orts
were collected at 0900 h; feces were collected twice daily
(0900 and 1600 h). All feces and orts were weighed immediately after collection and stored at 4C for up to 6 d until
freeze-dried to determine moisture content.
After the control diet was evaluated, animals were randomly allotted to one of the three treatment diets. Hedgehogs
were given a 4- to 10-d adaptation period before collection of
all feces and orts for each treatment diet with a gradual (3-d)
transition to the next diet adaptation period. Each individuals
weekly total was pooled and chemically analyzed.
Dried diet, orts and fecal samples were ground in a laboratory mill and subjected to standard AOAC (1996) assay procedures to determine total ash (AOAC #923.03), crude protein (AOAC #954.01), crude fat (AOAC #920.39) and ADF

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Although the hedgehog is classified in the Order Insectivora, its dietary habits are more omnivorous than implied by
this classification. The natural diet of European hedgehogs
(Erinaceus europaeus) contains primarily insects (Reeve 1994)
with occasional ingestion of small vertebrates, eggs and plant
material. However, feces reportedly contained large amounts
of unchanged and undigested plant material (MacDonald
1987, Reeve 1994). There is only limited general information
published on the natural dietary habits (Meritt 1981, Okaeme
and Osakwe 1988, Smith 1992) of the African hedgehogs
(Atelerix spp.), even though these animals are currently a
popular pet species in the United States. This limited volume
of information indicates a diet selection similar to that of the
European species.
Fiber in the diets of insectivores may have important implications for digestive health as in other species. Chitinases
have been identified in hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) gastric
mucosa and pancreas (Jeuniaux 1962), implying that hedgehogs can potentially utilize chitin as a source of dietary fiber.
In addition, hedgehogs have a propensity to obesity in captive
environments, which may indicate potential benefits of increasing dietary fiber through simple nutrient dilution. Exact
requirements for all nutrients remain unknown for this species.
Commercially raised insects commonly fed to insectivores
contain between 14 and 52% neutral detergent fiber (NDF)
(Barker et al. 1998, Pennino et al. 1991) with waxworms
containing the least (13.6% NDF) fiber of those insects studied. Insectivores, such as the hedgehog, might be expected to
consume similar amounts of fiber when consuming natural
diets. Animals kept as pets or in zoos are generally fed diets
based on canned cat or dog food with the occasional offering
of insects and produce (Hoyt 1986). Unfortunately, these
types of diets usually contain little or no fiber. This study was
designed to evaluate the capacity of hedgehogs to digest different forms and levels of dietary fiber fed as a supplement to
canned cat food.

cellulose

1
Presented as part of the Waltham International Symposium on Pet Nutrition
and Health in the 21st Century, Orlando, FL, May 26 29, 1997. Guest editors for
the symposium publication were Ivan Burger, Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition,
Leicestershire, UK and DAnn Finley, University of California, Davis.
2
To whom correspondence should be addressed.

0022-3166/98 $3.00 1998 American Society for Nutritional Sciences. J. Nutr. 128: 2671S2673S, 1998.

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TABLE 1
Proximate composition of diets fed to three African white-bellied hedgehogs. All nutrients except water are expressed on
a dry matter basis1
Diet2

Water

Crude protein

Crude fat

g/100 g
Control
Diet A
Diet B
Diet C

ADF

Ash

3.0 6 0.9a
15.7 6 2.0b
27.1 6 0.7c
13.7 6 1.2b

7.6 6 0.8
6.6 6 0.2
7.1 6 0.5
7.1 6 0.7

g/100 g of dry matter

62.4 6 0.2a
57.6 6 0.9b
55.1 6 0.2c
59.2 6 0.3d

38.9 6 0.3a
40.5 6 0.5a
39.1 6 0.5a
34.1 6 1.2b

41.0 6 0.4a
34.8 6 1.5b
29.9 6 0.6c
37.5 6 2.5b

1 Values are means 6 SD.

2 Control, canned feline diet; Diet A, control 1 15% diet dry matter acid detergent fiber (ADF) from chitin; Diet B, control 1 25% diet dry matter

ADF from chitin; Diet C, control 1 15% diet dry matter ADF from powdered cellulose.
a,b,c,d Means with different superscripts are significantly different (P , 0.05) within a column. A lack of superscripts indicates no significant
differences within the column.

Discussion. Because feces were collected by scraping the

aquarium with a razor blade to collect unformed samples (in
particular, for the control diet), it is likely that dried urine,
hair, quills and log particles were also collected in this process,
possibly contaminating samples analyzed.
Water content of the diets varied significantly among treatments possibly as a result of the differences in water-holding
capacity of the added fiber sources. Increased fiber served to
decrease diet water content. Fecal water did not vary, but fecal
quality did appear (visually) to improve when fiber was added
to the diet.
Fecal protein was not significantly different among diets,
but did show a trend toward decreasing with the addition of
fiber, in particular with the addition of the powdered cellulose.
Apparent protein digestibility did not differ among diets.
Dietary fat decreased as fiber amounts were increased, probably a simple nutrient dilution effect. Fecal fat content, although not significantly different, decreased in animals consuming the diet with 25% ADF from chitin (Diet B).
Apparent fat digestibility was also significantly higher for the
high chitin diet (Diet B) compared with the control diet.
There may be some interaction between the fat and the chitin
because the highest fiber diet (Diet B) also displayed the
highest fiber digestibility (68.3 6 18.3%); however, this result

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(AOAC #973.18) content. Fiber (as ADF) was determined

sequentially on petroleum ether extracted samples.
Data are reported as means 6 SD. Differences among means
were evaluated by ANOVA tests with a Tukey statistic of P
,0.05 value used to indicate significance (Systat: the system
for statistics, Version 3.0, Systat, Evanston, IL).
Results. Proximate composition of diets fed during this
study are shown in Table 1. The percentage of water, protein,
fat and ADF varied significantly (P , 0.05) among the diets
fed; ash did not vary (P 5 0.34). No behavioral selectivity was
evident because the composition of orts was identical to diets
offered.
Fecal composition is found in Table 2. Fiber content did
not affect fecal water (overall average, 20.6 6 13.3%) content;
only fecal ADF and ash varied significantly with the addition
of fiber to the diet.
Dry matter intake averaged 2.2 6 0.8% of body mass (mean
body mass 5 545.3 g) and did not vary by dietary treatment
(P 5 0.81). Apparent dry matter digestibility (average 5 84.8
6 7.3%) also did not vary significantly (P 5 0.59) with the
addition of fiber, nor did apparent fiber or protein digestibility
(average 56.8 6 21.3% and 83.2 6 8.6%, respectively) differ
(P 5 0.19 and 0.95, respectively) among treatments. Apparent
digestibility of fat was significantly lower in the control diet
compared with Diet B treatment only.

TABLE 2
Proximate composition of feces from three African white-bellied hedgehogs fed four different diets. All nutrients except water on
a dry matter basis1
Diet2

Water

Protein

g/100 g
Control
Diet A
Diet B
Diet C

20.4 6 11.2
16.2 6 17.3
19.5 6 11.4
26.4 6 18.4

84.8 6 7.3

ADF

Ash

g/100 g of dry matter

64.5 6 14.8
45.3 6 8.5
46.9 6 7.4
30.3 6 4.7

%
Apparent digestibility

Fat

5.2 6 2.1
5.0 6 2.0
1.9 6 1.7
4.6 6 1.7

12.8 6 3.7a
43.2 6 2.4b
53.8 6 2.7c
42.7 6 2.0b

20.5 6 1.2a
15.0 6 0.5b
9.3 6 0.8c
13.2 6 1.2b

56.8 6 21.3

% on a dry matter basis

83.2 6 8.6

97.3 6 2.0d

1 Values are means 6 SD.

2 Control, canned feline diet; Diet A, control 1 15% diet dry matter acid detergent fiber (ADF) from chitin; Diet B, control 1 25% diet dry matter

ADF from chitin; Diet C, control 1 15% diet dry matter ADF from powdered cellulose.
a,b,c Means with different superscripts are significantly different (P , 0.05) within a column. A lack of superscripts indicates no significant
differences within the column. d Apparent digestibility for fat was significantly lower in the control diet compared with Diet B treatment only.

FIBER DIGESTION IN THE HEDGEHOG

provide suitable nutrient levels to optimize the physiology and

ecology for which these animals may have adapted and
evolved. Providing the amount of dietary fiber found in natural
diets may be a first step in creating more chemically and
nutritionally appropriate diets for hedgehogs in captivity. Even
in this preliminary trial, hedgehogs displayed an ability to
break down dietary fiber, and we observed some potentially
significant nutrient interactions between fiber-fat and fiberminerals.
LITERATURE CITED
Association of Offical Analytical Chemists (1996) Official Methods of Analysis,
16th ed. AOAC International, Gaithersburg, MD.
Barker, D., Fitzpatrick, M. P. & Dierenfeld, E. S. (1998) Nutrient composition of
selected whole invertebrates. Zoo Biol. 17:123134.
Hoyt, R. (1986) A review of the husbandry and reproduction of the African
hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris). AAZPA Annual Conference Proceedings, pp.
8595.
Jeuniaux, C. (1962) Digestion de la chitine chez les oiseauz et les mammiferes.
Ann. Soc. R. Zool. Belg. 92: 27-45 [as cited in Stevens, C. E. and Hume, I. D.
(1995) Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate Digestive System, 2nd ed.,
p. 58. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY].
MacDonald, D., ed. (1987) The Encyclopedia of Mammals, pp. 750 757. Facts
on File, New York, NY.
Meritt, D. A., Jr. (1981) Husbandry, reproduction and behaviour of the West
African hedgehog. Int. Zoo Yearb. 21: 128 131.
Okaeme, A. N. & Osakwe, M. E. (1988) Gastro intestinal helminths and food of
the African hedgehog Atelexia albiventris (Wagna) in the Kainji Lake area of
Nigeria. Afr. J. Ecol. 26: 239 241.
Pennino, M., Dierenfeld, E. S. & Behler, J. L. (1991) Retinol, a-tocopherol and
proximate nutrient composition of invertebrates used as food. Int. Zoo Yearb.
30: 143149.
Reeve, N. (1994) Hedgehogs. Poyser Natural History, London, UK.
Smith, A. J. (1992) Husbandry and medicine of African hedgehogs (Atelerix
albiventris). J. Small Exp. Anim. Med. 2: 2128.
Stevens, C. E. & Hume, I. D. (1995) Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate
Digestive System, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY.

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should be evaluated in more detail for this species under a

larger, more controlled study.
Fecal composition, in general, did not vary as much as diet
composition. Only fecal ADF and ash differed significantly
among diets. Fecal ADF increased with added dietary fiber,
regardless of the type of fiber. Fecal ash values were lower for
all three treatment diets compared with the control diet, with
the highest fiber diet (Diet B) having the lowest ash content;
thus, some type of fiber/mineral interactions may be occurring.
Hedgehogs are known to possess chitinases (Jeuniaux
1962). Because the structure of chitin and cellulose, the two
fiber sources used here, are identical except for the presence of
nitrogen on the number 2 carbon (Stevens and Hume 1995),
animals with chitinases might theoretically also be able to
utilize cellulose. These animals did show an ability to digest
fiber. The apparent digestibility of the fiber sources did not
follow an expected pattern, however; the cellulose diet tended
to be less effectively digested compared with the chitin-based
fiber sources (51.1 6 24.1, 63.5 6 9.3, 68.3 6 18.3 and 38.3
6 14.1 for fiber digestibility of the control, Diet A, Diet B and
Diet C, respectively, P 5 0.22). It is possible that chitinase
enzymes may have a threshold of activity that was surpassed by
this level of dietary fiber, and certainly the simple gut of the
hedgehog (Stevens and Hume, 1995) would not be expected
to harbor microbes for significant cellulose utilization. An
additional reason for the lack of significant differences in fiber
digestibility may be that the adaptation period to each type of
fiber was not long enough. Animals were randomized to the
treatments; thus a sequential adaptation to diets was not
possible.
Although we can rarely duplicate ingredients of any animals natural diet in captivity, we can, and should strive to

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