If we've heard it asked once, we've heard it a thousand times! “Are hedgehogs rodents?” We can certainly understand that it seem like a plausible possibility. After all, aren't most rodents small like hedgehogs? It's pretty normal for people to make the assumption that hedgies are in the rodent family, but they're not. Quilly has his cute way of explaining some of the more obvious differences.
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Here is the transcript for “Are Hedgehogs Rodents?”:
Hey hedgie fans!
Cynthia from Fort Wayne, Indiana wrote and asked, “Are hedgehogs rodents?” This question didn’t surprise me because it’s commonly asked.
No Cynthia. Hedgehogs aren’t rodents. There are many differences that distinguish us from that kind of mammal.Rodents are in the Rodentia family. And hedgehogs are in the Erinaceidae family.
Porcupines are rodents, but even though they have quills and we do too, our quills aren’t the same and we’re not related.
Rodents have two incisor teeth that continue to grow without their gnawing at things to wear them down. Hedgehogs have up to 44 teeth that aren’t anything like a rodent’s. In fact we have incisors, premolars, molars, and canine teeth just like humans do.
A rodent’s teeth are perfect for their diet which is mainly herbivorous or plant matter based. That’s different from us hedgehogs that are insectivorous omnivores. Which is kind of like saying we’ll eat just about anything with an emphasis on insects.
And while we’re talking about diet, another difference is that rodents have a cecum and hedgehogs don’t. A cecum is what processes the cellulose from plant based foods.
While we can eat some plant based foods, we don’t have the ability to break them down like a rodent does, so it pretty much passes through our system. Or if it’s too fibrous, it could impact our bowels.
As you can see, hedgehogs are not rodents at all! And we’re way cuter too!
If you have anything you’d like to know about hedgehogs, please let me know in the comments below or write me on my website!If you’d like to see more videos with me, please comment, like, and subscribe to my channel so you’ll know when there’s a new Ask Quilly video!
Until next time, Bye for now!