It is hard to guess what a European hedgehog weights. But we have the answer:
An adult European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) on average weights 789 grams (1.74 lbs).
The European hedgehog is from the family Erinaceidae (genus: Erinaceus). It is usually born with about 15 grams (0.03 lbs). They can live for up to 14 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 23.7 cm (0′ 10″). On average, European hedgehogs can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 4.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species found in Europe, from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia. It is a generally common and widely distributed species that can survive across a wide range of habitat types. It is a well-known species, and a favorite in European gardens, both for its endearing appearance and its preference for eating a range of garden pests. While populations are currently stable across much of its range, it is thought to be declining severely in Great Britain.
Animals of the same family as a European hedgehog
We found other animals of the Erinaceidae family:
- Hugh’s hedgehog with a size of 20 cm (0′ 8″)
- Brandt’s hedgehog with a weight of 213 grams
- Moonrat with a weight of 787 grams
- Indian hedgehog with a weight of 171 grams
- Shrew gymnure with a size of 11.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Dinagat gymnure with a size of 20 cm (0′ 8″)
- Long-eared hedgehog with a weight of 332 grams
- Desert hedgehog with a weight of 396 grams
- Indian hedgehog with a weight of 171 grams
- Short-tailed gymnure with a weight of 60 grams
Animals with the same weight as a European hedgehog
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Erinaceus europaeus:
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur bringing 936 grams to the scale
- Sunda slow loris bringing 940 grams to the scale
- Rock cavy bringing 800 grams to the scale
- Moonrat bringing 787 grams to the scale
- Painted ringtail possum bringing 642 grams to the scale
- Gunnison’s prairie dog bringing 798 grams to the scale
- Meerkat bringing 730 grams to the scale
- North African hedgehog bringing 931 grams to the scale
- Red-tailed sportive lemur bringing 763 grams to the scale
- Western woolly lemur bringing 828 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a European hedgehog
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as European hedgehog:
- Long-clawed ground squirrel with a size of 24.4 cm (0′ 10″)
- Cape dune mole-rat with a size of 27.9 cm (0′ 11″)
- Peters’s squirrel with a size of 26.8 cm (0′ 11″)
- Hagen’s flying squirrel with a size of 24.8 cm (0′ 10″)
- Sulawesi naked-backed fruit bat with a size of 20.3 cm (0′ 8″)
- Sikkim rat with a size of 19 cm (0′ 8″)
- Rufous elephant shrew with a size of 25 cm (0′ 10″)
- Green bush squirrel with a size of 19.1 cm (0′ 8″)
- Eastern small-toothed rat with a size of 24.2 cm (0′ 10″)
- Greater dwarf lemur with a size of 22.5 cm (0′ 9″)
Animals with the same litter size as a European hedgehog
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (4) as a European hedgehog:
- Culpeo
- Panamint chipmunk
- Plateau pika
- Northern bog lemming
- Fawn-colored mouse
- Silver mountain vole
- Peromyscus maniculatus
- Bank vole
- Chelemys macronyx
- Madras treeshrew
Animals with the same life expectancy as a European hedgehog
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a European hedgehog:
- Meerkat with an average maximal age of 12.5 years
- Müeller’s gibbon with an average maximal age of 14.5 years
- Beira (antelope) with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Calabar angwantibo with an average maximal age of 13 years
- Squirrel glider with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Quokka with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Smooth-coated otter with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Arabian tahr with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Swamp wallaby with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Common warthog with an average maximal age of 15 years