Do you want to learn more about hedgehog vs gopher?
These two distinct creatures may be maintained as pets and are unmistakably different but they still have some similarities. I had always maintained hedgehogs as pets, but after talking with my pet-loving friend Betty, I was convinced to keep a gopher as a pet, and I am so pleased I did since it let me understand the animal species. I’d want to share my experience with you and encourage you to read my post-Hedgehog and Groundhog, which is also an eye-opener and where you can learn more about
Let’s go.
You Can Now Learn About the Differences and Similarities Between Hedgehogs and Gophers.
Physical Appearance
The physical appearance of both pets differs. While the hedgehog pet is covered with quills, gophers have those hairs on their body. Hedgehogs are small, prickly animals.
Gophers are rodents related to mice. They have round bodies, short necks, and flat heads. Gophers have front legs that are shorter than back legs. Surprisingly, the fourth finger is slightly longer than the third. The pubescent, tiny ears of the gopher protrude slightly from the hair, gophers also have cheek pouches, whiskers, big teeth, and small ears and eyes. Their front legs are strong, with long claws. Both creatures have tails, but the gopher’s tail resembles a rat’s, while the hedgehog’s tail is unique.
Thick hair covers the body of the animal. Summer fur develops shorter, less dense, and rougher, whereas winter fur becomes thick and long.
Even though they both have teeth, gopher teeth are visibly bigger than that of hedgehogs and they also have a unique yellow color
Size and Color
A hedgehog is a smaller pet than a gopher. From the size of its head to its feet, the hedgehog is smaller than the gopher. A gopher’s normal length in cm is between 18cm to 21cm on average.
The weight of a hedgehog pet is not as great as that of a gopher. The average weight of an adult hedgehog is between a 1pound and 1.5 pounds while the average weight of a male desert pocket gopher body weights varies from 198 to 254 g, while female body weights range from 165 to 207 g.
Most gophers are five to fourteen inches long, making them small and nimble. The color of a gopher is not consistent and is subject to variation. The fur is darker on top and gray-yellow on the bottom. On the back, there may be white or yellowish patches.
The fur of the animals can be black, yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, or grey. Hedgehog pets can have colors like white, black, or orange-brown, and many other varieties
Species
Gophers are members of the Geomyidae family. Gophers are rodents since they are members of the Order Rodentia.
Gopher is their full moniker because they have external fur-lined cheek pockets. Their pockets are used to move plant food fragments that they use while eating underground.
Gophers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. there are 13 species in the United States. The sizes of a gopher’s front legs, claws, and front teeth or incisors are used to classify the group they fall under.
There are several species of pocket gophers in the United States that are well-adapted to digging and tunneling including Botta’s Pocket Gopher, Bedded Pocket Gopher, Western Pocket Gopher, Northern Pocket Gopher, and Townsend’s Pocket Gopher are the most frequent.
For many years, ornamental offspring of African pygmy hedgehogs have been maintained in many households.
There are at least twenty-four species of this amusing mammal. Hedgehogs have different variety of species from European Africa Pygmy, Albino, Cinnamon as much as Salt and Pepper and have different varieties. They all differ not just in appearance, but also in their routines
Behavior
A hedgehog lives a solitary existence and prefers to have its house constructed on the earth’s surface except during mating season.
A gopher is not a loner regardless of the mating season and always burrows under the ground. Inside the burrow, baby gophers play and interact, practicing their social skills and establishing a hierarchy.
They engage in enjoyable wrestling contests, which help them improve their physical abilities and coordination.
These interactions make the siblings closer and bring the Gopher family together. Hedgehogs roll into balls to protect themselves from predators. Gophers dig and go underground when threatened.
Hedgehogs are animals that are active at night. Gophers are not nocturnal, but they do move and hunt at night sometimes.
Hedgehogs have a unique behavior called self-anointing. They spit on themselves, but gophers don’t do this.
Hedgehogs hibernate but gophers do not hibernate. Instead, they love staying underground extending their tunnel networks.
In the process of burrowing, they eat the roots of garden crops, ornamental plants, vines, shrubs, and trees and if not content with that, they can also chew on plastic water pipes and lawn sprinkler systems.
Most people only notice they have gophers when they become annoyed by the mounds they create.
Longevity
A hedgehog pet has an average life span of 8 to 10 years, but a gopher has an average life span of 1 to 3 years.
This means that gophers have a shorter life span than hedgehog and if you want to have a long bond with a pet, it is only good to have a hedgehog.
If you want to give your hedgehog the best life, read my post on how long pet hedgehogs live. We’d all like to spend time connecting with our pets, but death is unavoidable. reading my article Hedgehog Pets Death. It offers advice for coping with a pet’s death.
Diet
Gophers are herbivores that eat only plants like berries, tree bark, and grasses. Gophers avoid eating lavender, lantana, hydrangea, daffodils, amaryllis belladonna, catnip, rosemary, salvia, butterfly bush, citrus, foxglove, or penstemon flowers.
They are opportunistic feeders, eating a diverse range of plants including subterranean roots, rhizomes, and bulbs that they come upon in their burrow system. They also eat above-ground flora that they can reach from their burrows
They will consume plant parts such as stems, roots, leaves, flowers, needles, buds, and seeds. Gophers acquire enough water from the moisture in the plants they eat. They seldom need to drink fresh water.
Gophers can eat tough plants because of their strong jaws and sharp teeth. Their diet includes grasses, clover, dandelions, and other subterranean plant components. but hedgehogs are omnivores, meaning they consume both plants and animals.
They eat insects such as beetles, worms, eggs, and meat for protein. To keep your pet hedgehogs healthy, feed them insects from pet stores. Avoid harmful insects. For more information on hedgehog diet, read “What Do Hedgehogs Eat and Drink.”
Habitat
Hedgehogs can live in many different places on every continent in the world like Africa and Asia. Gophers live in North America in different places and have many different types.
The hedgehog uses grass, leaves, twigs, and other materials to make its home above the ground.
The gophers on the other side make the underground their home. Both hedgehogs and gophers dig burrows. Hedgehog burrows are not as deep as gopher burrows.
Gophers prefer loose and well-drained soils found in meadows, prairies, and agricultural fields.
They like sandy soil because it makes digging their tunnel networks easier. These tunnels offer gophers with refuge, safety, and food.
Which Is A Better Pet In Hedgehog And Gophers
Gophers aren’t very suitable creatures as pets. They aren’t as entertaining as my hedgehog, when compared to the hedgehog, they may be cruel and aggressive.
These animals live underground and might not bond with their owners as much.
Gophers have a strong smell. They store food in a special compartment in their burrows, called a larder. The food spoils and stinks, making clean-up a chore.
When people disturb their burrows during bedding cleaning, gophers become upset. They will resist. If kept as pets, gophers have few redeeming traits. They may be entertaining, but you can’t watch them as well as a pet hedgehog in an enclosure.
It all boils down to the personality of the animal and your personality as well. If you want a caged pet, a hedgehog is a great choice.
But if you prefer an animal that doesn’t like to cuddle as much, you can go for a gopher. Your personality is important too, as it helps you understand the pet’s personality.
Reproduction
Reproduction in gophers begins between the ages of one and three years. After the gopher’s mate, the female has a month-long gestation stage and then gives birth to a new brood.
The female gopher makes a safe home for her babies by building a cozy nest chamber in the tunnel. She lines it with soft grass and leaves.
Female gophers have many litters each year, guaranteeing the species’ longevity. The cycle continues with the next generation of gophers continuing their ancestors’ tradition. Pups are the name given to baby gophers.
Juvenile gophers leave the family burrow and establish their territories. This helps the gopher population grow. Their pregnancy progresses.
Hedgehogs have a litter in a year and are born blind and naked with pink skin. Within hours, they grow soft white needles, up to 150. Hedgehog babies are also called hoglets.
Human Interaction
Gophers often have problems with people, causing conflicts and damage to property. Knowing how gophers cause problems and possible solutions can help solve these issues. You can keep hedgehogs as pets.
They may be cautious at first. But with care and attention, they become trusting. You can cuddle, bond, and play with them. When choosing a hedgehog pet, consider their unique personalities.
Gophers cannot provide the same bonding experience because they relate well with themselves and engage in many activities but are not very good at interacting with humans however, because they burrow in and around sites where humans live, work, and play, they may come into intimate contact.
Conclusion
As much as gophers can be domesticated, they may not be pleasant as pets. The major reason they construct subterranean burrows is to defend themselves from predators and also to collect food.
These burial tunnels, however, make them unpleasant creatures since they ruin farms and gardens in contrast to hedgehogs, which may be kept as pets.
Please, kindly read my posts on Hedgehog vs. chinchilla and Hedgehog Pets vs. rabbits, which will offer you many possibilities for pets: your personality and lifestyle count, and make sure in your choice, you give your pet the greatest love and care it demands.