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Progress report on the breeding of pigmy hedgehog tenrec Echinops telfairi and spiny hedgehog tenrec Setifer setosus

By ANN SCALING, Small Mammal Section, Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.

From: 8th Annual Report of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust), 1971, pp. 12-14.
Online publishing with kind permission of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey.
© Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Online conversion by David Kupitz.

Introduction

The Trust has had various species of Tenrec in its collection since 1966. An article by J. J. C. Mallinson appeared in the Trust's Fifth Annual Report, (1968), on the Tenrec collection at that time. This included details of accomodation and dietary requirements. However, since then a considerable amount of breeding has taken place with both the Pigmy Hedgehog Tenrec Echinops telfairi, and the Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec Setifer setosus and in 1971 successful second generation births were recorded in both species.

The general care and maintenance of the Tenrec collection has remained almost unchanged. A liquid calcium supplementation in the form of Callo-Cal-D has been added to their diet in order to ensure that the infants absorb sufficient calcium before and after weaning. Since the establishment last year of cultures of two cricket species: the House Cricket Gryllus domesticus, and the Field Cricket Gryllus campestris, this extra source of animals protein has been available to the tenrecs, they are also fed with mealworms every day.

BREEDING - Pigmy Hedgehog Tenrec - Echinops telfairi

TABLE ONE - RECORD OF BIRTHS.

Date of
Birth		 No. of
Litters		 No. of
Young		 No.
Reared
6th August, 1967 1 4 4
28th August, 1967 1 2 1
19th July, 1968 2 8 8
6th July, 1969 3 12 3
10th July, 1970 1 5 3
27th June, 1971 2 5 4
11th July, 1971 1 3 3
1st September, 1971 1 3 3
  12 42 29

The parents of the three second generation infants were born here, the female on the 10th July, 1970 and the male on the 18th July, 1968. Taking the establishment gestation period as approximately seven weeks, the young reach sexual maturity at the age of one year.

It is interesting to note that Tenrecs, in the wild state, mate at the beginning of the Austral summer, having their young between January - March. As can be seen in table one, the twelve births recorded in Jersey were all born in the European summer, between the months of June and September.

TABLE TWO - WEIGHT DEVELOPMENT - PIGMY HEDGEHOG TENREC Echinops telfairi

Age in Days Weight in grams
27 50        50       50
51 120      120      120
84 180      150      150
121 170      160      160
159 160      142      140
193 150      130      130
221 155      130      130

All the tenrecs are weighed each month, this is very important as in winter when they go into torpor a close check is kept on each tenrec to make sure they are not losing to much weight.

BREEDING - Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec - Setifer setosus

TABLE THREE - RECORD OF BIRTHS

Date of
Birth		 No. of
Young		 No.
Reared
13th November, 1968 3 3
8th January, 1969 2 1
8th May, 1969 4 2
20th January, 1970 2 0
29th April, 1970 1 1
30th June, 1971 5 2
15th August, 1971 2 0
8th October, 1971 2 1
  21 10

In comparison with the Pigmy Hedgehog Tenrec, the Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec is much more sensitive to any disturbance caused at or after the time of birth so the male is always removed before parturition occurs, but even after this precaution has been taken, some of the mothers have eaten part or all of their litter of young. As can be observed from table three the Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec unlike the Pigmy Hedgehog Tenrec, has been recorded as giving birth between the months January to November. This year, for the first time, two females born in the Trust's collection have bred, the first to give birth was paired with an original male and the second female to a Jersey born male. So this year we have been successful in breeding both Pigmy Hedgehog Tenrec and Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec second generation infants.

In 1968 when the first Spiny Hedgehog Tenrec was bred here the gestation period was believed to be between 65-69 days. Since then, as can be seen from the chart below we have narrowed the time down to 51 days from the day the male was first introduced with the female to the time of parturition.

TABLE FOUR - RECORD OF GESTATION PERIODS - SPINY HEDGEHOG TENREC Setifer setosus

Date of observed copulation
or possible conception		 Date of
Parturition		 Gestation
in days
13th September, 1968 13th November, 1968 61
13th November, 1968 8th January, 1969 56
13th March, 1969 8th May, 1969 56
26th November, 1969 20th January, 1970 56
* 7th May, 1971 30th June, 1971 55
* 18th June, 1971 15th August, 1971 58
* 18th August, 1971 8th October, 1971 51

* denotes date of introduction of male with female.

TABLE FIVE - WEIGHT DEVELOPMENT - SPINY HEDGEHOG TENREC Setifer setosus

Age in days Weight in grams
21  52       50       49
23  55       51       50
28  61       57       53
35  80       77       62
43 105      93       90
49 117     116      93
56 129     115      102
63 156     118      105
70 201     132      112
77 210     141      140
84 247     158      142
91 258     183      156
98 266     203      188
112 282     240      232
119 350     268      201

Conclusion

During the past two years surplus Jersey bred specimens of both species have been sent to the Zoological Society of London, and to the Amsterdam Zoo, Holland. Six new glass fronted cages have been added to the Tenrec range in the Small Mammal House and sufficient numbers of both species can be accomodated so that viable breeding populations can be maintained.

References

EISENBERG, J. F., & GOULD, E., The Tenrecs: A study in Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution. (Free Full Text) (Alternative Free Full Text)

MALLINSON, J. J. C., Conservation of Madagascan Fauna in Captivity (Fifth Annual Report). Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. (Free Full Text)

The Trust's filing index on the progress of each Tenrec.

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