This allows for an effective fermentation to break down the tough food materials. I have found porcupine toilets that have a pile of pellets that have lots of pine needles in them. The size of the spikes can depend on the porcupine’s species with one of the largest belonging to the African Crested Porcupine as stated by National Geographic. Cape porcupines are the largest rodents in Africa and also the world's largest porcupines. Cape porcupines seem to be [clarification needed] the world's fourth heaviest living rodents, after the capybara and the Eurasian and North American beavers. Size Their body length can be up to 90 centimetres and can weigh up to 15 kilograms.. I have seen other porcupine … Cape porcupine. Diet & Predators of Prickly Porcupines . You may feed your pet porcupine twice a day, but it is important that you feed them on a regular basis at the specified time. Porcupine scat can be variable, but it often looks like pellets — think thicker, more elongated deer scat. If the predator still approaches, the porcupine will turn its posterior and ram its spines into the predator. The large stomach and small intestine form a very efficient protein digesting (83,8%) apparatus. Diet for porcupines: In terms of food, all species of porcupines are herbivores and vegetables / greens are their staple meals. Porcupine babies are called porcupettes and are thankfully not born with sharp quills! Diet: The Cape Porcupine is a herbivore. Cape porcupines are herbivores and their diet includes leaves, twigs, bark, fruit, berries, farm crops, tree roots, tubers and bulbs. Location Cape porcupines are … Diet: In addition to tubers, roots, shoots, fruit and insects, they also gnaw on bones. They usually cover the porcupine’s body, sometimes even being around their face. New world porcupines tend to have shorter quills which you could describe as barbs rather than spines Many were even green pellets. They will also take fruit and bark. Did you know? When rubbed against each other, they produce a discouraging, rattling sound. Cape porcupines are also known to gnaw on bones for calcium as … The largest porcupine is the African Porcupine which can weigh over 20 kilograms (44 pounds). The digestive capabilities of the Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) were studied using captive and field animals. Diet and Nutrition. Adult African Crested Porcupine. Diet - Omnivorous Cape porcupines eat mainly roots, tubers and bulbs. In the wild their diet varies from twigs, berries, barks, leaves, roots, stem and other vegetation depending on the seasons and species of porcupines. In the wild: When cornered by a predator, the Cape Porcupine becomes aggressive, running backwards or sideways in an attempt to spear its attacker with its quills. Characteristics. It also rattles the short quills on its tail. In about 18 months, a female porcupine … Porcupines have rounded bodies covered with many spines or … The stomach contents comprised 6,47% of the body mass and had a low pH (2,0).The Cape porcupine also has a long small intestine (670 em). You can refer the Rodent TAG Porcupine Care Manual for more information on developing a diet for your pet. These herbivorous (lignivorous) rodents mainly consume bark, roots, tubers, rhizomes, bulbs, fallen fruits and cultivated crops, complementing their diet with insects and small vertebrates. It eats fruit, roots, bulbs and other plant material. It has been known to gnaw on bones and carrion too. The quills of a baby porcupine are soft and bendable and harden within a few days. The smallest porcupine is the Rothschilds Porcupine from South America which weighs only 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). 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