Size Their body length can be up to 90 centimetres and can weigh up to 15 kilograms.. Diet - Omnivorous Cape porcupines eat mainly roots, tubers and bulbs. It also rattles the short quills on its tail. The largest porcupine is the African Porcupine which can weigh over 20 kilograms (44 pounds). In the wild their diet varies from twigs, berries, barks, leaves, roots, stem and other vegetation depending on the seasons and species of porcupines. The large stomach and small intestine form a very efficient protein digesting (83,8%) apparatus. It eats fruit, roots, bulbs and other plant material. Diet and Nutrition. The digestive capabilities of the Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) were studied using captive and field animals. 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. Diet: In addition to tubers, roots, shoots, fruit and insects, they also gnaw on bones. Cape porcupines are the largest rodents in Africa and also the world's largest porcupines. Diet & Predators of Prickly Porcupines . Diet for porcupines: In terms of food, all species of porcupines are herbivores and vegetables / greens are their staple meals. Did you know? Porcupine babies are called porcupettes and are thankfully not born with sharp quills! When rubbed against each other, they produce a discouraging, rattling sound. Cape porcupines are herbivores and their diet includes leaves, twigs, bark, fruit, berries, farm crops, tree roots, tubers and bulbs. The quills of a baby porcupine are soft and bendable and harden within a few days. Cape porcupine. They usually cover the porcupine’s body, sometimes even being around their face. You can refer the Rodent TAG Porcupine Care Manual for more information on developing a diet for your pet. Diet: The Cape Porcupine is a herbivore. Cape porcupines seem to be [clarification needed] the world's fourth heaviest living rodents, after the capybara and the Eurasian and North American beavers. Cape porcupines are also known to gnaw on bones for calcium as … I have found porcupine toilets that have a pile of pellets that have lots of pine needles in them. Adult African Crested Porcupine. Porcupines have rounded bodies covered with many spines or … I have seen other porcupine … The smallest porcupine is the Rothschilds Porcupine from South America which weighs only 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). Characteristics. Breeding. Many were even green pellets. 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. 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. Location Cape porcupines are … For example, the Cape porcupine has a long small intestine and large caecum (which connects the two intestines). 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). They will also take fruit and bark. These herbivorous (lignivorous) rodents mainly consume bark, roots, tubers, rhizomes, bulbs, fallen fruits and cultivated crops, complementing their diet with insects and small vertebrates. Interestingly enough, reports have indicated porcupines gnawing on carrion and bones.Although this deviates from their herbivorous diet, it doesn’t change their dietary classification. This allows for an effective fermentation to break down the tough food materials. Porcupine scat can be variable, but it often looks like pellets — think thicker, more elongated deer scat. 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