A keeper-facing guide to the Lesser Madagascar Tenrec — housing, heating, torpor, diet, breeding, health and behaviour — written from real experience.
Tenrecs are small animals from southern Madagascar, and there are around 35 known species. Some of them look a lot like hedgehogs, but they aren't closely related at all — they're actually much closer to moles and shrews. Tenrecs are nocturnal.
Lesser tenrecs rarely exceed around 20 cm in length and weigh about 200 g. They have a long, probing snout with whiskers, and short white, black-tipped spines running over the top and sides of the body. The belly is soft, bare pink or cream skin. Their eyes are small and their eyesight is poor, so smell, touch and hearing are their key senses.
Tenrecs are less temperature-sensitive than a lot of other small mammals, but they still need heating. Aim for an ambient daytime temperature of around 25°C.
Once a year tenrecs go through torpor — a hibernation-like state that lasts a few weeks. During torpor they mostly won't eat or drink, though they may occasionally take a little. Because they're so sleepy at this time, it's important to make sure they don't fall asleep with food still in their mouth, as this can cause tooth and health problems.
Lesser tenrecs are semi-arboreal — they love to climb, using their long curled nails and gripping feet. Give them plenty to climb on.
Provide UVB during the day. This helps prevent metabolic bone disease (MBD) and is needed to activate the vitamin D3 in their diet.
Mist the enclosure regularly, and mist more during the hotter months to mimic the seasonal rainfall of their natural habitat.
Use a cage at least around 36 in long × 18 in wide — glass tanks or vivariums both work well.
Use loose bedding they can dig, burrow, tunnel and nest in — paper bedding, aspen shavings, or coco peat/coir are all good choices.
As prey animals, tenrecs need lots of hides and tunnels and a fairly cluttered layout to feel safe and secure.
Give them plenty to climb — logs, ropes, ladders, vines and fabric all work well for a semi-arboreal animal.
Provide a sand bath — tenrecs love bathing in sand, so either leave it in permanently or offer it weekly. A suitable running wheel is great for exercise too.
Tenrecs are omnivores, so we recreate a varied natural diet.
Offer insects a few times a week — this can even be daily. A good portion is about 8–10 large superworms or 10–15 mealworms. Avoid feeding too many high-fat insects like waxworms and butterworms, as these can lead to obesity and fatty liver.
Tenrecs also need meat protein weekly — cooked, unseasoned meat and thawed frozen pinkie mice are both suitable.
Roughly 90% of the diet is insects and 10% fruit & veg (though some tenrecs are fussy about their fruit and veg). Always offer a small bowl of good-quality kibble alongside the insects — we use Royal Canin Mother & Baby Cat — to keep their vitamins and minerals balanced.
Provide fresh water at all times.
Spot-clean daily and do a full clean once a week. Keeping ammonia levels and micro-organisms low is key to a healthy environment.
Tenrecs are friendly, inquisitive little animals and they usually enjoy being handled.
When a tenrec feels stressed, its defence is to bite and raise its quills. This is different from hedgehogs, whose first defence is to ball up. Tenrecs can ball up, hiss, huff and click when upset, but this is uncommon in well-handled adults, and they usually settle quickly once they realise there's no threat.
Handle tenrecs from a young age to keep them friendly and confident around people.
Tenrecs are generally hardy little animals. The main health risk is metabolic bone disease (MBD), caused by calcium deficiency.
Prevent it by dusting food with a phosphorus-free reptile calcium + D3 supplement at least weekly, and by providing UVB (which is needed to activate the D3).
Watch for trouble walking or moving, and odd-looking paws. If you spot these signs, see an exotic vet.
Sarcoptic mange is a common, contagious skin disease caused by a microscopic mite that burrows into the skin.
Look for hair thinning or loss, thickened wrinkled skin, and scabs and foul-smelling crusts (which come from secondary infection).
It's treated with anti-parasitic medication under a vet — for example ivermectin, or topical selamectin, fipronil or permethrin. Dosing must always be set by a vet.
Prevent mange with a clean environment, reduced stress, isolation of any symptomatic animals, and good biosecurity.
Lesser tenrecs are solitary animals, but there's some flexibility:
This section is for keepers thinking about breeding — it's information, not a recommendation to breed.
Females become sexually mature at around 2 years (after their first torpor), and males at around 1 year. The breeding season is when they emerge from torpor — roughly February to March. Gestation is 61–68 days.
Males can become more aggressive in season, though usually only if they can smell another tenrec. They have a loud, repetitive screeching mating call, and males secrete a pungent scent to attract females. Males — and some females — can also secrete a milky substance from around the eyes when they're excited.
Adult female lesser tenrecs weigh around 120–180 g (pregnant females up to 250–300 g or more), and adult males around 140–200 g. Weight drops during torpor.
You cannot sex tenrecs from external anatomy — it's all internal, and the male's penis only emerges for breeding. Accurate sexing needs a saliva DNA test.