heads stuck in tubes (commonly, toilet paper tubes) and walk around with them on their heads. Owners often refer to this as "tubing" and promote the behavior by supplying lean tubes. Most owners are considerate enough, however, to cut the tubes lengthwise to prevent the hedgehog from remaining trapped against its will. Curiously, some hedgehogs still knowingly get themselves stuck for hours. Culinary and medicinal use Hedgehogs are a food source in many cultures. Hedgehogs were eaten in Ancient Egypt and some recipes of the Late Middle Ages call for hedgehog meat. Hedgehogs are traded throughout Eurasia and Africa for traditional medicine and witchcraft. In the Middle East and especially among Bedouins, hedgehog meat is considered medicinal, and thought to cure rheumatism and arthritis. They are also said to cure a variety of illnesses and disorders from tuberculosis to impotence. In Morocco, inhaling the smoke of the burnt skin or bristles is a purported remedy for fever, male impotence, and urinary illnesses; the blood is sold as a cure for ringworm, cracked skin and warts and the flesh is eaten as a remedy for witchcraft. Romani people still eat hedgehogs, boiled or roasted, and also use the blood and the fat for its supposed medicinal value. In 1981, British publican Philip Lewis developed a line of Hedgehog Flavoured Crisps, whose taste was apparently based on the flavourings used by Romani to bake hedgehogs. As the crisps did not contain any actual hedgehog product, he was forced by the Office of Fair Trading to change the name to Hedgehog Flavour Crisps. Genera and species Subfamily Erinaceinae (hedgehogs) Genus Atelerix Four-toed hedgehog, Atelerix albiventris North African hedgehog, Atelerix algirus Southern African hedgehog, Atelerix frontalis Somali hedgehog, Atelerix sclateri Genus Erinaceus Amur hedgehog, Erinaceus amurensis Southern white-breasted hedgehog, Erinaceus concolor European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus Northern white-breasted hedgehog, Erinaceus roumanicus Genus Hemiechinus Long-eared hedgehog, Hemiechinus auritus Indian long-eared hedgehog, Hemiechinus collaris Genus Mesechinus Daurian hedgehog, Mesechinus dauuricus Hugh's hedgehog, Mesechinus hughi Small-toothed forest hedgehog, Mesechinus miodon Gaoligong forest hedgehog, Mesechinus wangi Genus Paraechinus Desert hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus Brandt's hedgehog, Paraechinus hypomelas Indian hedgehog, Paraechinus micropus Bare-bellied hedgehog, Paraechinus nudiventris See also References External links Hedgehog reference at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Hedgehog facts Hedgehog care and advice Natural History of European Hedgehogs (Wildlife Online) Rolling animals