Cannibalism

I have read various articles and forums of breeders who've experienced watching their pet hedgehog cannibalize the young ones, and I thought it will be something that I will only read on the internet. Unfortunately, I witnessed one of the young hoglets getting cannibalized by its own mother.

I have yet to figure out the reason why. Different information sources state that it could be due to birth defect, and some mentioned that the mother could've been stressed. The hoglet has been growing fine like its siblings, at least from the size observed, and being able to move and chirp normally I doubt the hoglet has any health problems.

And this is the third litter Quills gave birth to, so I expected her to be able to cope comfortably. She has been very good-tempered during the first week after giving birth that it came as a shock when I found the hoglet's headless corpse lying outside the hidebox.

It saddens me to think that the hoglet will not be able to see the world before going to heaven. It was barely a week old when its life ended. And I pray hard that the rest of the hoglets grow healthily until adulthood.