# What Do Common Shrews Eat?

> What common shrews eat: Insectivore — insects, worms, slugs, and spiders, foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Woodlands, gardens, and grassland across Europe.

- **Species:** Common Shrew (*Sorex araneus*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Insectivore — insects, worms, slugs, and spiders
- **Habitat:** Woodlands, gardens, and grassland across Europe
- **Lifespan:** 1–2 years in the wild (rarely exceeds 2)
- **Top speed:** Up to 8 km/h (5 mph); constant active foraging
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/shrew/what-do-shrew-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/shrew/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The common shrew (Sorex araneus) is a tiny, insect-eating mammal found in woodlands, gardens, and grasslands across Europe. Weighing just 5–15 g and measuring around 8 cm, it is one of the continent's smallest mammals, with a pointed snout, velvety fur, and a ferocious appetite. Shrews live fast and die young, rarely surviving beyond one to two years in the wild.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## A relentless appetite

The common shrew has an extraordinarily fast metabolism and must eat almost constantly to stay alive. It consumes around 80–90 per cent of its own body weight in food every day and can starve to death in just a few hours without a meal. Shrews forage in short bursts around the clock, taking only brief naps between hunts. This punishing energy budget shapes almost everything about the animal's short, frantic life.

## Help protect the Common Shrew

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/shrew/what-do-shrew-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.