Tell me everything you know about....hedgehogs!?

Question

=D

Go ahead..

Answer 1

All the blue ones are called Sonic :)

Answer 2

they have load of little pricks on their backs!!!

Answer 3

Smallish, spikey, grunt a lot and waddle when they walk, delight in eating slugs and such, are very good climbers and best of all they taste great...................

Answer 4

Hedgehogs are named after their pig-like habit of rooting through the undergrowth for food. They are quite noisy and can be heard snuffling and grunting during their activities.

Life span up to 5 years

Statistics

Body length: 15-30 cm, Weight: 1.5-2 kg.

The hedgehog is Britain's only spiny mammal. The upper parts of the head and body are covered in short, yellow-tipped spines - adults may have up to 5000 spines. The rest of the body is covered with brown fur, and the hedgehog has a short tail.

European hedgehogs range across Europe, including Britain, from Scandinavia to Romania. They were introduced to New Zealand.

Their preferred habitat is forest, hedgerows, scrub and cultivated land, and they are commonly found in gardens.

Hedgehogs eat slugs, snails, beetles and earthworms. They also sometimes feed on eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds.

Hedgehogs are solitary, non-territorial animals and are most active at night after heavy rainfall.

In summer, hedgehogs shelter during the day in temporary nests of leaves, moss and grass. By autumn, hedgehogs have dramatically put on weight in preparation for their hibernation. Their hibernation nests are typically situated under hedgerows.

They hibernate until the following March or April, during which time their body temperature and heart beat fall dramatically, from 190 to about 20 beats per minute. Most hedgehog deaths occur during this hibernation period.

Their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell and hearing are very good, and they can swim and climb well. Their dense covering of spines offers protection when the animal is disturbed, rolling up in a tight ball covering the head and soft underside.

Males and females may share a nest for a short period, during the breeding season. Females produce one or two litters a year, of about five young. These are weaned after five weeks.

Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act in Britain, and may not be trapped without a licence. They are not considered to be endangered, although numbers are in decline due to habitat loss.

Hedgehogs are often killed by manmade influences, such as in ponds, bonfires, on roads, by strimmers and lawnmowers, pesticides, garden netting and litter. They are also killed by foxes, pine martens, stoats and badgers.

Answer 5

-theyre mammals

-they roll into tight balls to defend themselves

-theyre nocturnal

-they have 5 toes on the front feet and 4 on the back

-they eat insects, frogs, toads, snails, snakes, bird eggs, grass, berries, roots, mushrooms...

-they are often welcomed as a natural form of garden control

-the daddy hedgehog usually kills his sons :'(

-they are born blind

-theyre eaten in many cultures

-they get hit by cars a lot

-most of them have white bellies, but not all

-they can live anywhere from forest to desert

-they live alone and only get together to mate

-they don start to get spines until theyre at least 30 days old

-they have black ears and a black nose

-theyre really CUTEEE!!!

-ILOVEHEDGEHOGGIES ❤♡❤♡❤♡❤♡❤

omg you HAVE to look at this pic!!!!

http://www.liewcf.com/blog/wp-images/por...

awwwwwwww

Answer 6

Hedgehogs will eat mealworms.. when tamed as babies they know you...most love to be held for short periods of time while others would rather browse around...Depending on your hedgehogs temperment....I think they have about 7000 quills and when tamed their quills will lay down...Excited? Beware of the quills...when they put them up in the air..they dont just stand up..they can make the quills go ever which way. If a hedgehog is scared they will roll up in a ball...please keep your finger out of the way....I can tell you from experience the pain of not only how tightly they can roll up but at the same time their quills get ya and that...is hurtful!..Painful!...LOL...whatever phrase ya want to put there...They can get fleas....mites...clean cages are a must.....Have fun....

Answer 7

they are not good for kicking around

they hibernate in the winter

a lot get run over

they are spikey

they are mammals

they curl up in a ball

they are adorable

Answer 8

They look like hedghogs

And Sonic was one, Yeh.. that blue guy that could run realy fast. Not sure about tails and knuckles :S they must of been like.. His retardded brothers?

Answer 9

be careful when picking them up

Answer 10

A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 16 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand.

Answer 11

they have spikes for protection,eat worms,slugs and any dead animals they come across and also eat any windfall like apples. there mainly nocturnal and hibernate in the winter. they can be quite tame if you put food out for them and have been known to climb through cat flaps to eat cat food.

Answer 12

sonics a hedgehog!

Answer 13

they're good for kicking around!

Answer 14

no how bout you get off your lazy a s s and do some research yourself :)

Answer 15

They're spikey, they come out at night, eat bugs&slugs, sleep in strange places so always check your bonfire before lighting it, don't particularly like mating (the female has no interest and just walks off...saw that in a documentary), you can leave food out for them but not milk.  They curl up into a ball when they feel in danger and finally they're cute lil critters.

Answer 16

Hang on, I'll ask the one sitting on the doorstep how much she wants you to know......

OK - she wasn't up for much chat.  Guess she would like to remain an enigma.

Still - from that brief encounter I can tell you she was several years old as she was quite big, is probably considering having babies shortly in the cat hutch next to the back step (where she appears to have taken up residence), has REALLY smelly poos (I've had to close the door - yuck) mainly because she is a carnivore.  Her babies will be like little pink toothbrushes and will be blind for about 2-3 weeks.

And apparently she prefers the beef Whiskers to the chicken version....

Answer 17

Fact!

They are absolutley covered in fleas!

We used to have one, yuck omG

Answer 18

You did ask for everything......!!

A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 16 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to North America; those in New Zealand are introduced. Hedgehogs have changed little over the last 15 million years. Like many of the first mammals they have adapted to a nocturnal, insectivorous way of life. The name 'hedgehog' came into use around the year 1450, derived from the Middle English 'heyghoge', from 'heyg', 'hegge' = hedge, because it frequents hedgerows, and 'hoge', 'hogge' = hog, from its piglike snout.[2] Other folk names include 'urchin', 'hedgepig' and 'furze-pig'.

Hedgehogs are easily recognized by their spines, which are hollow hairs made stiff with keratin. Their spines are not poisonous or barbed and, unlike the quills of a porcupine, cannot easily be removed from the animal. However, spines normally come out when a hedgehog sheds baby spines and replaces them with adult spines. This is called "quilling". When under extreme stress or during sickness, a hedgehog can also lose spines.

A defense that all species of hedgehogs possess is the ability to roll into a tight ball, causing all of the spines to point outwards. However, its effectiveness depends on the number of spines, and since some of the desert hedgehogs evolved to carry less weight, they are much more likely to try to run away and sometimes even attack the intruder, trying to ram into the intruder with its spines, leaving rolling as a last resort. This results in a different number of predators for different species: while forest hedgehogs have relatively few, primarily birds (especially owls) and ferrets, smaller species like the Long-eared Hedgehog are preyed on by foxes, wolves and mongooses.

All hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, although different species can be more or less likely to come out in the daytime. The hedgehog sleeps for a large portion of the daytime either under cover of bush, grass, rock or in a hole in the ground. Again, different species can have slightly different habits, but in general hedgehogs dig out dens for shelter. All wild hedgehogs can hibernate, although not all do; hibernation depends on temperature, abundance of food and species.

Hedgehogs have 5 toes on their front paws with short nails. However, on their back paws they have 4 toes with long, constantly growing nails. They have these characteristics because hedgehogs burrow.

Hedgehogs are fairly vocal, and communicate not only in a series of grunts and snuffles, but sometimes in loud squeals (depending on species).

Hedgehogs occasionally perform a ritual called anointing. When the animal comes across a new scent, it will l**k and bite the source and then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue. It is not known what the specific purpose of this ritual is, but some experts believe anointing camouflages the hedgehog with the new scent of the area and provides a possible poison or source of infection to any predator that gets poked by their spines. Anointing is sometimes also called anting because of a similar behavior in birds.

Similar to opossums, mice, and moles, hedgehogs have some natural immunity against snake venom due to the protein erinacin in the animal's muscular system.

Hedgehogs perform well with other pets, including cats and dogs. They are occasionally threatened by these animals, though, but for those rare instances, the hedgehogs just roll into a ball until the threat is gone.

Although traditionally classified in the order Insectivora, hedgehogs are not exclusively insectivores but are almost omnivorous. Hedgehogs feed on insects, snails, frogs and toads, snakes, bird eggs, carrion, mushrooms, grass roots, berries, melons, and watermelons. In fact, berries constitute a major part of an Afghan Hedgehog's diet in early spring after hibernation. The hedgehog is occasionally spotted after a rainstorm foraging for earthworms. Although forest hedgehogs, most well-known to Europeans, are indeed mainly insectivores, this is not necessarily true for other species.

In areas that have hedgehogs in the wild, they are often welcomed as a natural form of garden pest control. Many people leave food out to attract hedgehogs. Although hedgehogs are lactose-intolerant, they will eagerly consume cheese, milk, and dairy products, causing illness. The common pet hedgehog (Four-toed Hedgehog) can however have a small portion of cottage cheese as a dietary supplement. Dog and cat food are better than dairy, but both are often too high in fat and too low in protein. It is best to leave out only a small treat, leaving them plenty of appetite for the pests in one's garden.

Depending on the species, the gestation period is 35–58 days. The average litter is 3–4 newborns for larger species and 5–6 for smaller ones. As with many animals, it is not unusual for an adult male hedgehog to kill newborn males.

The hedgehog's dilemma is based upon the apparent danger of a male hedgehog being injured from a spine while mating with a female hedgehog. It states that the closer two people are to each other, the more they may hurt one another. However, this is not an issue for hedgehogs as the male's p***s is very near the center of its abdomen (often mistaken for a belly button) and the female has the ability to curl her tail upward to the point that her v***a protrudes behind the rest of her body. As such, the male doesn't have to get completely on top of the female when mating.

Hedgehogs have a relatively long lifespan for their size. Larger species of hedgehogs live 4–7 years in the wild (some have been recorded up to 16 years), and smaller species live 2–4 years (4–7 in captivity), compared to a mouse at 2 years and a large rat at 3–5 years. Lack of predators and controlled diet contribute to a longer lifespan in captivity.

Hedgehogs are born blind. Many believe that they are born without quills, which develop in the following days. However, the quills are easily visible within hours of birth after the newborn hedgehog has been cleaned.

The most common pet species of hedgehog are hybrids of the White-bellied Hedgehog or Four-toed Hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) and the North African Hedgehog (A. algirus). It is smaller than the West European Hedgehog, and thus is sometimes called the African Pygmy Hedgehog. Other species kept as pets are the Long-eared Hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) and the Indian Long-eared Hedgehog (H. collaris).

Domesticated species prefer a warm climate (above 72°F/22°C but below 85°F/29.5°C) and do not naturally hibernate. They eat an insectivore diet. Commonly, this is replaced with cat food and ferret food and is supplemented by insects and other small animals. Today, many pet stores sell hedgehog mixes that are specifically formulated for hedgehogs. Crickets, mealworms, and pinkies (baby mice) are also favored treats. It is illegal to own a hedgehog as a pet in some U.S. states and some Canadian municipalities, and breeding licenses are required. No such restrictions exist in most European countries with the exception of Scandinavia.

The purchase of domesticated hedgehogs has seen a considerable increase in the last few years owing to their apparently innocent and playful looks. Hedgehogs are difficult to maintain as pets because of their low resistance to climate and temperature changes, and their inability to adapt to enclosed environments.

Hedgehogs are a powerful form of pest control. A single hedgehog can keep an average garden free of pests by eating up to 200 grams of insects each night. It is common throughout the United Kingdom to see people attempting to lure hedgehogs into their gardens with treats and hedgehog-sized holes in their fences.

One problem with using hedgehogs for garden pest control is the use of chemical insecticide. While the hedgehog is large enough to resist most insecticides, it cannot withstand them if it eats many insects which have become full of the poison. This causes many hedgehog deaths where pet hedgehogs eat contaminated bugs within the house.

In areas where hedgehogs have been introduced, such as New Zealand and the islands of Scotland, the hedgehog itself has become a pest. In New Zealand it causes immense damage to native species including insects, snails and ground-nesting birds, particularly shore birds. As with many introduced animals, it lacks natural predators. With overpopulation, it kills off more insects than initially intended and expands its diet to include things such as snails, worms, and the eggs of wading birds. Attempts to eliminate hedgehogs from bird colonies on the Scottish islands of North Uist and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides have met with considerable opposition.

There are many diseases common to hedgehogs. These include cancer, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Cancer is very common in hedgehogs. The most common is squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell spreads quickly from the bone to the organs in hedgehogs, unlike in humans. Surgery to remove the tumors is rare because it would result in removing too much bone structure.

Fatty liver disease is believed by many to be caused by bad diet. Hedgehogs will eagerly eat foods that are high in fat and sugar. Having a metabolism adapted for low-fat, protein-rich insects, this leads to common problems of obesity. Fatty liver disease is one sign, heart disease is another.

Hedgehogs uncommonly transmit a characteristic fungal skin infection to human handlers as well as other hedgehogs. This ringworm or dermatophytosis infection is caused by Trichophyton erinacei, which f

Answer 19

They're from the subfamily of the Erinaceinae.They've changed very little over the last 5 million or so years.There are 16 known species.The name hedgehog is derived from middle english 'heyghoge', from 'heyg', 'hegge' = hedge, because it frequents hedgerows, and 'hoge', 'hogge' = hog, from its piglike snout.[2] Other folk names include 'urchin', 'hedgepig' and 'furze-pig' Also they're usuallyfound dead in the middle of a busy road...not a very pleasant sight.

Answer 20

- Spiky

- The babies are adorable

- They like milk

- They like snails

- White-bellied

- Four-toed

- Run over easily

- Cute

Answer 21

1- There is a dead one just up the road from my house.

2- They start to smell after 2 days

:)

Answer 22

they're spikey