How does the prickly hedgehog mate

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Q.� How many spines do hedgehogs have

A.� Hedgehog's spines cover their body, apart from the face and legs. The spines are around 20 mm long and there can be up to 15,000 of them depending on the species.

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Q.� How do the spines stick up and fold down

A.� Each spine is attached to a muscle capable of raising and lowering it when contracted or relaxed. Once upright the spines, which grow from follicles like hair does, crisscross over each other, forming a self-supporting impenetrable mass.

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Q.� What about baby hedgehogs, does the mother have to give birth to prickly young

A.� Although hedgehogs are born with their spines, fortunately for the mother the newborns spines are tucked underneath its water soaked skin.

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After birth, as the water is absorbed, soft white spines start to poke through the skin. After around 36 hours these spines are replaced with darker ones until finally a third set replace the first two coats and at around one month young hedgehogs are miniature versions of their parents.

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Q.� What do hedgehogs eat

A.� Although they belong to the order Insectivora the hedgehog will eat pretty much anything. Its favourite meals are earthworms, slugs and snails. It will also eat frogs, small mice and birds, bird's eggs, acorns and berries.

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To read more on how the natural world is classified, click here.

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Q.� And so I should put these out when trying to feed ones in my garden

A.� Many people like to have hedgehogs in their gardens because they are very good at keeping pests at bay. They really will eat anything from tinned salmon to coffee dregs.

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Q.� Why are they called hedgehogs

A.� Because of the pig like snorting and snuffling noise they make when rooting around in hedgerows.

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by Lisa Cardy