No hedgehogs aren’t rodents. Hedgehog – insectivorous animal, the average weight of the animal is almost 800 g, but before hibernation, it gains weight to about 1200 g. Males are slightly larger in size than the female. The front legs of the hedgehog are shorter than the rear, five fingers on each are equipped with sharp claws. Small tail up to 3 cm is almost not visible under the needle coat of the animal.
Brownish-light needles up to 3 cm in size, hollow inside. Under each needle there is a muscle fiber, capable of lifting it and lowering it.
Grow and fall with a periodicity of about 1-2 needles out of three for a year. Full dumping of the fur coat does not happen, gradually the cover is updated in a year and a half. Dropped needles only diseased individuals.
The number of needles in an adult hedgehog reaches 5-6 thousand, and in a young animal – up to 3 thousand spines. Rare blonde hair between the needles, too, come across, and on the abdomen and head they are thick and colored darker.
A gray, single-colored wool coat is more common, but among the hedgehogs there are species of white and spotted.
