How a Hoglet Becomes a Hedgehog

Laurence Liu
2020年11月20日
讀畢需時 2 分鐘

已更新：2020年11月28日

Do you know that the newborn hoglets do not have any spins on their skin? Interestingly, as mammals, there is a big difference between human and hedgehogs. It takes lots of years for human child to get into adulthood. But for hedgehogs, it is totally the other way around. At the stage of mating especially, the male hedgehogs take no participation in rearing the young hoglets. The young hoglets must go through some processes so it can grow into an adult without a doubt.

In the first stage of a hedgehogs’ lifecycle, the young hoglets should stay by their mother for thirty days at least. When young hoglets are born, the hoglets’ eyes are closed, deaf with ears, body with no spins and their skin are pink rather than dark grey. In other word, if any hoglets are abandoned, they cannot live on their own because baby hoglets cannot generate their own body heat and require their mother’s warmth for the first thirty days or so. After giving birth to the hoglets, the mother hedgehog would stay in the nest for the first twenty-four hours without venturing out. The mother hedgehog goes out to forage some insects such as beetles, earwigs, and caterpillars for recuperating body energy for herself. During this section, the hoglets would huddle together for warmth. Typically, this stage would last until they’re one month old.

After passing one month, the hoglets have already looked like a miniature version of their parents. The hoglets’ skin will have sparse and thin spines covering their naked bodies, eyes and ears are opening and becoming more active. The hoglets. In other word, these hoglets can be more independent than before. Some of hoglets would leave from their siblings while some of them would stay in the nest for more time. As you can see that the one-month old hoglets seem to be adult hedgehogs although it’s not.

Until the second month, the young hoglets have already turned into mature hedgehogs. At this stage, the hoglets have already had the ability to give birth as same as the other adult hedgehog. In other word, they can leave their siblings, mothers living independent lives. In addition, the majority of hedgehogs’ life span are between two to five years approximately. Therefore, after sixty days, the young hoglets have already grown into the mature hedgehogs.

The hedgehogs’ life span is brief enough, lasting two to five years mostly. From a newborn hoglet to an adult hedgehog, it only takes one month or so. As human, we look at the hedgehog’s whole life is relatively simple. However, to hedgehogs, it’s a long journey to them because they not only have to grow up but also need to prevent themselves from being starving to death or losing the body temperature simultaneously. The growing process of the hedgehogs provides an example showing how the changeable nature.