During the night

Hedgehogs spend most of their day sleeping and will only wake up when it gets dark. The sight of a hedgehog during the day can ofter show it has a problem, especially as the winter gets nearer. The hedgehog could still be out collecting food in an attempt to build up sufficient body fats for the winter hibernation.

During the night, a hedgehog moves around a lot. Males can walk up to 3 kilometers in a single night. Females ofter do less however, perhaps just 1 km.
The females will only need to travel to find sufficient food for themselves and any young, whilst the males will need to feed and will also be on the lookout for mates.

The male hedgehog will travel into the domains of several females looking for a mate and may cover a large area in the process. They will ofter visit special food areas which they have come across in past nights, but they do not stick to a rigid area.

As the hedgehog moves about during the night, it will leave a faint scent trail as it's underside brushes against the ground. Apart from that, however, the hedgehog does not mark out any territory with scent or urine.

If one male meets up with another, they will usuallk keep thier distance. Fights are uncommon amongst hedgehogs.

They can swim, although they tire easily and can often drown in a pool or pond which has steep, slippery sides, since it cannot climb out again.

They can also run quite quickly using their long legs. A climbing hedgehog is also not uncommon.

For the major part of the night, the hedgehog will be seeking out food by snuffling amongst the undergrowth. Using their strong sense of smell and keen hearing it seeks out it's prey. As a contrast, however, it's sight is poor. It cannot see the full colour spectrum and manages to survive well even if it has been blinded for some reason.

One strange thing that hedgehogs do is something called 'self anointing'. The hedgehog twists it's body around and using it's tongue, spreads saliva over it's spines. Although it looks a though the animal is having a fit, it is perfectly natural. It is still a mystery, however, as to why it is done.

Hedgehogs can make a loud squeal if frightened, but apart from it's normal snorting and snuffling noises, it makes little other sound.

SOmething I read made me laugh from Hugh Warwick's studies that showed that hedgehogs spend a large amount of their 'awake' time just standing still. Funny little creatures. Didn't surprise me to learn this me it still made me laugh.