Hedgehog facts # 1
If you notice small pink dots on your hands after handling your pet hedgehog, you’re most likely not allergic – the quills of your spiny friend have just caused a lot of tiny puncture marks on your skin. Wash your hands before and after handling your hedgehog to prevent infection. True hedgehog allergies are uncommon (but not impossible) since hedgehogs produce such small amounts of dander.

Hedgehog facts # 2
The quills of a hedgehog are hollow hairs made stiff by keratin. They are not venomous or barbed.

Hedgehog fact # 3
Hedgehogs have a certain degree of natural immunity towards snake venom thanks to a protein (known as erinacin) present in their muscular system.

Hedgehog fact # 4
The name hedgehog has been used in English since at least the 1400s and alludes to the West European hedgehogs’s fondness of frequenting hedgerows.

Hedgehog facts # 5
Unlike the quills of a porcupine, the quills of a hedgehog can not be easily removed from the animal. Only extreme stress or sickness can make a hedgehog shed its quills, except for young hedgehogs that will shed their baby quills and replace them with adult quills in a process known as quilling.  

Hedgehog facts # 6
Hedgehogs have comparatively poor eye sight, a fact which should be taken into account when caring for and interacting with hedgehogs.  

Hedgehog facts # 7
Several colour varieties of the African Pygmy Hedgehog have been developed for the pet trade, such as albino and pinto.

Hedgehog facts # 8
In Europe, hedgehog quills have been used as dissection pins and for card paper.

Hedgehog facts # 9
The hedgehogs of today are amazingly similar to the ones who roamed the planet 15 million years ago. 

Hedgehog facts # 10
In 2006, McDonald's changed the design of their McFlurry containers to prevent hedgehogs from getting their heads stuck inside while licking left-over ice cream