Understanding Animals: Do You Know About the Hedgehog? 🦔

Sleep Tight Science - A Bedtime Science Show For Kids

Sleep Tight Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 738 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, we learn about how hedgehog spines actually work, why hedgehogs can hunt venomous snakes without being hurt, what really happens to their body during hibernation, and a strange behaviour involving foam that scientists still can't fully explain. Grown-ups: we value your feedback. Our email and message link are in the episode notes—please send us your child’s questions and thoughts. Sleep Tight!, Sheryl & Clark ❤️👂📖 --- ✨ Want more stories and fewer interruptions? Join Sleep Tight Premium for ad-free listening, bonus bedtime stories every week, and personalized shout-outs for your little ones! Start your free trial now on Apple Podcasts or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sleeptightpremium.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support Us 👉 Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for AD FREE listening and extra bedtime stories! 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Tight Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in Apple Podcasts! 🎉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts, or share our podcast with your friends. 📢 Have an interesting science topic you would like to investigate? Send us an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , and we may feature it in an upcoming show. --- About Sleep Tight Science We’ve got bedtime down to a (Sleep Tight) Science! Sleep Tight Science is an award winning bedtime podcast that makes science accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. Snuggle in and drift off to sleep while learning about science topics submitted by listeners! Designed for curious young minds (but simple enough for grown-ups to understand), Sleep Tight Science uses big words to answer big questions that kids wonder about, like why do we feel icky sometimes and how do our legs help us move? Learn something new about the natural world while drifting off to dreamland. Have an interesting science question or a topic you’re curious about? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and it might just be the focus of an upcoming episode! Dedicated to enhancing the health and happiness of children, Sleep Tight Media helps families replace bedtime struggles with bedtime snuggles.

Transcript

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0:00.0	My name is Danny Effington. I live in West Des Moines, Iowa. I'm from Utah, and you are listening to Sleeptight Science.
0:30.4	A Hedgehog. A hedgehog has between 5,000 and 7,000 spines on its back.
0:31.2	What?
0:33.0	They are not poisonous.
0:35.0	They are not barbed. But arranged across a curled-up hedgehog,
0:38.9	they form one of the most effective defenses in the animal kingdom.
0:48.6	Hello, friends, and welcome back to Sleeptight Science,
0:53.3	a bedtime show that answers your questions about science.
0:58.4	If you had to describe a hedgehog to someone who had never seen one, you might say,
1:06.2	small, round, covered in spines, curls into a ball when frightened. And you wouldn't be wrong, but you'd be
1:17.7	leaving out quite a lot. This small, round, cute and adorable animal has a surprising resistance to snake venom and certain toxins
1:32.3	that would seriously harm most creatures its size. It eats things that would seriously harm most
1:41.3	other creatures. It survives winter through a psychological shutdown so dramatic
1:48.4	that its body temperature drops to just above freezing
1:53.0	and its heart slows to almost nothing.
1:57.9	And it occasionally covers itself in a toxic foam for reasons that scientists, even now, don't entirely agree on.
2:12.3	Modern hedgehogs have existed for around 15 million years, and their body plan has remained surprisingly
2:21.6	consistent over that time. Whatever it's doing, it works. In this episode, we'll find out what that is.
2:35.6	Before we start, here are some words to listen for.
2:40.2	And if you've been listening to our recent animal episodes, one of them is going to feel very
2:47.2	familiar.
2:50.3	Carrotin, the protein that builds hair, fingernails, rhinoceros horns, and flamingo beak plates,
	...

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