You rarely see a hedgehog in the day because they move about at night. During the day a hedgehog sleeps in any pile of dry leaves it can find. These may be among the roots of a tree or among the bushes at the bottom of a hedge. The hedgehog sleeps curled up in a ball. At night it uncurls itself and sets off to find a meal. It has not got good eyesight but it has got good hearing and a very good a sense of smell.

The hedgehog feeds on worms, snails, slugs and insects. It will even kill and eat a frog, mouse or lizard. A hedgehog has short legs and walks slowly in search of food but it can run, climb and swim. If a hedgehog is disturbed as it searches for food it rolls itself up into a tight ball. This makes the spines on its back stick out and deters its enemies such as foxes and badgers. If a hedgehog meets an adder it may attack as it is immune to the snake's poison.

At the end of summer the hedgehog makes a winter nest. This may be located in a hole in a bank, between roots of a tree or even in a compost heap. The hedgehog lines its nest with moss and dry leaves.

As winter approaches the hedgehog can find little to eat so it hibernates until the spring. When the hedgehog hibernates its body temperature falls, its breathing and heart beat slows down so that it requires little energy to keep it alive through the winter. It gets all the energy it needs from the fat that it has stored up by eating well in the summer.

Hedgehogs breed between May and July when a litter of up to seven baby hedgehogs are born. Some female hedgehogs have a second litter in late summer.