If desert hedgehogs are threatened, their muscles go tight and pull the outer layer of skin around the body, making their quills stick out in all directions.

[2] The desert hedgehog occurs in Bahrain, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and possibly Ethiopia.

The female desert hedgehog gives birth to up to six young, in a burrow or concealed nest, after a gestation period of around 30 to 40 days.

The young are born deaf and blind, and with the quills located just under the skin, to prevent damage to the female during birth.

[citation needed] The desert hedgehog is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Moniliformis saudi.