How many babies can echidnas have?

Echidna babies are not born: they are hatched, as echidnas are monotremes, i.e. egg-laying mammals. The female echidna lays a single egg in the rudimentary pouch she develops during breeding season.

There is a belief that echidna young are called "puggles". Even certain government wildlife departments are guilty of perpetuating this myth. This misnomer developed and spread by the appearance of a soft toy, called a puggle, which resembled a baby echidna.