Hedgehogs on Autumn Watch

[truthisouthere]

Originally Posted by angieh

Please don't apologise for the long post Truth - very informative, thanks. On Autumn Watch they said that a hedgehog under 600g won't survive hibernation ..... did they exaggerate do you think?

Yes, they were spot on there angie. 500g they'll make it, but 6-700 just to be on the safe side is preferable. Hedgehogs are quite sensitive animals and for a wild animal who is used to travelling up to 3 miles each night just to get enough sustenance being in captivity can stress them out quite a lot, especially the boars, sometimes the stress can be so overwhelming they die. So I always advise as a first option putting food out for any hogs over 350g to minimise stress and also to help them put weight on in their own environment before the winter. It all depends on how cold it is and what condition the hog is in. As a rule of thumb, the ones under 350g just won't make unless taken in, so it's best to bring them in. I keep them warm in a hutch in the spare room and feed them mealworms, weetabix and white meat cat food, along with peanuts and always water available. They make their own little nest in the bedding section by ardently shredding the newspaper of an evening! The best sound ever is to hear that little hedgehog snoring soundly in the daytime after a good nightly feed.

Alex, thanks for asking. Usually if your area used to have hedgehogs but doesn't have them anymore, there's a reason; either badgers have been forced to move in, gardens change, or the habitat just isn't there any more.. Noise also greatly upsets them. They either die out or attempt to move on to where there is the most food and shelter. Everyone wants a hog in their garden but hogs need a steady network of safe gardens with plenty of safe food free of pesticides to live and breed in.

If you want to help, inform people of the plight of hedgehogs..and..just do your bit. Every little helps. This is a fairly good link that will answer most questions. Thanks.

http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/get_pack.php

[alexgirl73]

Oh I know there are still hogs around, I have seen them around the area, just not actually seen any in my garden lol. Maybe I'm just not seeing them. Def no badgers as we're in a housing scheme, but it may be the other animals like the rabbits and guineas etc putting them off.

[truthisouthere]

Hi Alex. You're lucky they to see them around, alive. Other small animals shouldn't put them off, in fact I had one hibernate in the sheltered section of the guinea pig run one year (when it was empty of course!). Some nest and shelter under sheds. They will frequent landscapes with the most food and shelter, and choose the quietest and dryest place to hibernate away from too much noise or human traffic. A shed with a rotten door at the bottom to allow for access is perfect, but I understand this is not always prctical for us tidy humans!

Try putting a hibernaculum/nesting box in a corner of your garden, or against a sheltered wall, it needs to be facing away from the prevailing wind, and not in immediate sunshine. Cover it with old logs or leaves if possible. It may not be used for a year or 2 but it's good to know it's there if they need it.
Also, providing your garden has good access points for the hogs to come and go you could make a hedgehog feeding station to encourage them. This will make it harder for other animals to steal the hog's food put out for them each night: Lie 2 bricks on their side, place them about 16" apart, put a sheet of slate, (or other) on top, voila! Your own waterproof and private hedgehog feeding station! Put a bowl of water and a bowl of cat biscuits or chicken underneath and the hogs will eat under here.

Also, every garden should have a clean water source, water is AS important as food, a life saver in fact, and really does attract the most wildlife. For example I have 1 water bowl in my front garden; the sparrows use it to wash and drink, the crows and magpies use it to drink and dunk their food in, the foxes and badgers drink from it each night, and I'm sure the odd hog uses it too, I've seen the odd dropping there. Even if the hogs only come to drink, that's something. All the best!

[angieh]

That's grand advice Truth - thanks. Anything to help these endearing creatures. I feel SO guilty as I found a dead hog many years ago in a welly boot in the garage.

[alexgirl73]

Thanks for that truth I'm off out into the garden now to sort out a feeding station lol.

[juju1989]

What's the best thing to feed hedgehogs? My mum has some at the bottom of the garden. Milo mut mut was out the back going crazy so my sister went out to investigate and he was next to a hedgehog so he was dragged in! There have been hedgehogs for years at the bottom of the garden there's quite a large garden behind us with trees and hedges they like to hibernate in.

[truthisouthere]

Hi juju, great to hear your ma has hedgehogs in her garden and that their surrounding habitat is still stable and relatively untouched!

Any white meat based cat food will do, not gravy based as this is too rich and upsets their tummies, and no fish or beef. They also like cat biscuits and put on weight really well with these really quite fast, but will need access to a low lying sturdy saucer or bowl of water. Unsalted (bird) peanuts help them put on weight for the winter too, as do mealworms; they adore live mealworms and they're very high in protein and very good for them. They also like raisins, grapes, apples, and dog mixer biscuits, although these don't put their weight on as fast.
Hedgehogs should be going into hibernation shortly here, in Wales I expect they will have already gone into hibernation. But you can still put out food in a hog feeder as described in this thread, look out for signs of activity first and if you think they're still around put out the food each night. When the Spring arrives they'll really need food then too as they'll have lost most of their fat reserves and a good spring feed is most welcome!

angie, so sorry to hear you found a little hog in your wellie boot, bless, accidents happen. Unfortunately hedgehogs are very inquisitive and reknowned for clambering into tight and small spaces in search of shelter, warmth, and food! This little one may have crawled in when the boot was lying down and not been able to get out, or could have quite possibly been very ill to begin with. Don't blame yourself. This little one may even have died in his or her sleep as they frequently do, very sad, but at least he or she might have felt safe before drifting off..

[Manyana13]

I have not been on here for a while, so am a bit behind with this thread. Hedgehogs are fascinating and as some of you might know, I have only really learnt more about them recently since we discovered a resident Hedgehog in our garden. The sad thing is when I was 16 (15yrs ago!) I was living in the Outer Hebrides, and the islands were more or less over run by hedgehogs at one point and a scheme was set up to rescue them and hand them into a rescue who would take them to a sanctuary on the main land - a lot of people were culling them as they were affecting the bird population by eating eggs from nests on the ground and were seen by many farmers as pests. Under this scheme, if you found a living hedgehog then you would get £5 in return for handing it into the rescue. It is sad to think that then they were so plentiful and now their population is in rapid decline.

[truthisouthere]

Originally Posted by angieh

Did anyone see the programme yesterday? The piece that I found most interesting, and worrying, was the plight of the hedgehogs' second litter which are underweight for hibernation and will die if they are not cared for.

Truth - I know you are particularly fond of these lovely animals - how did your interview go?

The Interview was aired today on BBC Radio Solent.
A very short edit of it, but well edited and if it gets the info' out there every little helps.
It's on here for the next few days, I start about 1.53 in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00lqprk

[angieh]

Thanks for posting that link Truth - a very good piece IMO - I do so hope that it will help people to be more aware of the hedgehogs' plight.

The only off-putting bit was Alex Dyke's comment at the end about the possibility of bringing lice and disease indoors with the hedgehogs - hope someone can air accurate information about that.