Hedgehogs!

[Headfry]

Sandy - my hedgehog is still very much about, it seems to look a good size, but should it not be asleep? It is very mild here, only the odd frosty morning- there is a clump of field poppies flowering just up the road from us!
Hope it makes it ok.

[SueA]

Hi Headfry, Sandy should be o.k. if he/she is the right weight, it should be around 600g to hibernate. If you think it looks poorly in any way you could put a strong,thick pair of gloves on, pick it up & weigh it. Hedgehogs only go into hibernation when it's consistently cold, so it's probably still too mild for this. They do sometimes wake up & wander around during winter if there's a very warm spell so don't worry if you see it around for the odd day. Here's a link to some info. on what to do if you find a youngster/underweight hog.
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/Aut.htm

[Flummery]

Interesting reading SueA. We have had a juvenile in our garden the last couple of nights, snuffling around. However, it was heavily infested with tics and seemed to be losing the fight. It was certainly too small to hibernate. Sorry to say that I found it this morning dead near my greenhouse. I don't think we could have done anything for it as it seemed very weak when we first saw it a day or two ago.

[NSB]

I have contacted our local wildlife rescue centre re: adopting a hedgehog - I thought they would also be ideal for the slugs next year!