Hedgehogs

[weekendwellies]

My daughter has found and brought home a hedgehog. She was worried that it should be hibernating by now.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, it is now in a box of straw in the shed with some cat biscuits and water.

Should it be hibernating by now, and should we keep it or release it?
The girls have been on t'internet and found that they are very easy to care for and would really like to keep it. I wouldn't mind it knocking about in the back garden come spring, I have lots of slugs and snails to keep it going.

What are your thoughts on this.

[Nicos]

Depends on its weight to be honest.Below a certain weight and it wouldn't survive the winter by hibernating- and would need feeding on .

Slugs and snails are really bad for hedgehogs...they carry disease which is killing off many hedgehogs...so not a good reason to want to keep it

Was it found during daylight hours or during darkness? If during the night, it might have been trying to get in one last feed before hibernating- if during the day, then it's sick and should really be checked out by an expert.

Here- give Ray Jackson a ring in the morning for advice ( might be a good idea to weigh it in grammes if you can beforehand)....

British Hedgehog Preservation Society - Hedgehog Carers


Often a rescue centre will let you home the hedgehog after treatment if you have an ideal garden!

have a look on some of the previous hedgehog threads using our 'rather excellent Search faciity ' at the top of the page...and prepare your garden as best as poss!!!

( oh - and check it out for ticks and remove as many as possible)

Let us know how you get on!!

[weekendwellies]

thanks Nicos. I have given Ray Jackson's number to her, so she can give him a call. (If she doesn't I will ). I didnt know they could get sick from the slugs and snails, I thought that they were a big part of their diet.

[Nicos]

Only if there's nothing better to eat...but then of course once upon a time slugs and snails wouldn't have carried 'baddies'

Do let us know what happens- hedgehogs are real sweeties...and maybe your daughter has just saved it's life!!

good luck!!

[Two_Sheds]

I didnt know they could get sick from the slugs and snails,

Yes, they carry lungworm, which kills hodgepigs. More info on diet here

[Jax]

Awww, I love hedgehogs

[Nicos]

Hello!!!

[Jax]

Awwwwwwww, my hubby keeps threatening to get me a pigmy hedgehog hehe

[buzzingtalk]

awwww

I've never seen a live hedgehog. Only 2 dead ones on the road

[Jax]

awww, its a treat when you do. Keep an eye out in your garden at night.

WW- how did you get on calling the hedgehog people. Is the little one getting on ok??

[weekendwellies]

Update:
Went to check on it in the box the morning after the night before, and it had gotten out through the handholds ( which were quite high up so I never expected it would get out there). It was then 'somewhere' in the shed
Now this is your typical household shed; bikes, lawnmowers, sun-loungers, tents, boxes of this and that, all jumbled up together ~ you get the picture. There is no way I am going to start a hedgehog search through that lot as I feared injuring it accidentally if I had done. So we ended up not calling the guy, and after a bit of debate decided it was probably best to just prop open the shed door a bit and leave some cat biscuits out. Didn't see him yesterday but heard rustling in the shed at dusk tonight and beat a hasty retreat. S/he was spotted trundling around the garden at about 7pm tonight. For good or ill I think we now have a resident hoggie. If s/he does manage to squeeze through some gap in the fencing I hope it manages to get to the field which is only a matter of feet away from here and from there can get to some shelter. If s/he stays then there is quite a bit of old branches from the apples and pears that have been left to provide a bit of 'wild area' last year along with sundry other garden brick-a-brack. And there is sundry beetles, worms and various critters for it and I will continue with the cat food. Dont really see any other way now.

[Nicos]

Out of interest..what sort of size was it???
If it was 600g or more it should be OK for hibernating.
I know an adult can squeeze underneath a gate with a gap of just over 2"!!...and they roam about 3 miles a night.
If you provide plenty of fresh water and extra food then it may well choose your garden to hibernate in

fingers crossed it'll decide o stay put...it clearly has a plan!!

( if it weighed a lot less than 600g I'd be tempted to see if you can find it in the garden)

It's nice to interact with wildlife isn't it??

[weekendwellies]

we didnt get the chance to weigh it before it went awol. But I had a close look at it last night ( I always check around before locking up). It came right up to me It looked really plump, but I have never seen a live one up close before, so I have nothing to gauge it against. About the same size as our guinea pig. (very similar creatures, apart from the prickles).

[Nicos]

Sounds like it might just about be OK(bit small)- do keep an eye out for it though ( ...as if you wouldn't!!)

[SueA]

You could put out some meaty cat food for it each night ( not fishy, bad for them). Hedgehogs are probably still pottering around as the weather has been fairly mild so they've decided not to hibernate yet! It would be nice if it stayed in your garden, put some leaves near the logs etc. so it can use them for bedding.