RSPCA centres inundated with prickly patients

[Piggle]

Ok first of all grab that small hog and weigh it - if it is under 650g you will need to one of two things

either take it to your local carer or take it in yourself. The second option is a bigger commitment, you will need somewhere warmish , a greenhouse or shed is ideal and a hutch or large unescapable box ( they can climb believe me I've had them get out of things you wouldn't believe).

If you take it in you'll need to provide suitable bedding ( hay not straw ) , torn up newspaper which will need to be changed every other day or so and feeding everyday with cat biscuits, meat based food etc.

If you call British Hedgehog Preservation Society they will give you the number of your nearest carer.

Two sheds - don't worry bout the fleas they are hedgehog specific , tics are a bit different but easy to remove and drown in hot soapy water.

I would encourage everyone to foster if they can - it's pretty easy and very rewarding.

BHPS number is 01584 890801 or PM me if you need - thanks

[Two_Sheds]

Our local rescue is looking for foster parents, I must give them a ring. I'm just concerned about ticks and fleas though (we have a dog) ~ the hoglet I rescued in the summer was infested

[Kleftiwallah]

This is my Grandson (with my motorcycle gloves on) checking to see if our resident hedgehog is heavy enough to see it through the winter.

Thankfully it is over the minimum required weight.


Cheers, Tony.

[veggiechicken]

Someone better tell Bren - it could eat the slug in her kitchen!

My Mum had a Dog that would scream loudly in the garden at night, then bring a Hedgehog back with her... Nutter! Mum always knew when there were 'Hogs, by the noise the Dog made!

Brings back some memories G4 - ones my neighbours would prefer to forget if they were twitching curtains.
Middle of the night, my dog barking in the garden, get out of bed, go out into garden, find dog barking at hedgehog, spend sometime talking to hedgehog by the light of a full moon, stand up feeling a cool breeze on my skin - realise that I am starkers

[VirginVegGrower]

I forgot to add, they like cat food and not bread/milk.

[Glutton4...]

Someone better tell Bren - it could eat the slug in her kitchen!

My Mum had a Dog that would scream loudly in the garden at night, then bring a Hedgehog back with her... Nutter! Mum always knew when there were 'Hogs, by the noise the Dog made!

[VirginVegGrower]

We have a timber hedgehog house which lives under a log pile in the top corner of the garden. My mum saw it and wanted one. Then she bought herself another two. All three live in her hedge line under logs supplied by us. All four have had hedgehogs in. We scrunched straw into ours.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Brilliant and well done. Hedgehogs are brilliant to have in the garden and are worth feeding to save on the price of slug pellets alone.

Note to VC. something to add to your economy thread

[catbasket]

Yesterday the RSPCA issued a press release [Click here] about the number of hedgehogs that have been brought into their rescue centres this year - 1,669 by the end of November.

“It is hard to say exactly what is causing it. It’s certainly possible the wet summer could have had an effect – but it can be a mystery sometimes.

“What is certain is that anything people can do to help could make a real difference right now – whether it is donations of newspaper to give the hogs somewhere to burrow or sponsoring a hedgehog.”

The RSPCA recommends people worried about the hedgehogs in their garden may be too small to survive the winter can give them a helping hand by feeding them things like dog or cat food or even food scraps such as minced meat or scrambled eggs, and fresh water. It also may help to leave them a hedgehog-friendly area of the garden with heaps of leaves and brushwood for them to hibernate in - or a purpose built hedgehog box.

By coincidence, back on Friday 30th November at just before 4pm, we spotted a small hog looking for food under the bird feeders. From its size and the fact it was out so early (not even properly twilight) we knew it was going to struggle to survive. Internet to the rescue and we put out a small bowl of mealworms and a bowl of water. All the mealworms were gone in the morning, but we couldn't be sure what had eaten them.

Next we bought a Hogitat (hedgehog house) and commercial hedgehog food. After a couple of nights we added sultanas to the mix as the most popular part of the commercial food was the dried fruit. We were fairly sure it was a hog that was eating the food from the - ahem - evidence he left behind.

Then on Wednesday about 6.20pm we had a peak under the Hogitat roof and there was indeed a hedgehog eating the food but it was much bigger than the one we'd seen on the Friday. Then yesterday confirmation we have at least two hogs using the feeding station as the smaller hog was back -



For an idea of scale the bigger bowls are 5"/13cm in diameter.

Tip for anyone thinking of buying a hedghog house - they aren't as weatherproof as they should be. I've painted the outside of ours and put a few offcuts of wood underneath to raise the floor off the ground slightly to help keep the inside dry. Today's heavy rain is going to test how good a job I've done


And if anyone (we have a hog expert here, I believe?) could give us further tips to help our hogs survive the winter we'd be very grateful.