All you want to know about hedgehogs....

Hi All
With Approval from high "administration" I will be creating a Hedgehog thread and all the questions that many of us ask on what to feed... what should we do if... whom to contact, please PM me and I will edit and add to the list ...

Please feel free to add to at any time and lots of pictures ...

Spruce

 

Excellent. Will watch thread with interest as I love my spiky lodgers and would hate to think I harmed through ignorance. Though the contact details won't relate to me as, sadly, there are no wildlife centres near me.

Pics I can do though




What's your experience re 'families' though? I read that they are solitary creatures and don't live together as a pack or family. Yet I have had three of them living here at the same time - which is the three above, the first one being the youngest and very much smaller than the other two so I assumed was their baby.

 

Love HedgehogsSpruce - These are my 2

 

Ive got onei put chicken cat food out for it,im not sure how much they should eat of that thou?im going to make it feed area from a large plastic container so the cats and fox dont eat all the food,what else do they like eat?

 

Organisations to contact: Just a few I have found so we should all have one not that far away I will keep adding.

http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

http://www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/

http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

http://www.uhr.org.uk/

http://www.hgbr.co.uk/

http://www.malvernhedgehogrescue.co.uk/

http://www.hogfields.org.uk/

http://www.howeyhedgehogs.co.uk/

http://www.hedgehogrescue.org.uk/hedgehogs.htm

http://www.hedgehogs-northumbria.org.uk/

http://www.helpwildlife.co.uk/0404.php

http://www.happyhedgehog.org.uk/

http://www.hedgehoghavenessex.co.uk/

http://www.prickleshedgehogrescue.org.uk/

http://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/community/hedgehog-rescue/

 

British Hedgehog Preservation Society http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

They used to have useful info on their website (or maybe I phoned them?) such as the size of hole you need to leave under fence panels so that hedgehogs can move freely through gardens (but haven't checked recently as I formed the holes a very long time ago). Same applies to height of gap under side gates between houses so hedgehogs in the street can gain access to rear gardens.

 

thank you I have added , amazed at how many we have across the UK

Spruce

 

" ... Ensure there is easy access in by 13cm (5”) square gaps at the bottom of boundaries ... "
That comes from within their PDF leaflet: "I would like a hedgehog"

 

That seems to be a mistake as they don't need holes 130mm/5" high to squeeze through, more like only 75mm high. Puppies, pet rabbits, etc. could get through a hole that size and make you unpopular with your neighbours. Time to email them for confirmation? [email protected]

 

In a quiz last night it said that hedgehogs like melons !
Jenny

 

I love hedgehogs and we actually (and surprisingly to me) have them here ... sadly usually seen as road pizza on the road near us ...

Whilst in Buckinghamshire, my good friends were next-door neighbours to Les Stocker where he started St Tiggywinkles in his garden before he opened St Tiggywinkles Hospital in Haddenham, which was about ten minutes away from my home. Nothing but admiration for the work they have put in over the many years.

 

Sorry, not a brilliant pic.

One of the hedgehogs was wandering around the garden earlier this evening. He scurried under the decking when he sensed our presence.We've had temps of -5 during the night here the past few days - will he be ok? He was snuffling around the bird seed that the fussy birds chuck out of the seed feeders so does that mean he's hungry? Should I put out something for him to eat? And if so, what? Our dogs only eat dry kibble so I don't have any tinned dog food to hand.

 

yes they are hungry as thats how I found mine under the bird feeder picking up the bits of seed etc
I would slightly moisten it beforehand if using kibble but I think that contains everything they need , I look at it as its better than nothing , mine is having alternative night of dog food and then dry chicken flavored cat biscuits which he loved you can hear him nibbling into them in the dark

 

Thanks Spruce, I've put some moistened kibble out now. Think I'll get some tinned dogfood as standby tomorrow. Just hope the rats that come in from next door don't get there first!

 

Put the food out in the most open part of the garden middle of the lawn as rats will be nervous and wont stay long basically grab and run , will give the hedgehogs more time to feed

Spruce