All you want to know about hedgehogs....

Today I spotted a baby hedgehog wandering about on the grass outside our kitchen window. I contacted a local Hedgehog Rescue centre and they told us to put it in a box with a towel and to put it somewhere quiet and dark. This we did, adding a shallow dish of water and cat food. They told us to contact the SSPCA and they sent a man out to pick it up. He reckoned it was only weeks old but fit and healthy. They will pass it on to the Scottish Wildlife Centre at Fishcross. He was delighted we had called them.

 

Well done, Jocko.

 

That's great Jocko.

 

One of our little visitors, having just had a feed and prior to having a drink. I appreciate Hedgehogs are nocturnal, but this one looks and moves in a very healthy manner, plus we know it has a nest in our garden!

 

@Sogni verdi what a great picture.

 

If it's out during the day and apparently healthy she could be a mum with babies. Mum's will pop out during daylight hours for food.

 

Just a reminder that hedgehogs will be out and about, although to be honest they've been spotted in my garden on and off throughout the Winter .

If you're doing any work in the garden over Easter, please take care with strimmers etc. and check for our spiky friends.

Please check underneath for nests if removing old sheds or clearing piles of wood etc.

My local rescue is already filling with youngsters and poorly adults.
Many thanks

 

Mine have been in the garden on and off for the last few weeks, I bumped into one by the greenhouse box on Sunday night, quite a robust little spud.

 

We have one who visits intermittently, I usually only see the poos dotted about. Last year I saw her as I was walking around about midnight. There was this little hog caught in the torchlight. I said hello, apologised, and off I went. An hour later she was still there, with her head on the ground. I put her in a box for the night with food & water, then had to do a half hour drive to the rescue, as our local one has gone. She was checked over and was fine, and apparently it was just that she was really scared! I've never seen a hog do that. So I'd effectively kidnapped the poor girl after scaring her half to death! How bad did I feel? Luckily, she left the box within a few minutes of me putting it back out.

 

My two seem to be more regular with their visits in the past few nights, so hopefully they'll hang around for the foreseeable future.

 

Mine have been out since the middle of February. I always put out food for them in the feeding station. Had to replace it last week it had become brittle from the sun. It's not easy trying to cut a hole in the side of a plastic box.

 

Hedgehogs have been seen on my wildlife camera using my feeding station for about the past month, 3 different ones all male.

I read an interesting article from Hedgehog Street which stated that male hedgehogs wake up earlier from hibernation than females as they need to feed up and gain strength before the females wake up. As soon as the females are up and about the males are obsessed with finding a female to mate with, to such an extent that they prioritise this above eating, whereas the females just want to eat. Hopefully this explains why I’m only seeing males at the moment.

 

I never knew that! Thanks @CatDouch

 

If anyone is interested and can spare some time, please take a look at the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme.
The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme - People's Trust for Endangered Species

Could be a way of passing time if it's too wet to get out in the garden

 

Hi there

I have a hedgehog house that I'm fairly certain has been occupied through winter. The hedgehog is definitely up and wandering about the garden of an evening. I've heard the house should have a spring clean. How do you know the best time to do that without disturbing a sleepy hog? Will I have to go out by torchlight when he's off on a nighttime escapade?

Thanks so much!