Hedgehog Help!

Hello op,
It is still quite warm and hedgehogs are running around at night to put on weight. Our Hedgehog used to come around until mid November unless it turned really cold. I started putting the food out as soon as I saw the daffodils starting to shoot up. H
You can help with this by putting out a dish of cat food (NO FISH), a dish of biscuits (NO FISH) and fresh water.
If you do get a shelter - we made ours using and old pallet lined with some pond liner - make sure you can lift the lid. If you want to really make your new friend welcome make two compartments and fill the back area with hay. Please don't add any type of soft bedding as this will attach itself to the hedgehog and lead to all kinds of problems. If they do move in and you discover them one day - don't panic, stay nice and calm and quiet. I used to put Holly's food out at dusk. If i was late she would be waiting buy the back door!
They also love fruits - I used to hide apple halves around the garden for Holly. They also attract bugs, which hedgehogs love.
They love a small amount of scrambled egg - I used to give our hedgehog a tablespoon once a week.
I used to buy Asda Tiger cat food pouches and they are 100g. Don't be surprised if they leave it and definitely don't give anymore than the one pouch. 100g a day will greatly add to her weight.
Be warned though, once you start feeding them, they will keep coming back. So this is like having a pet.

Make sure you log your new visitor on Hedgehog Street.
And finally, enjoy! Our Holly adopted us when we moved into our last property. She sadly passed away about 2 years ago.
We have just been adopted by the local stray cat - who is currently curled up in the armchair after having a nice supper 🤣🤣🤣

It has been pretty mild at night except for the last couple of nights. I don't imagine many are hibernating yet. As others have said dry kitten biscuits and water to fatten him up! No cereal and no mealworms.

@Hedgehogsaremyjam i tried the local rescue places but it was after hours hence the vet. Just wish I had done something sooner but it does sound like she may have still had a baby inside - they asked us to look round the nest area as they don’t usually only have one baby 😢😢x we had two in 2021 and 2022 and they scoffed so much food! The latest visitors seem to be more selective where they eat 🤣

Poor thing you did a great thing to get it to somewhere safe and warm.

If you go to www.helpwildlife.co.uk you can find your local specialist hedgehog rescue if you need any future help. Some vets are great but some don't have much experience with hedgehogs and they are very complex creatures.

This was the hedgehog I tried to help
a few weeks ago. Her breathing was very raspy and she was out during the day. Eventually picked up the entire (and beautiful) house she had made and took her to the vet. She had recently
given birth but sadly neither her nor baby survived. Have since seen another one in the garden but it hasn’t eaten any hedgehog food yet! Xx

I have a feeding station made from an old plastic crate. I added a piece of pipe which is almost at a right angle to the door way. We have a neighbourhood cat which is a contortionist, but it can't get around the bend in the pipe, whereas the hedgehogs can.

I also have a nightvision wildlife camera. It can record still pics or short videos. I got mine about 2yrs ago, so there will be newer ones. Apeman 30MP, 4K, infarde, waterproof nightvision camera. 1 thing to note though- is that it eats batteries! There is a power cord, so if you have an outdoor plug socket, this would be much better.

https://littlesilverhedgehog.com/2016/06/20/hedgehog-feeding-station/

Search online for small makers I use a company on Facebook called Phoenix Country Crafts for mine

Could you give me a link, please?

You can make one from a plastic storage box quite easily.

Try a feeding station with flaps on the doors that is usually the best deterrent

Please don't pick it up to weigh it as has been suggested unless it is absolutely tiny. The hibernation weights vary up and down the country in any event but all the rescues I work with are absolutely full of poorly hogs so they don't have space for ones that have plenty of time to put on weight before it drops properly cold.

When we happily discovered we’d been adopted by a hedgehog, we put out water and food, ensured access to neighbouring gardens and set up a trail camera. All went well until a large rat appeared. (We live near woods.)
It seems impossible to provide for the hog and deter the rodent. Any ideas?

Does hog look small? It is not unusual to see them out at night.

If appropriate weight, leave out kitten biscuits and water and leave them alone, especially as we have had such unseasonably warm weather recently.

If hog looks small, and you can catch them, weigh them and check in with the hedgehog preservation society. I think they need to be around 600g to do ok. If they are smaller, they might have parasites that need treatment.

Unless it is nesting season (May/June), a hedgehog out in the DAY usually has a problem. At night they should be offered food and water but generally left alone.

Hope you get a picture!

Try these for help and advice
https://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

We have two that come out every evening. I was surprised to see them tonight but they are sticking to their usual routine. I have put cay food out. It's gone every morning hoping they are eating it and not the neighborhood cats. They are so sweet

Don't worry one night won't have hurt. Red light is fine so you can get a red torch or put a red sweet wrapper over a normal torch.

Not sure if I can post the name of the group I run but there are some great groups on Facebook that can assist with your new visitor

They don’t run. Their instinct is to freeze rather than flee and they don’t always even roll into a ball. As others have said if it’s out at night then it’s fine to give it food, preferably kitten biscuits, and leave it alone (change the food every day to prevent parasites).

Please don’t under any circumstances take it in and put it in a box (am 99% sure this was a joke but just wanted to make sure). If they are out in the day or coughing or covered with mites they need to be taken to the nearest rescue (not a vet as they don’t have the expertise with wild animals).

Any kitten biscuits that have meat as the first ingredient and a high protein content is fine