My first hedgehog.

[Urchinella]

My state of the art hedgehog house arrived today, tonight it already has a resident, fast asleep.

This is my face >>>>

The hole is massive and goes right under the shed

Have ordered a camera so will see if anything is still on there. If it is we may haves to abandon the project

My cherry tree was going there

I have a hog! Well, my road does....

I had to get out of the car and shuffle him on his way so he wasn’t squashed. Terrible photo, but you can see his distinctive white bottom I think.

I've ordered a camera too Oldraver, whether I'll be able to operate it is another matter.

My little one didn't turn up till 1am, it felt like I'd gone back to having teenagers, oh the worry!

Had he just crossed that road Queen?

I have a feeling our visitor may of moved on. We had noticed the stones on the wall were disturbed, though thought the neighbour may of moved them. It's obvious it's where they have been scrambling over

@Urchinella - thank you!

This might be my favourite thread all year, I love hedgehogs! When we first moved into our house (13 years ago) we had a regular hog visitor but haven't seen any for years now

@Urchinella You know you're going to have to give him a name soon don't you?

BearSoFair, It's Jim.

I'm thinking I might put the little house somewhere else and see what happens. The £5 under bed storage box has been a huge success as a feeding station, hoping to set up the trail camera tonight.

Well the camera showed another cat before midnight and three on the morning. He sat by camera so we just saw his ears and tail

And a ratty/ mouse came it of the hole.

Going to set it again tonight

I have 41 videos before the poundland batteries died, mainly of Jim having a scratch, those pesky fleas, and Jim shovelling more hay into his house.

Looks like the cherry tree's back on Oldraver

How are your hedgehogs doing?

I've been putting food out nightly since September, and it's been disappearing. Quite early on I went to check the restaurant and he was there eating his breakfast, so I was quite convinced it was Mr H was the one eating the food. We'd only seen him a couple of times since (once he almost got run over, but I managed to persuade him to get out the driveway) and I think DP was dubious I was still feeding him and not something else. However, we got home late on Monday so I was later than usual putting food down for him. When I got to the restaurant he was there, waiting for his breakfast! I was so chuffed!!!

However, nothing was eaten last night but that's coincided with a drop in temp so I'm assuming that's him settled in for the winter, but who knows?

This is a lovely thread! We fostered a hog over last winter but aren't able to this year, sadly.

This has reminded me that we can at least set up a feeding station and hog house and cut some holes in the back fence.

Our hedgehog feeding station has continued to be pretty busy. Mostly hedgehogs but the occasional rat. Our cat and next door's cat also like to pop up on the hedgehog camera for guest appearances. I think our hedgehog house will be ok for this winter but may need replacing or maintenance next spring.

Is it too late to build a hedgehog house now? Ds wants to but I thought they’d all be hibernating.

Howmany - why don't you go for it? You may not get a resident this year, but at least it will be all set up for next year. I last saw mine on Monday and I'm in the far north, so if he's still around (or only just gone into hibernation) there's a chance those in your vicinity will still be awake (assuming you're further south than I am).

Do you know if you have any nearby? The first time I saw one this year I saw where it exited the garden, and though it may just have been a one-off route (as my cat had seen it off) I thought it was a likely regular route, so put the house down along it, in the hope it would then find the food easily. And it has. He doesn't sleep there (not unsurprisingly, it's on gravel, so can't be comfy) but he does expect food to appear there!

This one was regularly visiting around midnight in summer (I’ve not been out that late recently!) so he may still be around?

Our resident hedgie died earlier this year. We took him to the vet and he looked as though he was improving, but sadly not. Don't know why.
How can I encourage another one into the garden? I have a lovely wooden hedgie house, but can't put out cat food as next door's cat would eat it in seconds!

Lovely!

We’ve taken one in to over winter her as she was only 270g at the end of October (we’re working with a local wildlife rescue as opposed to just nabbing her off the street)

She’s quite poorly at the moment and I’m a bit terrified that she won’t make it to April when we will release her, but we know we’re doing the right thing.

I love Hedgepigs. 🦔🦔🦔

Is it too late to build a hedgehog house now? Ds wants to but I thought they’d all be hibernating.

Absolutely not too late.

Many don’t hibernate until end of Dec.

Get cracking!

Fuzzy - look at hedgehog houses. They are designed to keep cats out.

This thread is delightful! I had a huge hog living in a old shed last year. It moved loads of leaves into my old cat shelter. I would love to leave out food but my dogs would eat it. I do have a ramp so they can safely drink out the pond though.

can't put out cat food as next door's cat would eat it in seconds!

I would love to leave out food but my dogs would eat it.

It’s cheap and easy to make a hedgehog feeder to stop other animals getting to the food...

thehedgehog.co.uk/feeding-hedgehogs/how-to-stop-cats-dogs-and-foxes-stealing-the-hedgehogs-food/

They might appreciate this in the Spring LOL

Love this thread, they are such lovely creatures and the whey they hibernate, nice and cosy only to come out again when it's natural and the right time in bloom, is beautiful to see
I've had a few in and out of my back garden over the years.
Always Charming little things, and my cats and dogs just ignore them. I think their spikes are a warning shot, if they ever give them a curious poke.

If I put a few cat biscuits in the hedgehog house will they be able to sniff them out?

Fairenuff Regarding your question about cats and hedgehogs, in my considerable experience with both,cats tend to leave hedgehogs well alone. Every cat I've ever had has had an encounter with a hedgehog,and after touching it a few times,realised that it was not a very good idea! From then on,they would look at them,but not touch.

Just noticed that the thread is still going. My original hedgehog Jim is huge now, he can just about get into the feeding station, we have a second one called Liz and in the past week a little one, Steve.

They're all eating well, so hopefully they'll be OK. I'm watching out for problems with the little one, I might try and weigh him.

This is Jim and Liz a few weeks back, the feeding station has been brilliant, they don't even notice you when they're feeding and nothing else goes in there.