To ask you to please help hedgehogs and other wildlife prepare for winter

[Pricklesinperil]

It is literally a lifeline for them as the weather gets warmer.

if you’d like to know about other ways to help, please go to Help hedgehogs

thank you

Note from MNHQ - please do read the Op's latest update (October 2022) before responding.

Here’s hoping for hoglets!

@Zwellers please do not post your opinions on hedgehogs as if they are facts. As @RichardOsmansXRaySpecs and @Dreikanter have already said, the hedgehog is native to the UK and is a protected species. The following link gives details about the campaign to ensure hedgehogs remain a common and familiar part of British life Hedgehog Street campaign

This is what I use @Pricklesinperil to put water in for the hedgehogs! Holds a decent amount of water, and is low and flat so can't get knocked over.

Around a pound at Wilkos!

I also give them hedgehog food which can be purchased cheaply from Wilkos too.

I saw my hedgehog!!! Last night had an early night as was knackered but couldn't sleep and decided to sit in the garden around 10pm - just as I was going to unlock the patio door, I saw the hog scurrying across the patio 😍😍😍

So pleased he/she is real! I suspect the food is being eaten by starlings and pigeons (the fruity bits anyway!) but really happy to see that Mr/Mrs Tiggywinkle is real!

We saw ours last night too - or at least his / her chubby little rear end as they scampered off after scoffing all the food.

I’ve seen one! Mapped it, thank you OP. We’ve had a few summers of not noticing any hedgehogs so I am very happy that at least one is back!
I’m putting out cat biscuits and cat food, we run surplus thanks to our very fussy cats. My question is what time of day should I put the food out? What time/how dark do hogs need it to be to feel comfortable to eat it? I keep the cats indoors from dusk anyway if that makes any difference.

Brilliant @PurpleButterflyWings thank you for sharing what you use as a shallow dish as it helps others with ideas of what they could use.

and thank you for caring about and helping hedgehogs! 🦔.

Wow! So thrilled to read all the hedgehog sightings from @blobby10 @Dreikanter and @DowningStreetParty!

really wonderful hedgehog news! Thank you all for caring, helping and posting your hedgehog news!

@DowningStreetParty - I put out the food and water at 9:50 pm as the hedgehog that visits me seems to appear promptly at 10pm. That way the food and water is fresh and there’s less chance of something else getting to it before the hedgehog. If you’re not sure of your hedgehog’s schedule, then please leave it out at dusk if you can.

Even better - DS (who stays up later than me) said that we have two hogs visiting. A smaller one and a huge one.

This was my visitor last night (please excuse dead herb garden in the background !) - he/she eats SO noisily! After feasting for ten minutes, he disappeared under the bushes to where the food normally is then scuttled around on the grass for another ten minutes before beetling off to behind the greenhouse to start his rounds xx made my week to see him!

Lovely @blobby10

How exciting for your son @Dreikanter A mum and her hog?

@Pricklesinperil You asked why I only have them in autumn. I can set my watch (calendar)? by them, pretty much September 1st every year. I wondered if it’s fallen fruit from my fruit trees that attracts them, or if they are that summer’s young, having left their mum?

A mum and her hog?

Don't think so - they come at separate times. And the big one is HUUUGE.

I meant to say hoglet.

yes, I’ve seen some enormous ones too. I didn’t realise they could be so big

I need to leave the water too, although not sure if they visit us, due to neighbours' cats visiting and one even killed a pigeon in our garden😳However, few weeks ago my husband carried one of these little creatures to the other side of the road.

@xogossipgirlxo

I’ve seen a cat and a hedgehog eating from a dish in my garden at the same time. So cats definitely don’t deter them. In fact, the hedgehog was very much the boss.

I saw a photo somebody posted (lives near me) of both a fox and a hedgehog eating from the same dish. I couldn’t believe it.

@TheDuchessOfMN good to know, thank you.

Delighted to see more hedgehog news!

@xogossipgirlxo as @TheDuchessOfMN correctly says, other wildlife co-exists quire happily with hedgehogs- here’s the link from hedgehog street if you’d like to read more Wildlife co-existing

@xogossipgirlxo - yes please leave out shallow dishes of fresh water each night- it really is a lifesaver for hot and thirsty hedgehogs who might not have access to any other water sources. You mention that you’re not sure if you have hedgehogs around, the two best things you can do is

1. make sure your garden is hedgehog friendly- here’s a video with ten tips

2. check on the hedgehog map to see if there have been any sightings in your postcode Hedgehog map

thank you for caring about hedgehogs 🦔

Yay!

Lovely photo @blobby10 really so happy to read all these happy hedgehog updates

Guys, my husband told me that he saw hedgehogs wandering in our area, so our dish is out. It’s a shallow bowl that I bought for my cat when he was little, but him and his brother don’t like drinking from the bowl 😵‍💫 I am going to watch the video and check our garden afterwards if something needs adjusting.

We put out a heavy shallow pasta bowl, but so far its only been used as a sparrow bath.

@xogossipgirlxo thank you for leaving out the shallow dish of water - it’s a real lifeline

Thank you for leaving out fresh water. Have you checked the Hedgehog Map to see if there have been any sightings near you? Hedgehog Map

Bumping as it’s been so hot today (well here on the South Coast at least!).

Please, if you haven’t already, leave out shallow dishes of fresh water each night- it really is a lifeline for hot and thirsty hedgehogs who may not have access to any other water sources. 🦔

video with ten tips to make your garden hedgehog friendly

check if there have been any sightings of hedgehogs in your area Hedgehog map

Thank you

Saw my one again yesterday evening, was probably around 7.30. Managed a better shot this time😍