To tell you a bit about Hedgehogs?

[Halstead]

There was a thread very recently, asking for ‘controversial opinions’. It got zapped really quickly.

One posters completely nonsense controversial opinion was that ‘Hedgehogs are flea ridden vermin’

I rescue Hedgehogs. I therefore think I’m being completely reasonable in stating Hedgehogs normally only have fleas when they are suffering from a wider illness. Of the ones we rescue each year, perhaps 1 in 5 have fleas (easily treated but NEVER with cat/dog flea treatment as the active ingredient is lethal to hedgehogs).

I also think I’m not being unreasonable when I tell you Hedgehog fleas are host specific. They aren’t the same type of fleas that invade cats and dogs, and they don’t bite humans, so you don’t need to worry about Hedgehog fleas invading your house and living in your carpets should you come across these critters in your back garden.

Hedgehogs really are in serious trouble at the moment. If they continue to decline at current rates, it’s predicted they’ll be extinct in the UK by 2025.

The current weather really isn’t helping. The hard ground means their main food source (beetles, caterpillars) are very hard to come by. Contrary to popular opinion, Hedgehogs shouldn’t (and don’t generally) eat slugs. If they do, it usually means they’re starving. Slugs often given them illnesses like lung worm and fluke which can be fatal to hogs. It really isn’t a pleasant death, either.

So… AIBU to tell you about about Hogs?... and ask you to pop out water and… if you can… something like kitten biscuit (high protein, low cereal, no milk variety) for our spiney friends? They would very much appreciate it.

My Hog paid a visit last night, pooed behind the sofa and had a snooze, very cute little snore
Hog poo is very pungent!

@Ted27
hes like a pet ❤️ ! Wish we could litter train them though

Thank you OP! And yes it was fly strike 😔 I will get some dry kitten food to bulk him up a bit for winter 🥰

I have a resident Ddog also, he used to sniff hedgehogs and let out a bark, but after 3-4 times he was used to them and the hedgehogs did come back after being frightened off, thankfully.

Now ddog will be let out at night for a wee and not bother them at all, Harold the current resident hedgehog doesn’t run away from him and never has, brave little thing 🤩

@Halstead please can you advise halstead. My hedgehog ‘Biggie” hes at least four years old the one that I found in the pond seems to have nine lives - I found him in a cupboard a couple of weeks ago he’s got In Overnight as it was a very warm weekend , the next morning I saw lots of poo all round the house and thought it was my cat (as if really ?) anyway managed to rescue him from inside some carrier bags after spotting uk a couple of days later,m was shocked he may have been dead but he’s wasn’t thank goodness, and cleaned up all the poo but ever since then I’ve been vigilant keeping doors closed but he seems desperate to come in I’ve found him in the porch every night since then, my house is quite old and there is a room next to kitchen off porch with hot water pipes, it’s a storage room for mops etc, should I make him a boxful of straw and put in there and hope he settles in? He seems desperate to settle not even interested In food now, he’s been tonight by the patio doors and again in the porch -he’s a good weight and the temperature has dropped , please can you advise? I really don’t want him to get cold and I think he needs a cosy space for over wintering, he’s almost like my pet to be honest he has sat by his feeding bowl while I fill it and doesn’t seem scared of me like the others are. I just feel that he wants to hibernate now. Your advice would be much appreciated in what I need to get for him etc. thank you
also posted in chat thanks to the posters who gave me the thread ❤️

Hi! Well, that’s an unusual situation!

Whereabouts in the UK are you and what’s the nighttime temperature at the moment? I ask as it’s really very early for a healthy hog to try to hibernate.

Hi thank you a million times for responding so fast ❤️❤️❤️I’m in Dorset - Poole it’s fairly mild I think , it’s 13 degrees now
it was strange when I saw all the poo and blamed my cat - I was just so glad I spotted him In Under stair cupboard , where I keep kitchen rolls etc, inwas so upset thought he was dead and I put gloves on and and touched him and he woke up so I put him next to food and water and I’ve seen him every night since then happily. But he seems determined to come and live in here

now you have said that I am worried he isn’t healthy, one of them is very small about the size of a coconut and I am worried about them

@TwoMonthsOff

Ok - so there’s more than one?

What did the poo look like? Solid and dark brown little nuggets, or watery/slimy/green at all?

The poo in the house oh my days - it smelled to high heaven ! Like dog poo Grainy dark brown quite solid nuggets as you say - not loose or greeny - (was easy to ,pick up with gloves on ) I’ve just cleaned up some from porch just now - quite black as it usually looks, i am used to cleaning up their poo, 😭
he’s currently eating food as we speak I can hear the saucer rattling !
I have four visitors usually

Ok - that poo is a good sign.

So, what I’d do is this.

Any that you’re worried about weight wise, I’d weigh them over the course of a few days. If you need to identify them, pop a tiny bit of water based paint on their neck/back - it will come off in time.

Hedgehogs need to be a good 650g to hibernate - any under that weight will need to be monitored to ensure they get to there or thereabouts in the next month. They may begin to hibernate from October (but unlikely to until temps drop quite a bit. They hibernate when the ground hardens through cold, not just because temps drop if you see what I mean).

It sounds like Biggie is very taken with his spot but I’d try to discourage him from settling indoors if you can… it’s likely to screw with his hibernation/prevent him hibernating altogether and, unless they are ill/underweight, it’s not ideal to disrupt their hibernation.

Is there anyway you can set up an attractive area outside in a sheltered place outside for him? Maybe see if he’d be interested in a hedgehog house with some hay/piles of brown leaves near it? (wouldn’t bother putting too much nesting material in it. They’re fussy sods and are likely to pull it all out before starting again).

if a hog house is an option, please make sure it’s a sturdy wooden type with a separate entrance and bedroom bit… and not the plastic/‘wicker’ dome types which do nothing to help them regulate their temperatures through hibernating. There are plenty of guides online if you wanted a go at building one…

Meant to tag you @TwoMonthsOff

Yes, you’re right about the smell… I share my office with a number of them each winter and they are very whiffy. But I luffs them.

specialist hedgehog food is often low protein/high cereal which isn’t optimal for hogs. And it’s expensive. Sainsburys and Tesco own brand kitten food is approaching 30% protein and cheap as chips… and they love it! Kitten food is better than cat food as the latter often contains milk (v v bad for hogs)

This is a revelation! I've been putting out specialist hedgehog food, so will now switch to kitten food.

I saw a hedgehog one evening last week, after not seeing one for months. I was so thrilled, because my teenage niece was staying with us at the time and came out to see it. I don't think she had seen one before.

Thanks for posting, OP.

Thank you -,I agree he is a wild animal and I can’t treat him like he’s a pet but im invested - I mean rescuing from the pond he had such a scared look in his eyes looking straight at me as if asking for help and then the cupboard incident but I really don’t want to share my House with Him if I can help it…..it was weird really the night he was in the house as my cat religiously sleeps with me but I was wondering where he was all night as I woke up and he wasn’t there and I couldn’t find him in the morning I think he had been up all night wondering what the intruder was doing in his pad…..I think I need to make a house for him thank you a million times for helping me and your advice - I do appreciate it, sometimes everything is such a worry isn’t it. 😻

@Ofcourseshecan
they are incredibly cute and unique the way they bomb around but believe me you do not want one pooing in your house ! I can’t believe I blamed my cat for the poo footprints he’s so particular about everything - I thought I had to take him to vets as the litter tray was empty but piles of poo in the corner ….he’s forgiven me now I think .
there is a,poster i this thread that has one coming in every night - I think they like to explore 😭

Its my hog who comes in every night but I think he was getting too comfortable.

He’s very welcome to munch on the cat food but I discovered a few hiding places and he may have had sleepovers.
He’s now got a big wooden box in the garden if he wants to nest in it and I’ll be sorting out a separate feeding station this weekend

@Halstead @Ted27
i def need to do this as biggie has decided to,sleep during the day In the shed in a carrier bag full of personal paperwork -Kim discovered this today ! that was destined to be burned in the incinerator on November 5th , I feel so sorry for him. I think his nesting place got disrupted when the garden was cleared over summer. He’s out and about tonight though eating and drinking with the others
was thinking would a really strong cardboard box do if it was filled with bedding and kept in one of the sheds? I have easy access to some very strong boxes where I work . And there are places where they would not get wet - Thank you so much

Hi- that sounds absolutely perfect. Strong cardboard under cover so it doesn’t get wet, but outdoors (well, shed) so he won’t be kept too warm. Try to get a smallish cardboard box if possible - they like to pack it tightly with bedding.

Best thing you can do is pop it upside down and cut a cd sized hole in it for a door so they can come and go.

We often do this with hogs who we overwinter but clearly want to nest. We use a box about 10 inches square and they stuff it absolutely full of the newspaper strips we provide then hunker right down inside, snug as bugs.

@Halstead
That sounds perfect thank you …..if I get one of the really heavyweight boxes and seal it up and cut the hole out should be fine not sure he will squeeze in a cd sized hole though he very big. How do I encourage him to actually use it though ? I can envisage he will be in here again tomorrow 🤦🏻‍♀️(you can just make him out in there)
i really do hugely appreciate all your help and advice thank you ❤️

@Halstead sorry here is the pic

You’re welcome 🦔😍

You’ll be surprised - they hone on quite often on things that make attractive homes. I reckon he’ll take to it quite quickly.

Pop the box down, with a bit of bedding in it (newspaper strips or hay), but more around it, near the door. Pop food and water nearby. Then watch and wait over the next few days. You’ll soon tell if he’s taken residence as he’ll drag all the bedding in there. They really do pack it tightly in.

Gorgeous!

Pop more bedding in/around than you think he’ll need.

let me know how you get on!

@Halstead
aaaw how cute dragging them bedding in …..I will get hay - they sell at pets at home for Guinea pig I have seen it. ..I was thinking a much bigger box than 10 inches so thanks for advice, I guess the cosier and bijou the better …..x

Yup, kitten food is great. Specialist hog food is a marketer’s dream. Large profit margins, no good for our spiney friends.

I’ve seen hogs put on 20-30g a day on kitten food, so high is the protein content. It’s brilliant for them.

I will do
I’m not back at work until Monday though will scout around for a box. It’s a manufacturing site so there are hundreds to choose from. Needs to be right .

God it's been ages since I have seen a hedgehog. I absolutely love them as well. Thank you for this.