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.

He/she is a lovely size!

@Halstead
you may have helped me on my thread when biggie got in the pond - it was mid July and a very very hot day. I was so happy to see him a couple of weeks later, they are all so different looking aren’t they, size, colouring, biggie has a pale fur patch on his side and one of the small ones has a really dark face.

OP do you have any tips to feed just the hedgehogs?

I was putting food out all winter but found that, if I popped out with a torch to look, all I was feeding was a huge amount of slugs!

I’ve built a hedgehog hotel that sits uninhabited and the hedgehog I saw a couple of times -that prompted me to start leaving food out-I’ve never seen again. I’ve got a stack of logs, a micro pond (with escape ramp) a wild area but no joy.

Ooh sorry didn’t upload, not a great pic either but they move so fast

I'm shocked that they are in danger of extinction in the UK within 3 years!

When I was a child growing up up north, we often used to get them visiting the garden. We used to put milk out and then switched to cat food when we heard that was bad for them.

I've been in London for 7 years now, mainly in homes with small gardens that attract lots of foxes and grey squirrels and not seen a single hedgehog- I thought it was just a London thing, sad to learn it's probably symptomatic of a wider decline. Good on you OP for spreading the word

You give the slugs an all you can drink free bar (with added death and destruction).

No need to waste good beer, just sink a plastic cup in the ground with some warm water, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of yeast. They'll always ignore food if they think there's beer on offer. The cup isn't dangerous to other creatures because it's so small and I have never found anything other than lethally disappointed slugs in one - even when there were delicious crops just a few centimetres behind.

You might find in winter there are fewer hogs about. Some will hibernate (they don’t always. It’s not simply weather dependent… they hibernate not because it goes cold, but because their food source dries up).

It’s defo worth popping food out over winter though. Those who don’t hibernate, or wake up, often need food desperately as they’re really energy depleted.

So first question… what are you feeding them?

I don’t recall the thread but doesn’t surprise me that your hog went for a dip!

They all look very different, yes. And the ones we over-winter each year have such different personalities too.

Yup. They may not be a fan, it won’t do any damage.

Please check to see if there’s any milk content though. That’s a big no.

Interested to see who thinks AIBU and why….

We bought a nice little hedgehog house for our garden, didn’t take long for one to come visit even though we live on a brand new estate in a new build! We just use hedgehog food which you can buy in lots of places.
Birds won’t give our new garden a look in at the moment, so we were very pleased that at least the hedgehog likes us.

I have a 'Hedgehog Highway' in my garden. And they are using it 🤩! The layout means that's the only entrance to my garden, I'm so pleased they found it.

I leave dishes of water our for them and they sort out my slugs.

Not worth the power of thought honestly 🙂

@Halstead
im in Dorset, we had a mild winter last year and you’re right, I think I Only didn’t see them very briefly, luckily the NDN’s are very fond as well so they get double dinners
ive just filled up the saucers btw, mine get any cat food my cat leaves (which is actually quite a lot) plus I buy them supermarket brand meat cat food, is that okay? And one of the medium sized ones loves peanuts that the spill from bird feeder

We had one overwinter in our garage and he comes past for kitten biscuits quite often .. he's not shy and is a noisy bugger. Lots of cover and holey fences here .. hedgehog heaven.

They will LOVE any cat food left overs you give them.

Peanuts can be a little trickier… if they’re too big they can get stuck in their teeth/mouths which can sometimes cause problems. Less of an issue if they’re not whole nuts on the bird feeder.

They poo an awful lot too…..in my porch and come in the house ! I was having to do a sweep before locking up when the weather was sweltering, they’re so cute despite all that ❤️

They're definitely creatures of habit.

They can walk up to 2-3 miles each night in search of food and will form regular ‘routes’. It can often take them a while to find food that’s out out for them, but once they do, they usually come back do make sure you persevere!

Oh yes! 💩 🦔

@Halstead
im actually sad enough that I smash the peanuts up in a bag with a hammer so the blue tits don’t struggle to extra them 😭

@Halstead
so right ! They make a beeline to the feeding area ……with a few snuffle stops along the way

We are very lucky and in our garden have hedgehogs, foxes and this year saw 2 badges.
Always put out drinking water
I even put out the dried biscuits for the hedgehogs when the neighbors are away.
I've passed ops advice on to neighbours.

🤣🤣

I love that! Then feed away to your hogs too! 🦔

That’s mega unusual… badgers are hedgehog’s only natural predators (very rarely - but occasionally - foxes) so it’s almost unheard of to see badgers and hedgehogs in the same area!

Just found a pic from last summer in my album….maybe this was biggie before he got big !