Hedgehogs

TotallyTangerine

TotallyTangerine

Well-known member
My friend has just surprised me with a lovely hedgehog house that her partner has made for me. I’ve collected and dried out some beech leaves and bought wood shavings and hay to put in it. Just hoping now that one of the hedgehogs that amble around our garden will hibernate in it!

I just wondered if anyone has experience of feeding them at all and could you offer any advice please…
 
Really good present. I have one and it now seems the territory of one hedgehog. I used hedgehog food from our local pet shop and also I find they love a bowl of water. They like finding stuff on the ground. They sometimes seem linked with rats is the downside but the dog ignores them but great at showing me if there is one roaming around
 
Mrs Wizz helps out at the hedgehog rescue centre on St Annes Rd.
She says any kitten or cat biscuits (chicken flavour), fresh water and just wait for your house to be inhabited if it is, leave them be.
With the weather as is the majority will already be in hibernation but some may be hungry enough to find your hoghouse.
 
TotallyTangerine said:
My friend has just surprised me with a lovely hedgehog house that her partner has made for me. I’ve collected and dried out some beech leaves and bought wood shavings and hay to put in it. Just hoping now that one of the hedgehogs that amble around our garden will hibernate in it!

I just wondered if anyone has experience of feeding them at all and could you offer any advice please…
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Catfood sensitive type but no fish
I used to look after hedgehogs that had not reached required winter weight.
Definitely no milk
 
I had 5 in an average sized garden earlier this year. Saw a few of them on a daily basis. Said good morning chaps to them and left them fresh water and dog food out of a sealed pack, rather runny with bits of meat in them. The young ones got a bit bigger over the few months I saw them and then sightings stopped, until one morning I saw one of the bigger ones imobile on its side, it was breathing but only just so i turned it on its other side and noticed a terrible wound on its underside. Poor chap, think it had suffered a good pecking from a nasty Seagull and not even the hedgehog hospital could help, so I swiftly put it out of its misery. Hopefully the others will appear again next year as they cant escape.
 
Delfino said:
Dog and cat food. Digestive biscuits.
Water (no milk)

Suspect they will have already hibernated and will emerge in Spring
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Thanks, I really hope we do entice one but it’s so cold right now that you’re probably right and they’ll be bunkered down already…
 
Cuthbert said:
Really good present. I have one and it now seems the territory of one hedgehog. I used hedgehog food from our local pet shop and also I find they love a bowl of water. They like finding stuff on the ground. They sometimes seem linked with rats is the downside but the dog ignores them but great at showing me if there is one roaming around
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It is lovely (and very thoughtful.) I was surprised at how loud they are when I first encountered one snuffling around!
 
Wizzerboy said:
Mrs Wizz helps out at the hedgehog rescue centre on St Annes Rd.
She says any kitten or cat biscuits (chicken flavour), fresh water and just wait for your house to be inhabited if it is, leave them be.
With the weather as is the majority will already be in hibernation but some may be hungry enough to find your hoghouse.
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Thank you, I had no idea there was a hedgehog rescue centre there and what a fantastic thing for her to do! I believe the numbers are rapidly dwindling so I just want to do my bit..
 
todayistheday said:
I had 5 in an average sized garden earlier this year. Saw a few of them on a daily basis. Said good morning chaps to them and left them fresh water and dog food out of a sealed pack, rather runny with bits of meat in them. The young ones got a bit bigger over the few months I saw them and then sightings stopped, until one morning I saw one of the bigger ones imobile on its side, it was breathing but only just so i turned it on its other side and noticed a terrible wound on its underside. Poor chap, think it had suffered a good pecking from a nasty Seagull and not even the hedgehog hospital could help, so I swiftly put it out of its misery. Hopefully the others will appear again next year as they cant escape.
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That’s very sad. They’re just so sweet aren’t they and vulnerable somehow which brings out the protective side of me.

We seem to get a lot of wildlife in the garden and I’ve had a few trips to the vet over the past year for various things. The worst injury though was to a squirrel whose legs had been totally squashed by a car and it was dragging itself around and squeaking loudly - it was heartbreaking 😔 - the vet put it down.
 
A few years ago I had a German Shepherd that would bring small hedgehogs to our back door and so we would always be taking them to the local shelter.
Never ever harmed any of them, but he used to end up with a bloody nose.
 
TotallyTangerine said:
That’s interesting… do you mean at home?
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Yes, if you have a garage, shed with electric you need little else.
Got a storage bin and scales to weigh weekly. The important thing is to stop them hibernating as if under about 300grams they have not built up enough reserves to cope and will die
They came from hedgehog rescue so had been treated to get rid of fleas etc.
 
We had a small one in the garden last month that caused some mega barking from the dog. Years ago I brought one into the kitchen for the kids to see until the wife at the time saw various things jumping off it then ordered me to remove it. The kids were loving it, spoilsport 🙄
 
TotallyTangerine said:
My friend has just surprised me with a lovely hedgehog house that her partner has made for me. I’ve collected and dried out some beech leaves and bought wood shavings and hay to put in it. Just hoping now that one of the hedgehogs that amble around our garden will hibernate in it!

I just wondered if anyone has experience of feeding them at all and could you offer any advice please…
Click to expand...
If feeding with cat food always use the with gravy option never use with jelly option ( not good for them ).
 
tangysider said:
Yes, if you have a garage, shed with electric you need little else.
Got a storage bin and scales to weigh weekly. The important thing is to stop them hibernating as if under about 300grams they have not built up enough reserves to cope and will die
They came from hedgehog rescue so had been treated to get rid of fleas etc.
Click to expand...
That was a real labour of love!
 
I’ve got a nice shelter for them in my garden. I put some hay in it.
People often forget to put water out for them, especially in summer when unfortunately many die from dehydration. You can get low ceramic water dishes you can place around your garden.
Make your there are small entrances in / out of your garden and they will often visit.
I’d expect most will already be hibernating already. If you see any out now, they probably aren’t well. Be careful when clearing any piles of leaves in spring.
 
We have them every year and I never feed them for the simple reason that the food can attract unwanted visitors. They respond by eating the slugs and snails. I do put water out. Try if you can to use rain water and not tap (same for birds and bird baths). Downside is we don't have frogs/toads anymore.

The house wants to face SW and be protected. Doubt you'll have any in there now, but pile some leaves up in front of the house not obscuring the whole opening, just maybe half. When they go in Spring you'll probably have one inside. Put more outside during the day and check next day to see if they've been moved for confirmation.

You can also get a wildlife camera, which is good fun when they pop up on there.
 
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