Hedgehogs

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Facts and Figures

Latin Name - Erinaceus Europaeus
Nocturnal and solitary
Weight -an adult will weigh around 1kg and a juvenile will need to weigh around 600g to survive winter
Length - approx 25cm (10in)
Natural Habitat - Hedgerows and undergrowth
Natural Diet - Slugs, snails, insects, small invertebrates
Supplementary foods: Spike's Dinner Foods and Wildthings Hedgehog food

You can find your nearest hedgehog hospital, through the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website or by calling them on 01584 890801.


A bit of background…

Male hedgehogs are known as boars, the females as sows and the young as hoglets.

Living throughout the UK, this solitary, nocturnal creature of habit will tend to visit your garden at about the same time each night. Hedgehogs quickly become used to humans and have been known to enter houses (sometimes using cat flaps!) if their dinner is not out on time.

Hedgehog numbers are thought to be declining - there are various potential causes, including increased pesticide use and loss of habitat, and it is estimated that about 100,000 are killed on the roads each year - so they need all the help we can give them. They are now most commonly found in urban areas, where gardens and parks provide them with a ready food supply.

Protected by their 5-6000 spikes (or, spines) hedgehogs have few natural predators. Their spines are very sharp, but also very flexible, and act as shock absorbers in the event of a fall.

They are good swimmers and climbers, can dig shallow tunnels and, despite looking slow and tank-like, have quite long legs and can run much faster than their appearance would indicate.

As with many nocturnal animals, hedgehogs have poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell. The lack of natural predators means that hedgehogs do not have to worry about being noisy, and they can be very noisy indeed, crashing though the undergrowth and crunching their food loudly. Sometimes, the easiest way to tell if a hedgehog is around is just to listen!

Hedgehogs are solitary animals and only come together for mating. Although it is not unusual to have more than one in your garden at once, they will tend to avoid contact with each other. Hedgehogs can cover a large distance in a night, up to two kilometres, as they search for food. They will make and use several nests in their territory, sometimes using other hedgehogs' nests, so the hedgehog asleep in your garden may not be the same one each night!

Young

Hedgehogs can have two litters of young a year, with up to seven hoglets in each, with a gestation period of approximately 30 days.

The hoglets are born blind with no spines; these begin to develop within a few days, turning from white to brown at about 15 days old. This can be a useful way of estimating the age of an abandoned or orphaned hoglet. Mother hedgehogs will leave the nest to find food and water, so it's best to watch an apparently abandoned nest for a while (hours not days) to check that she really has gone.

Hibernation

Hedgehogs hibernate during the colder months and, during this time, they will breathe only once every few minutes, their heartbeat becomes faint, only around 20 beat per minute, and their body temperature drops to around 10c. During hibernation it can be very difficult to tell whether a hedgehog is dead or asleep so, if in any doubt, it is best to just leave them where they are until warmer weather.

Hibernation is temperature driven and climate change and warmer winters mean that, in some parts of the country, hedgehogs may not hibernate at all.

Hedgehog rescue centres now recommend feeding a nutritionally balanced food like Spike’s Foods all year if you think they might be around (you can often tell by looking out for their droppings). It's best not to feed tinned food in winter as, due to its high water content, it quickly gets very cold and can chill a
hedgehog's stomach.

Feeding Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are known as the gardener's friend as their natural diet consists of slugs, snails, caterpillars, insects and small invertebrates. Leaving out a suitable food, such as Spike's Foods or Wildthings Hedgehog food, will help to encourage them to visit your garden; with their excellent sense of smell they can detect food at quite long distances.

The traditional bread and milk is not a good idea as, although hedgehogs will tuck in and eat it, it can cause tummy upsets and diarrhoea.

Hedgehogs enjoy peanuts but these should be fed crushed or as peanut granules (whole peanuts can lodge in the mouth and cause necrosis) and only in small amounts as large amounts over a period of time may cause brittle bone disease.

Hedgehogs particularly need food and water in the autumn to build up their weight ready for hibernation and in the spring when they come out of hibernation and, also, during hot, dry spells in the summer when their natural prey is in short supply.

Poorly Hedgehogs

If you find a hedgehog out in daylight, it could be that he's in trouble – orphaned, injured, poisoned, ill, cold or starving, and needs help. Though if the weather is very hot and dry, he may just be thirsty and looking for water and Mother hedgehogs will sometimes leave the nest during the day to search for food.

If he does not curl up into a ball he is ill and, if he is laid on his side, it is serious and he needs help.

However, please remember that hedgehogs are wild animals and easily stressed by contact; they should only be treated as sick if there are obvious signs of injury or distress.

If you see lots of white blobs on a hedgehog, these are probably either ticks or maggots and require expert help, either from a Vet or your local hedgehog or wildlife rescue. Please do not try to pull ticks off a hedgehog as the head can be left behind and lead to infection.

How you can help Hedgehogs

Leave out water and a suitable food, such as Spike's Foods or Wildthings Hedgehog food.

Leave part of your garden to go wild. Hedges with natural undergrowth, wild flowers and log piles will all provide food and shelter for a variety of wildlife.

Whenever possible, use natural alternatives to pesticides and herbicides and garden as organically as possible; dead slugs and snails make an easy meal for a hedgehogs but may harm him if they were poisoned.

Be extra careful when strimming undergrowth as hedgehogs may be asleep in it. Many are taken to recues and animal hospitals with horrific injuries caused by strimmers.

Ensure swimming pools and ponds have an easy exit so hedgehogs, and other animals, can climb out. Many fall in looking for water in hot, dry weather then, unable to get out, swim until they're exhausted and drown.

Ensure all netting is left at least 4-5" above the ground; hedgehog spines easily become entangled.

Re-site all bonfires immediately prior to burning - they look like an ideal nest site to hedgehogs, many of whom are hurt or killed on Bonfire night.

Be careful when turning or moving compost heaps - again, they look like a good nest site to hedgehogs.

Ensure empty food containers are disposed of properly, ideally by recycling. Hedgehogs will try to lick out the last scraps of food and can become stuck as their spines prevent them from backing out after their meal. They will starve to death unless they are lucky enough to be rescued.

Great informative post .x