Helping hedgehogs in Autumn

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It only seems to be five minutes ago when we were wondering when the first spring hoglets would start to come in and now suddenly we are awaiting the influx of autumn juveniles with October already here.

Autumn & early winter right through until late December will see many younger, smaller hedgehogs struggling to gain enough weight to survive the winter. Many of these hedgehogs will also contract lungworm over this period from eating one of the few natural food sources available- slugs. Lungworm if not treated leads to pneumonia and eventually death.

Making a home.

Autumn is the time when most of us will think about giving the garden a bit of a tidy before winter sets in, the trick is to not make it too tidy! Please leave some log, cuttings and leaf piles as these provide habitat for wildlife including hedgehogs. With the loss of hedges around gardens putting in a hedgehog home gives a safe hibernation choice for a hedgehog.

You can purchase hedgehog homes from garden centres or online, if you are handy with a saw you can make one (pop into a garden centre have a look at the pre-made ones and go from there) or you can offer a hedgehog a home for pennies.

Back to the good old plastic storage tub! Remove the lid and upturn it making the same 4" hole on one of the shorter ends. Inserting a small diameter piece of plastic tube through a hole just below the now top of the box will allow airflow and help to eliminate condensation. Don't use the lid as the top as leaving a plastic base to the home isn't ideal. Plastic is slippy and any water ingres or condensation in the home (even if a small hole is made in the base) will pool and make the home damp. Make sure that the entrance hole is smoothed off and then find a quiet ideally shrub covered, dry corner of the garden sheltered from direct sun or rain to site the box

To stop wind and rain getting into the "hedgehog home" use a few bricks to make an entrance tunnel with something like a piece of slate to make a roof over the brick tunnel. This also stops any unwanted inquisitive paws going into the home! The hedgehog home as it now is can be covered with earth, leaves, logs etc to make it look natural and to help give insulation. The final touch of a couple of handfuls of meadow hay as starter bedding means it is ready to go! A fun very cheep little project to do with the kids and one with a real wildlife benefit.

We have had a home made in exactly that way for about five years now and it does the job very well.

Autumn Juveniles

Please now we are into October keep an eye out for any smaller hedgehogs struggling to gain enough weight to hibernate in a few weeks time. Older literature has varying ideal weights for hibernation but now it is pretty much agreed that hedgehogs need to be over 750 grams to have a good chance of getting through hibernation. The reality is that even in December we will be admitting hedgehogs weighing less than 300grams. Hedgehogs that will die due to lack of food but that have to keep foraging as their own instinct tells them they would die if they tried to hibernate. So please leave food and water out for hedgehogs this will help them to put weight on and secondly keep an eye on them, if you see small hedgehogs as we advance into October please call your local rescue for help.

Helping your local rescue out.

If you can please consider helping your local rescue out a little. Autumn and winter are an expensive time for rescue units and hospitals with many animals having to be kept through the winter with release only possible in spring. Fundraising opportunities are sparse in the winter with events when fundraising can be carried out mainly running over the summer months. A few tins of pet food or a small donation can make a real difference to wildlife units and hospitals as they all run on goodwill and charitable donations.

Of course it isn't all about money and offering some time can be a great help. Over the winter period foster carers are invaluable in taking some of the pressure off the rescue unit. Fostering involves overwintering a hedgehog until spring in something like a rabbit hutch in a quiet shed or garage once it is off treatment allowing the rescue centre to free pens for news admissions needing treatment and reducing food costs. Please contact your local rescue unit or wildlife hospital for more information.