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OTGF Hedgehog info
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Message 1.Â
Posted by EMILY (U2398399) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
My brother moved house yesterday and when he was clearing out the garage he found a hedgehog, all curled up in a black bin bag. He couldn't leave it where it was because the house is rented and he wasn't sure if any one would be moving in for a while so I have ended up with it. I have made a house out of two wooden boxes on top of each other, covered with roofing felt and a hole cut out for access. At the moment hedgehog is in a cardboard box in our greenhouse until I can site new house in a suitable place tomorrow. I must admit I am very nervous, my last attempt at hedgehog rescue ended with the poor thing expiring (on my dining table), and my daughter and I were upset for days. I will try to keep detached about this one, once it is cosy on it's bed of leaves in it's new house I shall leave it alone and hope for the best. (If anyone has any advice I would be very pleased to hear from you).
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Message 2
Posted by Chickadeedeedeee (U2397555) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Hi Emily.
I don't know if you have a hedgehog rescue group near by or perhaps the RSPCA may be able to offer assistance. He may be ill or injured. Do you have a local vet that cares for hedgehogs?
Perhaps in the mean time offer a small bowl of water and some berries, worms, mealworms, canned dog or cat food? If it is going to be very cold at night, perhaps bring him inside if you can?
Ooooo. I wish I was there to help more than some words in cyber space!
C3D -
Message 3
Posted by Chickadeedeedeee (U2397555) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Hi again.
This link may help.
Best of luck and kindest regards.
C3D -
Message 4
Posted by Juliet (U2196646) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Hi Emily, hope the hedgehog survives. This is a good site for information about them:
- if you scroll down the page there are some phone numbers you can call if your hedgehog seems poorly, and there's also a lot of general information about hedgehog houses, hedgehog friendly gardens, & hedgehog food etc.
Whatever you do, don't give it bread & milk - this would make it ill. Give it plenty of water, & you could also give it dog or cat food (solid meat based ones, not fish or anything in gravy), chopped peanuts, sultanas, & raisins.
Good luck - let us know how you get on! -
Message 5
Posted by Juliet (U2196646) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Sorry C3D - I must have been typing my message just as you were posting yours - didn't mean to duplicate!
I'd be careful about feeding it mealworms though - it might get addicted, & they're quite expensive!! -
Message 6
Posted by Chickadeedeedeee (U2397555) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Hi Juliet.
I think your link is far better than mine !!! A lot of very good information there.
_______________________
LOL! I get mealworms for my starlings.
ChickaDDD -
Message 7
Posted by Juliet (U2196646) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Goodness, I bet you get through a lot of them then, knowing starlings! I get them in the spring for the robin & put them in a little caged feeder so the bigger birds can't scoff the lot!
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Message 8
Posted by janeth1948 (U2397434) on Sunday, 27th November 2005
Do you live near your brother. When hogs are taken to rescue places I think they release them where they were found.They can travel a couple of miles a night looking for food. I have several visiting my garden. I have one that lives in a hedgehog house in the garden. It was bought for me a year ago & has been lived in ever since. He's called Fatty Arbuckle (if you saw him you would know why). He loves peanuts. There is a smaller one who eats vitakraft hedgehog food, it has bugs & allsorts in it.I am going to concoct a house of sorts out of logs. With fatty i put a step stool over his doorway & put food & fresh hay under it & he takes it in when he neeeds it. I was up at 6.15 on sat a.m. & looked outside the back door & he was having his supper before going to bed. I watched him have his breakfast @ 10p.m on friday.
Can't you tell I LOVE hedgehogs. There is some useful info on the hedgehog preservation society site. -
Message 9
Posted by EMILY (U2398399) on Monday, 28th November 2005
Thank you all for your help and advice. When I went out this a.m hedgehog had completely buried himself inside black bag, was very worried he had suffocated! Managed to lift him into nice new house on a bed of leaves and hay. Put some food down for him, and then had to go to college. Have just checked him to find him out of his box and snuggling up to my old garden broom!!
Anyway thanks to your links I phoned one of the helplines, BHPS, and they said to weigh him and if he was over 500g it would be o.k. to put him out in the garden with the house available if he wanted it. So armed with my trusty kitchen scales I managed to weigh him and he is over 700g so I have put his house next to the shed, set up a pot as a feeding station, and left him. Couldn't resist waiting to see what he did and sure enough he has left his comfy house and gone exploring! One thing I did notice was that he seems to have a lot of what look like ticks on his face (under his eye and in his ear). They don't seem to be swelling up, so not sure if they are ticks. Only noticed them when I was watching him toddle around and by then it was too late to catch him so hope they won't do him any harm.
I have always loved hedgehogs but we don't get many around here, though our neighbours seem to see a lot of them. Let's hope he survives the winter. -
Message 10
Posted by Chickadeedeedeee (U2397555) on Monday, 28th November 2005
Hi.
That's wonderful that your hedgehog visitor is OK.
WOW!!! Over 700g ! That is quite the hedgehog.
I had an African Pygmy Hedgehog as a pet several years ago. He was adorable! We don't have hedgehogs as garden visitors here in the USA unless someone's pet escapes. We once had a ferret loose in the yard. I don't know where he came from or where he went after his visit.
C3d -
Message 11
Posted by Toadspawn (U2334298) on Monday, 28th November 2005
Hedgehogs are host to a huge number of fleas.
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Message 12
Posted by Juliet (U2196646) on Monday, 28th November 2005
... but don't let that worry you (having had hog in the house) as they are apparently species specific!
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Message 13
Posted by EMILY (U2398399) on Tuesday, 29th November 2005
No sign of him this morning so I hope he went back into his house or found somewhere else snug to sleep because it snowed here last night.
Thanks for the info about fleas Toadspawn, they are definately only interested in hedgehogs!
Janeth, I have left food out, did it take your hedgie long to cotton on to it? Also can you recommend something that won't spoil if it isn't touched for a few days? I don't want to have a problem with rats or flies!! Is your garden enclosed? Could your hedgehog get out if he wanted to? I have read that it is cruel to keep them confined to one garden because it would soon run out of natural food. I find that hard to believe especially with the amount of slugs I have here!!
Also if anyone else is reading this who knows nothing about hedgehogs, if thay choose to hibernate in your bonfire it isn't enough to have a good dig around to wake them up... they take a while to get going because their metabolism slows right down, so they couldn't scarper even if they wanted to
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Message 14
Posted by William (U2169036) on Tuesday, 29th November 2005
... but don't let that worry you (having had hog in the house) as they (fleas) are apparently species specific!Â
Not when they're hungry or take residence in your carpet
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Message 15
Posted by janeth1948 (U2397434) on Tuesday, 29th November 2005
Hi Emily. I put the food in the carport. A bowl of water, 2 dishes of peanuts & a dish of hedgehog food. They seem to have different likes. One night in the summer we had 4 passing through the carport. I also put a bowl of food by the hedgehog house under a cover to keep it dry. Have you checked for poo. It's usualy black & looks like a squeeze of toothepaste. Even though it's so cold they are still about. One is munching at the moment it was here at 6.15 this a.m.
I am looking for another house but I think we might build one ourselves from Les Stockers book The Complete Hedgehog. It has tips on how to get rid of tics & all sorts of emergencies. Your local library might have it. -
Message 16
Posted by EMILY (U2398399) on Wednesday, 30th November 2005
Hi Janeth, thanks for your response, so far I have put out cat food, complete dog food (dry) and some almonds. I have rigged up this old terracotta pot that has a big chunk out of the rim, turned it upside down and put the food at the back of it. Each morning food has gone but I'm still not sure whether it is the hedgehog or cats or possibly mice?
Haven't had a chance to get any proper hedgehog food, or peanuts etc, will stock up at the weekend.
Might also try and create a different feeding station that I know cats at least won't be able to access. I know cats won't eat almonds but mice might!! Also I have put some leaves into a pile by the house door which hedgehog if he is in residence will knock over when he exits house so that may give me an indication if he is in there!! Emily
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Message 17
Posted by janeth1948 (U2397434) on Wednesday, 30th November 2005
Hi Emily. I think Les Stocker said in his book to put a cover over the food as hog will push it of but other animals wouldn't. I put about 4 small plantpots stuck together across the opening to make sure fatty was in residence & he was. I think he may be sleeping atm as the peanuts are not being touched but the hog food is. Have you found any poo yet? It's usually round the food area. I very occasionaly put out a bit of fruit cake. Very funny listening to them chomping on that.
Good luck.
Janet. -
Message 18
Posted by EMILY (U2398399) on Friday, 2nd December 2005
Hi Janet, tried putting out fruit cake as well, but still all there today when I checked. He has definately got a liking for almonds though 'cos they were all gone!! Will try tomorrow to get some other food, some peanuts etc. Also need to check position of the house because with although it is sheltered, with all this rain I'm worried that it may be seeping underneath. I'll let you know How I get on!!
Emily. Ps, no sign of any poo yet! Have ordered Les Stocker's book, should be here next week. -
Message 19
Posted by janeth1948 (U2397434) on Friday, 2nd December 2005
Hi Emily. I have just had a look at L.S web site & there is a lovely hog house to make. It looks very simple but is nice. Perhaps we will get some wood tomorrow. Someone suggested chopping up the peanuts but I don't bother as they seem to chop them up themselves. It also means that I know if fatty has been.
When I got the house it said to place it in a
sheltered spot south facing but I did't know if he went there so I put it on a small flag on the north side of the garden facing the fence. I knew he was about because I found some poo so I put a bowl of peanuts under a step stool (Ikea) & moved it a bit each night until it was next to the house. I bought a bag of Spike dry hog food & they don't touch it.
HTH
Janet. -
Message 20
Posted by Juliet (U2196646) on Friday, 2nd December 2005
I think the reason for chopping up the peanuts may be so that birds don't eat whole ones & choke on them - probably alright not to chop if you're putting them somewhere birds can't get to.
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