Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs tend to live around 2-5 years in the wild and are often found in gardens or walking on footpaths and roads as they search for food. They prefer long grass that provides both cover and food, so it's a good idea to check overgrown grass before strimming or mowing. Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals and hibernate between November and April. They tend to choose areas that they can bury themselves in that provides protection, such as; a pile of leaves or log piles. Take special care when preparing for bonfire night, check the structure thoroughly prior to lighting. It is best to remove fallen leaves after raking if you do not intend to leave the pile incase a hog takes refuge, preparing for winter months.

Tips For Checking Bonfires

What do they eat?

A hedgehogs main diet contains caterpillars, worms, millipedes, slugs, beetles and earwigs, more infrequently, they can also eat birds eggs, fallen fruit, frogs, baby rodents and birds.

There is no evidence to suggest that food placed in a garden for hedgehogs, takes away from them seeking their own food, but rather they use it to supplement their natural diet, which can become useful when they are building up fat reserves in preparation for hibernation. As it starts to become colder, hedgehogs have a harder time finding the food they need, so it is a vital survival strategy that they hibernate.

Hibernation

During hibernation, their body temperature greatly reduces, as does their heart and breathing rate. If you find a hibernating hedgehog, you may mistake them for passing away as they breathe once every few minutes. Interestingly, their heart rate measures around 20 beats per minute. Do not be tempted to dispose of a hibernating hedgehog, you might find they temporarily wake after being disturbed, however, they are best left alone.
They may naturally wake if the weather is too cold, in this case, they may wander to find a better spot. Seeking material for better insulation is likely time consuming and due to the physiological nature of why hibernation takes place, it is not feasible for a hedgehog to waste time on this task. As the weather cools, their ability to stay mobile reduces

You can set up a hedgehog friendly hibernation den, made of wood and felt roofing and equipped with plenty of dead leaves. The RSPB has further information on creating a safe environment for hedgehogs here.

*Unless the animals is sick, injured, orphaned or underweight, they should be left alone.*

The Little Ones

Hedgehogs reach breeding age when they are 2 years old. Babies are called ‘hoglets’ and are typically born in the summer months of June and July though may be as early as spring if the winter prior has been particularly mild or as late as autumn. There may even be 2 litters born in a year, but the 2nd litter has a much riskier chance of survival through winter as they tend to be born around September / October and they tend to hibernate in November. It is unlikely these little ones will be able to gather up enough fat reserves to survive the winter and may be seen without a parent, wandering in autumn and winter, foraging and are likely to also be seen during the day. It is likely these young ones may benefit from a little bit of help, to get through winter.

Typical litters may have 4 or 5 young but may have only 2 or 3 that survive. At approximately 3-4 weeks old, they will begin following their mother and foraging for themselves for around 10 days, at which point, they leave their mother and live independently until they reach breeding age and produce a litter of their own.

It is vital that nesting hedgehogs are left undisturbed, mothers are likely to abandon or kill their young if they feel threatened. Hedgehogs have suffered greatly and continue to decline. According to the RSPB website, there were an estimated 30 million hedgehogs in the 1950’s, compared to recent estimations that there are likely less than 1 million remaining.

Hedgehogs need our help!

Road Safety

Unfortunately, most hedgehog deaths occur on the roads. They will roll up into a ball when they perceive danger and this isn’t the best strategy as it does nothing to protect against oncoming cars, so they are often struck, usually with no chance of survival. As road users, we must always be vigilant of hedgehogs wandering into the road and take care when travelling after dark. If it is safe to do so, when you see a hedgehog, whether you swerve to avoid it or not, it would be helpful to move it off the road. Often, if you go behind and chase them, they will run in the opposite direction if you don’t feel comfortable picking them up. Every little bit helps!

Gardening

In Autumn, when the leaves begin to fall and the weather turns colder, hedgehogs are gathering material in preparation for hibernation. Fallen leaves make the ideal material for a long winter sleep, especially oak, hawthorn, birch or hazel. While it may be tempting to cut overgrown grass before winter, it is not advised as hedgehogs may have taken shelter in long grass or are foraging. All too often, hogs are killed or seriously injured as a result of mowing or strimming. Always check grass thoroughly before undertaking any work involving long grass.

Often, gardeners will use pesticides to control slugs, snails or other invertebrates, however, this can often result in secondary poisoning for the hedgehog. It can then risk the animal which consumes the hedgehog and so on!
Hedgehogs are a gardeners best friend and are the best to control the invertebrates in your garden. So next time you feel the need to get out the pesticides, consider making your garden hedgehog friendly instead.

If you find an injured Hedgehog

If you come across a sick, injured or underweight hedgehog, reach out for advice on how to help. You may be able to care for them yourself until they can be released back into their natural environment or it may be necessary for one of our wildlife volunteers to give a more specialised level of care.

Contain in a box that is big enough for the hedgehog to move around and perform natural behaviours and ensure it has holes for ventilation/air flow. Line the container with clean straw or other suitable material if possible and transport to a place of safety. Provide food and water in a shallow bowl, there are specific hedgehog bowls that are a good depth to prevent drowning and spilling of contents or you can use whatever you have. Ensure whatever you use isn’t too deep and is easily accessible.

Hedgehogs can eat a specific hedgehog food, badger food, wet cat or dog food, apples or carrots. For a more in depth understanding of what to feed, see; the ArkWildlife for more info.