We have a hedgehog.....

We have a family of hedgehogs, dad mum and baby. We have a camera and can watch their antics on the TV- amazing. We feed them on mealworms, hedgehog food and cat food so they are well fed here !!!

Katek, you may find this useful

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/inthewild/gardenhedgehogs

1974cookie - love your description,nailbrushes on legs!

I love hedgehogs. When my DM was alive and I used to visit her and stay overnight on a regular basis,there were frequently hedgehogs in the garden at night. It was quite a rural area though. We used to put out the leftover cat food that her 4 fussycats wouldn't eat. It would all be gone in the morning. For all their size,they make an unbelievable amount of noise. The cats all left them well alone after an initial investigation!

When we lived in a town in 1970s we had loads of hedgehogs. Moved to country & saw none at all. Moved back into semi rural town & have only seen one in 23 years & that was about 20 years ago. No idea why- we have plenty of slugs & excellent cover for them.

We had a pair of Hedgehogs in our garden a couple of years ago. Then one night as I sat quietly on the garden bench " Hog watching", I was rewarded with the baby "Hoglets" visiting too. I called them "nailbrushes-on-legs".
They were a joy to behold.

Missdeke, I have just looked up that strange poo and realised the hedgehog has been in my garden more often than I thought it had!

I found one in the kennel last summer with the dogs - they sleep on shredded paper and the hedgehog was covered in the paper. I got my gardening gloves, picked it up and saw that the paper was covered in spots of blood - I assumed the hedgehog had been injured by my dogs, but once I got the paper off and settled it down I realised the blood came from the dogs noses as they tried to investigate the unwanted visitor in their kennel. I put the hodge in a shed with some water and dog food (it had a pop hole for chickens) and after that I saw it about half a dozen times over the summer but not so far this year. But having not seen any for many years I have seen several by the side of the road or in the local lanes over the past couple of years. Maybe they are coming back.

We've been having hedgehogs visit our garden for the last 20 years, and always ensure they have fresh water and a good supply of dried mealworms (available at any pet shop). They also eat meaty catfood - whatever you do, don't give them fish as it's poisonous to them. Hedgehogs also like the occasional biscuit broken up, and scraps of meat from your plate. If you see a hedgehog out in the daylight, it usually means it's unwell and you should try and catch it (by throwing a towel over it) and take to your local vet, who shouldn't charge for checking it over. If you look at the website for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, you'll find plenty of information.

That should read we do not have fences.

I was out in the garden about 11 pm having a fly puff when I spotted something move out of the side of my eye. It was a hedgehog and it quickened it's step when I moved my feet (in fright). We do t have fences but have hedging round our garden which is perfect for them on their nocturnal hunting trips.

I'd love to have hedgehogs but there isn't enough connected-up territory here for one to put in the miles they need to roam. The problem is that in stopping your fence rotting by adding a substantial gravel board at the bottom edge, it's an impenetrable barrier to the little snufflers.

Maybe I could have just one (pair) and feed them cat food so they don't need to stray? There are enough snails to keep them happy for a while to start with.

If you find a hoggie out during the day it is probably ill, hurt or hypothermic . You should take it to a vet who should treat it free of charge, or a hoggie rescue place. We get lots of them where we live, and I love to see them. If I find one that is ill, I pop it into a box lined with kitchen roll and cover it with an old towel to help warm it up, and try to get it to eat, and drink some water.

Strangely enough, I was looking this up a few months ago, as I would like to try to attract a hedgehog into our garden. The advice was to give cat food and, as someone above said, don’t give bread and milk. Also, if you create a little hole in your garden fences, not much bigger than the size of the short end of a brick, the hedgehog will then have access to other gardens, where it might go for water etc.. We’ve put an upturned plastic container plus lid in our garden, in which we have cut an entrance hole. We put a little food in there but the truth of the mater is a rat or mouse might pick up on it as well. Still, fingers crossed …. .

I found a dead hedgehog beside my front door this morning - very upsetting. I think it had been hit by a car and staggered into my garden to die. Poor little thing.

When I was attacking my overgrown garden and the green bin was full I threw some small branches at the back of the garden and lots of leaves, ( I live near the local playing field so LOTS of leaves each year!) and just forgot about it. Then I noticed some strange poo on my lawn so I investigated via Dr Google and discovered it's hedgehog poo. Too many cats around here to put cat food out for him so I read a wildlife guide which suggested crushed (not powdered just smallish pieces) peanuts. Every night I put a handful out and watch the little guy come snuffling across my lawn to enjoy his feast. Apparently the peanut oil is good to help them fatten up for hibernation, lots of new leaves going on the heap later on in the year!

Also opened my bedroom curtains to see a Jay in the back garden this morning, just love the wildlife around here.

You are all so lucky! We used to see one in our last house which had a fenced garden. No luck here though: solid stone walls all round. I have to make do with a lovely oil painting of one that I bought years ago for DH who loves hedgehogs.

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We have had a lodger under the garden shed for a few years, haven't actually seen him this year - he is still around though. A couple years ago we had two adults and three babies visiting every night, they loved the peanuts/seeds dropped from the bird feeders. When they were due I put some peanuts on the floor and they soon scoffed them up, mooched around for a few minutes and then off around the end of the fence into neighbours garden. My son and myself used to sit out and watch them. Don't know where they went after that summer.

I'm so jealous, I want one! They used to be around all the time when I was young, at my parents house, but haven't seen one for ages and I've a got a positive feast of slugs and snails waiting.

We have a half grown "hodgeheg" as DD used to call them !! My favourite kind of garden visitor , we have just retired to Cambridgeshire from SE London and after years of putting up with the destruction caused by urban fox's its wonderful , we seem to have a "hodgeheg' walk right round the edge of our garden, so I have taken to buying hedgehog food from Tesco's adding meal worms and placing it in the corner behind the compost bin , its always empty in the morning.

Lucky people, those of you who have hedgehog visitors. Last autumn I saw one in my garden and couldn't understand how it got there as the garden is enclosed with a wooden fence. I was so thrilled that I rushed out the next day and bought a hedgehog house, straw and food. Set it up under shrubs near where I'd seen the hedgehog.
Haven't seen it since! Something ate the food though.

My lovely DIL volunteers with Hart Wildlife Rescue, specialising in hedgehogs and has become something of an expert. She fosters abandoned hedgies, as she calls them, feeds them up, cares for them and houses them until they can make their own way in the hedgehog world.
A couple of points which she has stressed to us is that it's important to keep an entrance and exit clear, but not so clear that cats, badgers etc can get in. Hedgies can fold their spines down and squeeze through the smallest spaces. Cat food and water in another dish are good, as is some shelter under leaves etc. Also, and I still am not entirely sure about this - they love hard-boiled eggs.
A bonus is that they get rid of those horrible, slimy plant-munching monsters. (I have a phobia - makes my fingers tingle to even type their name, so I won't, but you know what I mean.)
Good luck and according to Zoe, the DIL, you've gained a low-maintenance pet for free! As well as being a bit of an expert, she's also slightly obsessed, but we love her!!

Hedgehogs are a declining species I understand, because of being killed on roads and people paving over their gardens so reduction in places to hunt and sleep. A couple of years ago we had one wandering around our garden in the snow. So I phoned Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and was told how much it would need to weigh to get through the winter. Fortunately it was heavy enough but she told me to feed it either cat or dog food and either wet or dry was fine. They can roam several miles a night and we are being asked to make small holes in the bottoms of fences so that they can move around more easily. You can also pile up dead leaves, twigs and sticks and they will check it out to see if it's a Des Res! If sick, I think most vets will look at them and advise for free.

We've fed hedgehogs for years and have several wandering in and out of garden. Dried mealworms, water (a must) , meat cat food not fish. Dried cat food. We have resc ued small and underweight hogs (late babies who are not the right weight for hibernation) If out in day either unwell (lungworm) or dehydrated.

We have also been feeding our residents with cat food but I was not aware of the fish/pork rule. Glad that I am now and will make sure that they get meat variety. Our problem is that we put the food out for our hedgehogs but the local cats have now got wind of this and come along and clear the dishes!!! Has anyone any ideas how to avoid this. The hedgehogs need is far greater than the plump cats in our neighbourhood!