Hedgehogs

Froglet

The best way of attracting them is to put out plenty of food,both wet and dried,but with the cats you have around obviously it needs to be cat proof.Just because you are feeding them does not mean they won't eat garden pests,it just stops them gorginmg on slugs when there is nothing else,thus running a far higher risk of picking up lungworm.I have seen a hog dying of lungworm and it was not a pretty sight.

Yes weighing it is a good idea,this time of year anything under 350 grams will struggle to put on enough weight to survive winter hibernation.

Water is really essential too,especially this hot dry weather.

~Chameleon~

lisawood78 wrote: »

Juat be on the look out for fleas from the cute spiky monkeys

Hedgehog fleas are not a problem to cats or dogs

lostinrates

well, I've got another one. This one was just casually walking acroos my sitting room floor tonight! No external doors been left open all day....and oits incredibly relaxed. As I type its investigated the box I've popped it in till the morning, and has had a nibble of Bozita and a glug of water. It only really curled up after looking at me for a long moment (I was somewhat slow to react being a bit surprised to see a hedgehog wandering through the house) and while I weighed it.

Its only 200grams. so it looks like I do need to call someone and get some advice on how to keep this little spikey person content, eating and awake.

thanks to all the advice above I have identified two local people to try tomorrow and see what happens.

And it DOES have fleas....I only looked up because a flea had jumped upon me...haven't had a flea for donkeys years....was saying recently to dh that its amazing that I don;t think any of our pets have known fleas.

Froglet

Hiya.You have saved a little life there.It would never have survived hibernation.Whereabouts in the country are you? Do any of the wonderful carers on outr hoggie forum live anywhere near to you?

if you want to Pm me rather than post details please do so!

Buttonmoons

Aww! Hedgehogs are dead cute (the fleas not so much) I wonder why they keep just randomly strolling through your house lol.....esp if your doors werent left open.

lostinrates

Buttonmoons wrote: »

Aww! Hedgehogs are dead cute (the fleas not so much) I wonder why they keep just randomly strolling through your house lol.....esp if your doors werent left open.

I just spoke to the wildlife hospital and a lovely, lovely woman who is going to check ''my'' hedgehog over tomorrow and she wonders if a hedgehog mama came in a few weeks ago and had babies. This might make sense, ita a biggish house, and there are a couple of rooms not used much and quiet, and then there is that the cats and dogs are fed indoors, so nice scraps to eat. But.,...I haven't seen a whole lot of hedgehog poop or smelled it!

Anyway Spinathon is ok, and slepping now, and will have his checkup tomorrow, so we'll build him a winter residence later and then do what needs doing til he's strong and healthy enough to do it himself.

lostinrates

Froglet wrote: »

Hiya.You have saved a little life there.It would never have survived hibernation.Whereabouts in the country are you? Do any of the wonderful carers on outr hoggie forum live anywhere near to you?

if you want to Pm me rather than post details please do so!

Froglet I did PM you, but then the wildlife hospital called me back, so I'm probably ok now. Thank you very much for your offer though.

Welshwoofs

If you find a 200g hedgehog at this time of year it's an Autumn born juvenile and almost certainly won't make it through the Winter as it's not big enough to hibernate.

I'm a hedgehog carer myself, raised a few through the Winter last year. I use rabbit hutches for them, give them wet cat food (meat ones, NOT fish!) and some dry cat crunchies to keep their teeth in good order, along with a supply of fresh, clean water (they drink a lot!). The ones I took in last year I got from 190g and 200g respectively up to 900g and 1kg before I released them in a safe area the back end of April.

As Froglet says, slugs and snails are NOT their primary food source, if fact they will only eat them if there is nothing else. In fact many late born hogs taken in have got lung-worm due to eating slugs and need ridding of that if they're to have any hope of survival.

Rule of thumb, if you see a hog in the daylight at this time of year it needs rescuing. Once we hit November, if you see SMALL hedgehogs out, even at night, they need to come in and be over-Wintered.

lostinrates

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I use rabbit hutches for them,QUOTE]

Do you keep these in the house? I could pick up a hutch I'm sure, its just where abouts to put it I'm not sure about right now. My dogs are moving into the kitchen this week (they have a reception room usually) and I was thinking of putting Spinathon (it only has to walk past the window twice here and it gets a name):o in that reception room. A hutch might make life easier than the big dog crate and cardboard box in side I'm using today.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

lostinrates wrote: »

(it only has to walk past the window twice here and it gets a name)

We have that problem at Tightfisted Towers.


We are visited by Fluffball (black and white, fluffy, nervous)
Silverboy (silver tabby, bold as brass)
Littleone (small, black and white)
Evil twin (spitting image of one of ours)
Pirate cat (one eye, ginger, wears a bandana, tattered ears, walks like Jack Sparrow)
Son of Pirate cat (ginger, tatty and usually found in close proximity to Pirate cat)

Fred and Mrs Fred the big big spiders
Missy the huge garden orb spider
You the magpie and the You crew (it's a communal group)
Mephistopheles the crow

Buzz the hummingbird hawkmoth


and many, many more.