All About Hedgehogs

9 hours ago
2 min read

Hedgehog Facts | Hedgehog Babies | 5 Things We Can Do for Garden Hedgehogs | What to do if you spot a hedgehog in daylight | Listening for Hedgehogs | Contact the Rescue Centre | Download Your Help-a-Hedgehog Sheet

Hedgehog Facts

Lifespan is 5–6 years.
Hibernation takes place after five nights of sub-zero temperatures.
They are quite clean animals; if they have fleas, the species will not jump onto humans.
Seeing ticks on them will mean they are not well.

Hedgehog Babies

The mothers are very attentive to their young, and pregnancy is about 32 days.
Mum can delay birth for a few days if the weather is bad.
Normally they have a litter of 5–6.
They are small pink creatures about the size of your thumb.
Within 24 hours, small white, rubbery spikes will develop.
The females can have two litters a year.

5 Things We Can Do for Garden Hedgehogs

Hedgehog numbers have dropped to just 1 million, which is why the Rescue Centre is so important. The good news is that we can all do something about the loss of our spiked friends.

Our gardens may have concrete or wired fences which are difficult for hedgehogs to get through to find food on their nightly expeditions, so a hole in the fence about the size of a CD case is ideal.
It’s good to put out water, but only in a shallow bowl.
If you want to feed them, then buy kitten food with the highest amount of meat. Wildlife food is not good for hedgehogs as it is not regulated.
If you have a pond in your garden, make sure a hedgehog can climb out via a ramp—even rocks will do.
If you want to provide hedgehog accommodation, make sure it’s not made of plastic, has a 90-degree bend in the entrance, and is kept out of direct sunlight. A more natural habitat is a warm compost heap or a pile of logs.

What to do if you spot a hedgehog in daylight

Hedgehogs will eat slugs and snails, but they are full of parasites, so unless they limit their diet to 5%, they will get ill because the parasites will damage their internal organs.

“A hedgehog out in the day, not OK.”

That is when you will see them out and about in daylight, and that is definitely not OK. So pick them up using gloves—it’s not true about fleas; they are clean animals—and put them in a high-sided box with some water, no food, a tea towel or a warm bottle, and take them to a rescue centre where they can be treated and brought back to health.

Listening for Hedgehogs

You may be lucky to hear a male during the mating season. He will typically make noises like a steam train, a huffing sound, until the female has given way to his advances. The young also make a chirping sound, rather similar to baby birds.

The Baddeley Green Hedgehog Rescue Centre can be contacted on:

Email Address info@hedgehogrescuecentre.co.uk