HEDGEHOGS IN THE GARDEN

I just had to share this with someone/everyone. I've kept seeing hedgehogs in the daytime around the garden and was worried as it is said that if they come out in the daytime they are ill. I've also met them most evenings when I've been slug hunting (stealing their supper). But I've just been up the garden to give the hens their afternoon snack and guess what? A tiny 4 inch baby hedgehog was grubbing about next to the hen hut door. It ran underneath the water butt which is raised up on a couple of victorian drainage pipes. I've put it a saucer of cat food out and will try to get a photo if it comes out again.

Have you seen the little hedgehog again Pat?
I used to love seeing the hedgehogs in my garden in Kent. We've seen some since we've been here too, including some in the daytime. Perhaps they need to eat more in early summer and forage in daylight. I can't believe they are all ill.
Do hope the little one is OK

Hi Philomel, No I haven't seen it again, I dashed back up the garden with my camera but there was no sign of the baby. I've seen the large ones most nights since, but not in the daytime. As soon as I saw the little one I was quite relieved as I too thought they must be foraging in daytime to feed their young. They certainly don't look ill, which is a relief as I had lapsed from being organic and put some slug pellets round the strawberries. I think they may have a den under the hen hut as there is a small gap that they could get under. They will need some good shelter in all this rain.

I think there is a hedgehog nursery under the hen hut as there are more little ones coming out in the daytime. This afternoon I thought one had died as it was laid out full stretch on the wall in the sun, but when I got near it it opened its eyes, jumped up and went to hide among the plants, so it must have been sun bathing. Its parents must not have told it they are nocturnal.

Tonight on my slug hunt I've seen two more small hedgehogs in the bottom garden and two quite large ones near the bird feeders. I know it sounds wrong for me to be gathering up the slugs, but they are so large I don't think the hedgehogs could eat them if they tried, and I don't kill them but take them along the road and tip them out in the undergrowth so the hedgehogs can eat them there if they go that way. I have put a few crushed peanuts out for the babies in case there isn't much food about with it being dry now.

I don't think you need to worry about the slugs being too big for hedgehogs, I saw one last year sitting on the path going to sleep next to a large half eaten slug. They just gnaw into them, it left the rest and went to sleep on the veg bed. It might have already filled itelf on cat food!

I have had some hedgehogs around for a while, I don't seem to get as many as I used to but there was a very small baby a few weeks ago running around in the daytime. I tried to take pics but it was either running or tucked it's head in, I have never seen such a small baby, it was not much more than 4" long.

There was also a huge-ginormous adult I saw both at night time when I had collected a couple of snails, as well as the day time. I didn't see it but as I walked along the path I naturally swerved and wondered why, as I had done that twice just before while coming back from throwing some snails, or rather had stopped as if there was something there. I had a torch but it's weak and was only shining well ahead, when I looked down there was a snail both times just in front of my feet, but when I looked all around I saw no more snails! I must have a 6th sense, the hedgehog was sat on the path and I swerved without thinking and I hadn't heard or seen it.

I don't have many slugs or snails as I have cleared them out and kept a constant watch, but there's always some that come from the neighbours or escape to breed. I just chuck them in the grass on the other side of my drive near the water, I have resident thrushes which I see around in the daytime hiding under shrubs, it's not long since they had another lot of young to feed which were hiding in my greenhouses. I saw the parent cracking a snail in the middle of the day in the dahlia bed, they are doing a good job of keeping the snails down, the Mistle Thrush also eats slugs. I'm finding empty snails shells everywhere.

This is the baby, it looks bigger than it was.

The slugs are still a problem even now we've had a couple of dry weeks, although it did rain a bit last night. Even if the hedgehogs ate the large slugs there are far too many for the four or five regular hedgehogs to eat, and I think the ones in my garden at least prefer earth worms given a choice.

The baby hedgehogs are really cute aren't they and surprisingly fast. I'm going to have to keep my camera in my pocket as the last few times I've thought about taking a photo of them they have gone by the time I get back out again with the camera. There was a huge one trying to climb up a wall last night. They are really entertaining it makes my slug hunts quite enjoyable meeting the hedgehogs and listening to all the owls calling.

The song thrushes seem to have gone back into the woodland at the moment as I haven't seen any in the garden for a few weeks. I think they look funny when they spend a few minutes wiping slugs on the soil to get rid of the slime before they eat them.

I just can't imagine seeing these cuties in the wild. I would love to have some wild ones around but it is too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer for them here in Zone 6.

Here in the US we have some for pets sometimes, there was a big market for them as pets about 15 years ago but it has died off now. The hedgehogs didn't make very good pets because they are nocturnal, so there wasn't much interaction going on with them, and of course you had the quills to contend with also.

The hedgehogs are much better off now. We have Armadillos, which can be destructive in a flowerbed, but not hedgehogs.

I had hedgehogs visit my garden most nights last year but haven't seen any this year. There are so many killed on the roads by cars which is such a shame as they are such endearing little creatures and great for pest control!

I saw four hedgehogs last night while slug hunting and I actually tripped over one medium sized one. My torch is a bit dim and I didn't notice it until I kicked it, but it was OK and carried on chomping things in the border afterwards. I think there were quite a few others that didn't appear on the paths as there was a lot of rustling and crunchy noises from the undergrowth all around the garden. It would be nice to know just how many there are. I've seen two small babies, one a bit bigger, two medium ones and one very large one that I meet most nights. It stands out as it has biscuity, slightly ginger coloured spines and is huge. The little ones come out earlier than the older ones, so I put them some crushed peanuts out and a little dish of water. I've seen the larger ones going to the pond for a drink which was good to see as I had made a sloping beach at one end with pebbles for that purpose.

That's why they must favour your garden! Well done :)

I know i have hedgehogs somewhere, every morning i see the poo on the lawn........ but never get to see them! Up until this year i had a big security light on the back of the house that lit the whole garden, but the bulb popped and i havent replaced it yet. If i turned it on late at night i used to be able to see them on the lawn eating the old cat food i threw out for them.
First time this year i now have newts............ they are living under some old pan tiles that are covered with ivy. I just happened to be chopping back the ivy a few weeks ago and one popped out from under a tile........... scared the heck outta me.
Now we have snakes too............ my its getting wild out here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark

You must be doing something right! I can identify with your security light problem as the same thing happened to me and I haven't done anything about it either! I used to like to see the hedgehogs and moths. Must get a new bulb.... I also have newts and frogs but sadly no toads.

It is great to know that our gardens are supporting all this wildlife. I don't have any toads or newts. We've never had newts, but used to have lots of toads. The frogs always make me jump when I'm weeding and they suddenly leap out of the middle of plants, so I don't think I could cope with snakes as well.

I wonder if it is a common thing to have non-working security lights, mine packed up last October and I'm still waiting for my son to put up the replacement. I suppose it is saving electricity!

I wish we had some hedgehogs here - the snails are cheeky things after the rains! They mass on the Chattahoochee by the front door ready and able to make inroads in my garden! I saw 2 hedgehogs a few weeks ago, cooped up in a cage, being sold for $100 each! It broke my heart to see them scrambling, trying to get out! The woman selling said she raised theme, feeding them on dog or cat food, cant remember which! So no hedgehogs here but small green iguanas up to monsters! All expets which grew too large so the owners 'let them out'. They have no inundated southern Florida, their numbers growing each year. Horrible things! In Honduras they are served in restaurants as 'Bamboo Chicken'! How delightful!!! A treat to look forward to........ : (

I forgot to include the photos of the iguanas! Can you imagine them visiting your garden! They are on the 'Florida Pest List' but the Authorities dont seem to be able to motivate themselves to make a concerted effort to stop the Pet Shops from selling them. When they become too large for the pet owners, they release them wherever they want to. Same thing for South American Python pets! The everglades is having a hard time with these snakes which just keep growing.

Here is an article about the phython and alligator in the everglades. Again, no concerted effort is being made to educate people (no fines etc) not to release these 'exotics' into our rahter delicate ecosystem. This is quite an eye-opener. How I'd rather have hedgehogs in my garden!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9600151/

Galanth and Patbarr............................ maybe we shouldn't buy new bulbs for the security lights. maybe thats why all the wildlife is coming because its so dark??
I have lots of toads here but very few frogs.......... apart from the odd one that scares the **** out of me. I picked up a pot the other day and one was buried under the soil, it jumped out as a touched the soil and i dropped it all on the floor..........

If i saw someone with caged hedgehogs, i would go round there house and destroy the cages!!! They disgust me......................
I have heard about the problem with the snakes in Florida................

Introducing non native wildlife anywhere is usually disastrous. "Man" gets it wrong alot of the time doesn't "he"? I agree that letting pets into the wild because the owner can't deal with them is just beyond irresponsible and caged hedgehogs - I despair! I love my frogs and don't mind them at all. I'm glad not to see them too often because if I can't see them then neither can my or the neighbourhood cats. I have lots of the little fellows hopping about just now - so cute!

That's a sweet little frog. I don't know what I'd do if I had Iguanas in the garden. I agree that there should be some control on what people can keep as pets as something that looks cute when it is 6 inches long is a totally different beast when it has grown to a few feet. Also keeping wild creatures as caged pets is terrible.

There was an article in tonight's newspaper about some workmen finding a giant terrapin in a pool on an disused pit site somewhere near here, so that was obviously a pet that had been released into the wild. Not on the same scale as crocodiles etc, but non the less it shouldn't have been there. It reminds me of a holiday in Borneo when we had to take a torch to dinner as a 3 ft monitor lizard used to sleep across the path near our hut and we had to be careful not to trip over it on the way back, but that was a wild one.

It was only there to monitor your progress.

Thats a nice little frog you have there Galanthrophile! I'd love to have more frogs in my garden too! Wonderful mosquito and insect eaters! Occasionally we have Buffo Toads which I'm told will do the job of eliminating the insects very well, but are pretty deadly for dogs should they come into contact with them, as these frogs exude a poison, should the dog catch one with its mouth. I believe the Buffo toad is a relative of the Cane Toad, found in Australia.

Many of us in Southern Florida have this iguana problem. A link where we are discussing how to get rid of them. How we would love to have little hedgehogs, especially if they devour the snails in our gardens. Yes I was most upset to see the 2 little hedgehogs. Looking back I wish I'd bought them but they were certainly pretty pricy! But I fear our climate would have been horrible for them. I dont know much about Hedgehogs, and I've only seen a few in my life. They seem to be gentle creatures. Where do they have their babies? In a burrow? How many do they birth? How long does it take for them to forrage by themselves?

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/763544/

It depends on whether he hedgehogs are the woodland species as we have, or the desert species from Africa, which prefer warmth. That's new to me, this article give most of the information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog

There is a website just for British hedgehogs!

http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

This gives weaning info, 5 weeks,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/193.shtml

wallaby1, these sites are certainly educational. I thought the hedgehog house would be a wonderful way to ensure the hedgehogs visit and stay a while! Lucky people! Thanks for the links.

PLEASE READ THIS: from BBC News: Science & Nature:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6975945.stm

A marked decline in the number of UK's hedgehogs has led to wildlife experts to add them to the Biodiversity Action Plan for threatened species. In this week's Green Room, Hugh Warwick argues that we have become bad hosts to the once frequent garden visitor.....................................Please read the entire article.

Interesting article bedouin, thanks for posting the link. There's no doubt that the increased traffic and roads contribute to the decline, also people's use of slug baits. I'm not sure a hedgehog would eat a dying slug, and I say dying because they don't die instantly, they suffer a slow death, and if where the sun gets to them in the daytime they will dry out.

Tidy gardens, well yes and no, the trend from the narrow borders and neatly cut lawns of the past seems to be going out of fashion, some of us are growing masses of shrubs etc which could give shelter, others may be ripping out their old garden hedges because they need to be cut and in this time of everyone having to work leaves little time to do these things. Trends of having decking I don't see would impact so much as that is usually adjoining the house, and if gaps are left underneath who knows, this may be a haven for hedgehogs.

One thing which I have not seen mentioned is the increase of garden ponds. Those who consider the needs of nature will make sure they leave a sloping edge for hedgehogs to climb out, they will go to ponds for water and are actually good swimmers, but with vertical edges it's impossible to escape and they usually drown. I have two neighbours with ponds which did not provide for this, and I have very few neighbours, both have had drowned hedgehogs. One I know has said he made a place for them to escape, but I don't see it, anything to keep me happy? Responsibilty seems to be lacking, it's only another hedgehog, they get run over all the time on the roads, it is disheartening.

I do find the method of recording the road kills a little strange, but as they are nocturnal I guess it would be difficult to monitor unless the nation is involved. I do have them but I live in a country area with woods and hedgerows, I also have a leylandii hedge which people have learnt to hate with all the controversy over hedge height in suburban gardens so I imagine many have ripped them out, and they also need trimming but mine gets done once a year with a power cutter mostly in early October. It was already here and had not been well cared for, it is now a lovely approx. 8' tall backdrop to my garden, it provides a wind break but more for my southerly neighbour than myself, I get the northerly and easterlies with force! It also provides shelter for rhododendrons, and I have other shrubs in the same area which get the sun and this provides an ideal situation for many insects. The hedge trimmings I do not clean up and take to the tip, I push them under the hedge where they provide a mulch keeping in moisture, provide food, and a haven for many creatures.

I was slightly surprised the article implied that the hedgerows in Britan had been cleared, there was a period where this was the case as farming methods required larger fields to use the machinery on, more ground provided and efficiency overall. Many years ago this has been put into the reverse unless I am mistaken, the mistake had been realised, these hedges stopped erosion, provided shelter for animals, and food for wildlife. I do believe programmes of hedge replacement were in force and still are. Only a small percentage of hedgrows had been removed also, this country is full of them. Many country areas are quite open, others not, there is intensive farming perhaps more in the areas which have woods and hedgerows as the more open areas are moorland with stone walls in place of hedges, these areas often support sheep as the ground is poorer.

It does seem as though every nook and cranny now around a city, town or village is being built on, there are houses by the thousands going up near where I live around Lincoln, every field behind the exit roads where they can get between the single rows of houses flanking the road is being built on. This probably will drive out many hedgehogs, but there is still a lot of country where they can live, and may even find they adapt to all the people who have their cats to feed, that is a sure hedgehog magnet.

I think there is much more awareness now, and things do change, hedgehogs adapt, there is little we can do to stop them being killed on the roads, but that in a way is a sign that there are still quite a few around. It is a long time since I saw a dead one on the roads, I used to see them fairly regularly, there is a suggestion that some are wise road crossers, and will perhaps breed wiser young, let's hope this is the case. Not all hedgehogs need to cross roads either as they get what they need where they are, and not all roads are super highways with many cars. This country has a network of small country roads, and some cars do go too fast, but usually the smaller roads get little traffic compared to major routes.

Some very interesting points there Wallaby.

Another article about UK hedgehogs' numbers diminishing: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7422299.stm

Tracking hedgehogs in the UK. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7511030.stm