Hedgehogs still need winter help
HEDGEHOGS are nocturnal mammals that hibernate during winter. However, they only hibernate for around 10 days at a time.
This means that over winter you will, and should, still see hogs out and about, hogging around.
If you see a hedgehog out during the day there will be something wrong with it because they are nocturnal, which means that they are active during the night and not the day.
In this case, it will need a direct source of heat as soon as possible and then be taken to a reputable hog rescue or vets’ practice.
Healthy hogs will wake up and move around in between hibernating.
During this time, they need to be able to find enough food, to maintain their weight so they can do another 10 days’ hibernation successfully. To this end, if you are a soft release site for Woodlands Animal Sanctuary, you will know that part of what you have agreed to is to provide food for the hog(s) 365 days a year, indefinitely.
This is done for this very reason.
Even if you do not want to release a hog, you can certainly still do your bit to help this endangered native British animal, simply by leaving food out for them – but especially in winter.
A quality dry cat food can be used in this instance, or a reputable hog mix. If you live in Lancashire, Woodlands Animal Sanctuary have their own blend of hog food that they feed to all their rescued and rehabilitating hedgehogs. You can even buy some for the hogs in your garden from their onsite pet shop.
By placing the shallow bowl of food in a hog house you can minimise the risk that other animals will steal it before the grateful hog can get to it.
To ensure the hogs can utilise the food, they will need access to your garden.
A small hole – 13cm x 13cm – in the fence, a gap under the gate or room under the hedge all allow hedgehogs to pass through easily but are too small for most other pets.
By contributing towards improving ‘hedgehog highways’ you will most certainly help to save at least one hogs life this winter.