Hi The Gallaghers
Welcome to the Forum. I’m pleased to hear that you have some hoglets. You are so lucky to be able to get a photo of them all with Mum.
There are so many variables about whether they are big enough to survive hibernation. It partly depends on whereabouts in the country you are and what the weather conditions are. Personally, I think it’s too early to be worrying about whether they are big enough yet. Last year some of the hedgehogs here didn’t hibernate until early December. Hopefully they still have a while to grow before the bad weather sets in. It is quite hard to judge from measurements, ideally they need to be sort of rounded as well, but they do still sound quite small at the moment, but they grow very quickly at that age.
If the weather starts to get bad and they still seem small, it might be a good idea to have a chat with your local rescue and they will be able to advise you with regard to local conditions, etc. You can get the number of your local carer from the BHPS on 01584 890801. But the best thing is to try to weigh them. I know you are reluctant to, but it’s the only way to find out and they usually come back for food. You may only need to weigh one of them and if it’s a good weight and the others are about the same size they should be ok. If you get organised in advance – have a box ready in case and have some scales ready outside – you can just scoop one up, weigh it and let it go again very quickly, if it’s heavy enough, with minimum stress to it. If it’s too light, then it would potentially need catching anyway.
Don’t worry about posting on the wrong section, it’s all a bit variable anyway! You might just get two replies.
Good luck. I hope the hoglets do well.
