Hedgie Lover, I think you need to slow down a bit. I sent you the link from BHPS. http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/pdf/Hibernation-Weight.pdf
They got together with other experts to come up with an authoritative view about minimmum weights required for hibernation. That is the advice you need to follow.
The information from the BHPS says 450g for a hog in the wild and 600g for one which has been in captivity. Even 450g depends on how late in the year it is and hoglets which are being fed, attending for feeding regularly and seem otherwise healthy may not need rescuing until later in any given year.
Prior to BHPS producing that information many rescues did give out the information that it should be 600g for a hog in the wild. But that is the sort of thing that led to many of the rescues being filled up far too early, with hogs that didn’t need rescuing. Which is partly why that information was brought out by the BHPS, I believe. It’s possible some rescues may still not be aware of the information from BHPS.
It also seems likely that some hogs are being ‘rescued’ too early. It is not the easy option for a hog to be over-wintered in captivity. It’s very stressful for them and not all will survive.
You really need to read that information through carefully. If you make too many posts about this, not only you, but others may become confused. I know it is only because you are so enthusiastic, but you can’t save the whole of hedgehogkind in a day! Maybe read a bit more and write a bit less. If you are going to look after more hoglets in the future you will need to be familiar with this sort of information from BHPS.
If you want to find out more about hogs, there is loads of information on Hedgehog Street. It’s well worth checking it out. Have a look under ‘Help Hedgehogs’ and ‘All about Hedgehogs’ at the top of the page. Check out all the links contained in the information as well. Lots of really interesting stuff.
