Hi lindylou08
Welcome to the Forum!
It’s really good to hear that the hogs have been putting your facilities to such good use.
Hogs, especially small/young ones will sometimes share a box, but there could be two nests inside a box. Alternatively two hogs may use the same box, but at different times. In general, once they’re mature they prettty much like to have their own space and not share, but there are exceptions to every rule!
It’s best really to keep feeding boxes and hog home boxes separately, although hogs sometimes decide to make a nest in a feeding station. But if you think there is a hog there during the day, you really need to wait until it vacates before cleaning it out and in the meantime shouldn’t use it for feeding. By vacating, I mean completely, not just out for the night.
There is more information about cleaning out hog houses here: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/cleaning-out-boxes/
When you do clean it out, make sure you use boiling water to kill any parasite eggs. They can hide in the cracks/joints in the wood.
Even night cams are not totally reliable at telling what’s going on with boxes – they normally have time gaps between clips, as well as a bit of a delay between detecting and beginning to video/photo. Hogs seem to be very clever at moving around during those time spaces to confuse us all! (Stories of hog invisibility cloaks abound). So it’s best to check with a twig/rolled up paper/flower, as suggested in the cleaning boxes info. to try to be sure there is no hog in residence before cleaning. Even then I always lift the opening very carefully, just in case. If a hog is in there, leave it alone.
Hogs normally change nests from time to time, not least because of potential external parasite problems, so if one is in residence, hopefully it will move soon. Although some people have had to resort to getting a new hog house in the hope the hog moves out!
You probably do already, but in case not, please leave water available for the hogs all day every day. It’s much easier for them to find wild food than to find water. Shallow but wide plant saucers are ideal, as long as they are shallow enough that a hoglet can’t get trapped. Most of mine are ten inches or more wide – not so easy to tip over, which hogs are very good at!
Good luck. I hope you get a chance to clean out the hog house soon. Meanwhile, happy hog watching.
