Thanks so much for your response and reassurance. Yeah it just came as a shock to find the little body, I thought they were old enough and strong enough to be safe, at least while they were in my garden. It couldn’t have been killed by a fox or a dog, I have cats and a cat fence up to keep them in, and so no animals much bigger than a hedgehog could get in (I was a bit surprised to find the hedgehogs could get in, they found a gap under the fence) my cats don’t bother them, they are very wary, even of the babies. So I think it must have died naturally somehow, maybe the heat was too much? I do make sure they have water but it was very very hot at that time. It was very close to the nest so think it’s entirely possible it died in there and the mother moved the body for hygiene reasons.
I think the relative safety is probably what appealed to the mother hedgehog. They all have moved out of that nest now but still get regular visits from various hogs, including someone else’s half grown juvenile and a few adults. I have a lovely hedgehog house built and am hoping to build a couple more. Was going to ask, can the houses be quite near each other or should they be separated out? Limited space in the garden could make that difficult. Thanks again for your help.
