Hi hydra101
Glad to hear a hog turned up there. Yes, he could be planning to hibernate, but also may be making it cosier for the colder days.
Hogs use a huge amount of material to build their hibernating nests. The best is medium sized leaves which they layer like tiles to make the whole thing waterproof. They sometimes use long grasses to help knit it all together. A properly built hibernaculum is a wonder to behold! It’s amazing what they can achieve. But a huge pile of leaves soon disappears when the leaves are neatly layered.
Hogs will sometimes build nests which they don’t eventually use. But sometimes will use what appears to be a hibernaculum to nap in between snacks or occasionally spend the day.
The purpose of a hibernaculum is for insulation and protection from the weather rather than to keep them warm. Their body temperature needs to fall in order for them to hibernate but not so low that their metabolism stops completely.
I know what you mean about a box not being high enough. I had a similar ‘problem’ here once when a hog started building a nest in a fairly shallow feeding box. But in the end all we can really do is leave it to the wisdom of the hedgehog. They will know if the end result is not suitable. Apparently it isn’t unusual for them to build more than one hibernaculum. Here, two large males took up residence for several days in the ‘feeding box’ before one moved on. The other may have begun his hibernation in there, but I suspect then also moved on. It is known that hogs will move and even build new nests during hibernation time.
Good luck with the hog there. Don’t forget to always leave water available (all day every day) even if you think he’s hibernating. You never know when a thirsty hog might turn up.
