Hi Wild Thing
Poor Bertie does sound a bit odd. Sometimes their skirts are the same colour as the spines, but there is usually a difference in texture.
I agree about letting them find their own natural food – I only tend to leave the food out whilst I can watch i.e. for a couple of hours – partly so they have time to find their own food and also because it is easy to keep cats away (or, as at the moment the rat – not a frequent occurrence but annoying when it happens and the cats never seem to turn up when the rat is here!). I leave it out a bit longer when they first come back from hibernation, in case they turn up here really hungry.
Some hogs do seem to turn up at regular times, for long periods – you can almost set your watch by them – but then they will suddenly turn up later just to keep us guessing!
