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Home Forums Hedgehog signs and sightings Hibernation Reply To: Hibernation

#8270
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Nic

Hi logginthelog

It would be a good idea to leave lots of potential bedding around such as leaves (preferably medium sized)/hay, etc. The little one, in particular, may not have made a hibernating nest yet.

I would be inclined to try to weigh the little one, bearing in mind the time of year and that it is beginning to get colder. They need to weigh at least 450g to have a chance of surviving hibernation (although there is never any guarantee).
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/pdf/Hibernation-Weight.pdf

You should be able to get the number of someone local, who will be able to help if the little one needs over-wintering, advise about weights in relation to local conditions, etc. from the BHPS (01584 890801). If you do catch the hoglet, try to get advice before releasing it, because sometimes it is more difficult to catch them a second time.

If you need to keep a hog in over night, use a high sided box or pet carrier as hogs are very good at escaping. You can use newspaper as a base and torn up paper (or hay, if you happen to have some around) for bedding (enough for them to hide in) and supply food or water (although they may very likely spill that!). It is useful to have scales and potential night accommodation ready before you try to catch a hog, just in case, to cause them minimum stress. So you can literally just catch, weigh and put in the box (if necessary), or release.

If there is one hoglet around, it is quite likely there is more than one, so keep an eye out. Small hoglets were arriving here, last year, until the end of November, so it’s a good idea to keep supplying food and water after you think all the hogs have disappeared.

Hedgehog