A nest under my house, found a dead hedgehog baby

[sraa]

Hello.

A hedgehog made a nest under my house. I frequently saw the babies peeking out and even moving near by the nest.

Now i found a dead baby near the entrance with flies over it.
Is it possible that the other babies have left the nest with or without mom??
I’m worried about the rest of the babies. I also haven’t seen the mom coming or going…

Is there anything i should do?

[stef]

You’ve not said how big the baby was or how long they were under the house so it’s difficult to answer your question.
Hogs are multiple birth animals and not all will survive and mum will remove dead babies sometimes.
The babies won’t have left without mum if they are still reliant on her – ie not weaned. The exception to this is if mum doesn’t come back, and with this awful heatwave it is difficult for adults to find food, so they may well abandon the nest and in this case babies may leave the nest trying to find her.
However if they are older they may well have left.
I would remove the dead baby and put some wet food by where they were and see if you see any movement – don’t leave it long though as it will attract flies which are a real hazard to hogs at this time. I would also contact your nearest carer to ask for advice

[sraa]

Thank you!!

Yeah, i’m not entirely sure myself how old the babies are. I presumed that the mom might be weaning them off based on what i read online…
I’m not really that familiar with hedgehogs so all this is new to me. I really appreciate the help!!

I removed the dead baby and left some food out as you instructed.
Waiting for a call back from a wildlife carer also. Hopefully the other babies and the mom are alright.

[Author]

Posts