Hedgehogs stopped coming to garden

[Murrayalba]

We have had two hedgehogs coming to our garden, the first time we saw them was July and we started leaving food for them, hedgehog food called Hedgehog Crumble, they typically arrived around 9:30 – 10:00 and often ate then had a drink and went off into the garden.
However they have not appeared now for 4 nights, the food has not been touched.
I am thinking it is too early for them to hibernate, so have they just found a better place to go or should I be worried about them?

BTW I recently set up a hedgehog house in a secluded part of the garden and it was after that they stopped coming, any connection?

[simbo65]

Hi,
I doubt if the appearance of a HH house would be connected unless it’s blocking their route into your garden.
I too think it’s a bit early for hibernation
Sadly sometimes they just disappear. It’s always a worry for us hog fans but we have to remember they are wild and try not to get too attached. Which is great coming from me who is devastated that a local visitor hasn’t been seen for over a month!
I hope they come back soon.

[DarkPassenger 78]

I had 5/6 wee hoggys coming regularly every night and I’ve not seen them in three weeks 🙁 I go out every night in the hope they have came back to be disappointed. I fair miss my wee hoggys and hope they come back to visit

[Jessica Jews]

Ive just posted something very similar!! We have been feeding and watering a couple of hedgehogs all summer, they ate the food every night. Now for the past week they havent been. My neighbour today showed me a hedgehog which has been hibernating in her garden for the past 5 or 6 days, but we both think its surely too early to hibernate? Im worried its poorly but don’t want to disturb it if it is merely hibernating!

[Christina1]

The same thing has happened to me feeding them from April now no visits at all. Could it have something to do with a fox that I saw in the garden.

[Hedgie Lover]

I’d try not to fear the worst, I strongly suspect that someone else in your neighbourhood is feeding them. The hedgehog hospital told me that ‘foxes tend not to’ eat hedgehogs, but I guess it largely depends on the fox and how skilled it is, as it does say on Hedgehog Street that some foxes have been found with hedgehog parts in them.

But, as I said, they might have found food elsewhere, lets hope for the best and not to worry too much about them. Hope that they come back.

[Murrayalba]

Thanks for the replies, I have some good news though.
I set up a night vision camera last night and caught one of the hedgehogs on it a little before midnight, so at least one is still coming to the garden but have lost interest in the food we are leaving out.

Thanks Again 👍

[Nic]

Glad to hear you have seen a hog, Murrayalba!

It’s a problem that recurs every year on the Forum with disappearing hogs at this time of year. The males actually hibernate quite a bit earlier than the females (no hoglet rearing duties to worry about, so they can put on the fat they need for hibernation sooner), so it’s possible some of them may be thinking about that already. But they also have larger ranges and may be spending more time at the other end of their range, all sorts of possibilities.

Hopefully they will return in the Spring, fit and well.

[5sandown]

Hi everyone, exactly the same thing has happened to me! I’ve had hogs every night since April, two of whom were nesting in my hedgehog houses but over the last three weeks all of them have gone. It’s always a worry but the same thing happened in September last year and they came back this year. The trouble is you just don’t know. There is the odd badger around here and I’d hate to think this was the issue. My problem is that I currently have two foster hogs in a hutch until they get to release weight and I just don’t know now whether to release them here or not. They’ve got a few weeks yet before they will be able to be released so I’ll keep the camera on at night and see if any of the other hogs reappears before making a decision.

[Nic]

Hi 5sandown

If there are regularly badgers around, it could be an issue, but if there has just been one passing through, possibly not so much. You say the hogs all disappeared last year about this time last year, so it isn’t surprising it’s happened again. I have always found that the male hogs are first to disappear (all the males here have already disappeared), then the females and the hoglets are last to go.

But were the foster hogs rescued from your vicinity, because if not it’s better anyway that they are released back where they came from. There’s useful information about that in this link in case you haven’t already seen it:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/guidance-on-releasing-rehabilitated-hedgehogs/

[Paul]

I’m in the same boat, had hedgehogs in the garden for over two & a half years but I haven’t seen any since the end of August, still putting food & water out but the food isn’t being touched, well apart from the slugs!

Hoping nothing bad has happened to them, they maybe wild animals but it’s still hard not to become attached to them.

[Paul]

Just took a walk down the village to the cashpoint & not far from the house I spot a hog walking around, it”s a dead end road out the back of our house so not much traffic if any at this time of night thankfully, at least I know they’re still around so they may be back in the garden one day.

[5sandown]

Hi Nic, thanks for the information. These juveniles were rescued as babies from a disturbed nest and hand reared so haven’t got a home area they can go back to. I’ll discuss the release with Warwickshire Hedgehog Rescue when they get nearer the required weight. We live in a suburban area with only the odd badger passing through so I’m hopeful about the hogs that have disappeared and we have had a hog population here for a number of years.

[Nic]

Hi 5sandown

I hope you also read the link, contained in the information in the link I gave you: http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BHPS-Guidance-For-relasing-Rehabilitated-Hedgehogs.pdf In particular the section about ‘Infectious Disease and Parasites’.

It isn’t only that hogs need to be released, if at all possible, in an area that they know and are familiar with – which is obviously very important for adults and hoglets which were rescued when slightly older – but it also has to do with resistance to diseases, etc. As I understand it, different populations of hedgehogs may build up different resistances to disease and/or parasites. The hoglets you have are likely to have acquired certain resistances from their Mother, however young they were. Whilst it may seem unlikely that they will introduce diseases, etc. to a new population of hogs in a different area, they may be at risk themselves from diseases, etc. which may exist in a new population to which they do not have any resistance/immunity.

Then there is also the complicated factor of how many hedgehogs a certain area can support. These levels are likely to adjust naturally and by introducing additional hedgehogs, where they don’t belong, the local hogs could be put at risk. Which means that by releasing them near to you, rather than where they came from, you could be putting your local population at risk. (See under Ecology in the above-mentioned document). So that if the hoglets cannot be released exactly where they came from, they should be released as near as possible to that site.

Please read all of that document carefully. It explains far better than I can. It is very important for the health and well-being of all our hedgehogs that this message is heard.

Good luck.

[analeh]

Hi, I also had three hedgehogs visiting my garden and using the two feeding stations I fill with Ark Wildlife muselie, which they love.
Three weeks ago they stopped visiting and stopped eating and I was very worried where they were.
My feeding boxes have attracted rats and I wondered if this could have disturbed them?
Anyway, I’ll hope that they return next year.
I did have two sleeping boxes out in the garden but my garden is very small and they are taking up quite a large area. Would anyone like them?
It would have to be someone from the Sheffield area if I have to deliver them.
NO CHARGE.
Thanks

[Author]

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