No poo anymore at feeding station – hedgehogs hibernating?
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Hi!
At the end of september we discovered a small goblet of only 118 gram. We called the hedgehog rescue foundation and although I tolden them we have seen an adult as well but not together, they took in the hoglet. Only 2 hours after we saw two new hoglets. When we called again they did not take those (?). I was a bit sad about it because I don’t like to intervene in nature when its not necessary. But I found out that mother soon after abandoned the goblets to grow on their own. They showed at day searching for food. So I decided to help them to give a kick start before the cold arrives. I made them cooked minced beef with eggshell to get the right phosphorus/calcium 1:1 or 1:2 amount. I added some of the convelance support diet which we had left from our old cat who had died, to add even more energy and vitamins. We build them a new hedgehog house which we don’t know if they use it. And we made a hedgehog feeding station of a bucket with a smaal hole and a zig zag corridor made out of stones on front. So every night we saw at dawn one goblet come to feed. (we don’t know if they are still together but the food fit for two goblets was eaten every night). Almost every night you could set the clock for the sighting. We saw it growing and growing. At one evening I decided to catch it to make sure that it has got a good hibernation weight. The little one just wanted to escape and did not roll up ;-). I made it as quick as possible. It was 484 grams on 12 november. So I was heading in the right direction. I continued feeding. Last few days it was very cold (night temperatures around 0 and day around 5) and they/it ate less. But the last two days they don’t poo anymore around the food. While they used to leave lots of poo normally. Is this a sign the hedgehogs have gone in hibernation and some other animal is eating the food? We don’t want to feed mice or rats.
How do I know I can safely stop feeding the hedgehogs?
Thanxs for the answers!
Hi, Well done for weighing the hedgehog and continuing to feed. I have a similar situation where one hedgehog visits and is eating to build itself up to hibernate. The only way I answer this question for my visitor is to use a wildlife camera. I find as soon as hedgehogs stop visiting the rats move in. I would continue to put fresh food and water out until you are sure they have hibernated and even then still leave water and maybe a small amount of food to monitor what is happening.
It is a tricky situation and I would also like to read what others think.
Using a wildlife camera has actually saved me money as I discovered cats were eating the food and I have been able to stop them by making it difficult for them to enter the feeding station.
Thnx for that.
I am afraid buying a wildlife cam is a bit too much. So wondering what others have to mention about the disappearing hedge hog poo 😉In my experience, hedghog poo not being present isn’t a reliable sign. I find the hogs here sometimes poo in the feed boxes and other times don’t. It might have been only one of the hoglets who did the poos in the feeding bucket. I also think if a rat is going to turn up, it/they won’t necessarily wait until the hedgehogs hibernate, as I am finding at the moment! It’s a bit of an occupational hazard with feeding hogs at this time of year. The one who visited here recently didn’t go into the boxes, but only ate the food outside, but didn’t finish all the food, so hopefully you would get some idea. Not easy to tell without a camera, really.
Thank you Nic. – Tonight there was not poo again and only a small portion eaten. Yeah it could be one of them is hibernating and the other one is still eating. Temperatures will rise the next 10 days. Please hedgehogs give me a poo sign to make clear I still need to feed you 😉
That made me laugh, LalaBlanca! If only hogs would be so considerate as to give us a sign! It would make everything so much easier!
Ha Ha, that’s funny, yes I agree you know where you are when you have a bit of poo. Some hogs make a right mess in the feeder. One hog I had at home loved to poo in my husband’s green house.
I hope you do get a bit of poo, its not asking for much is it!My Dad has a big problem with rats at the moment and has a video clip of the rat appearing from the door of the hog house. I think his rats are using his garden as a ‘rat run’ between a neighbour with chickens and the local senior school where the kids drop lots of food at lunchtime. He also has a compost heap and they love that. Someone advised me to put chicken wire around the bottom.
My hogs are certainly not hibernating yet!! they are eating me out of hog-house and home – and yesterday leaving me poo parcels as a thank you!! They seem to be going into the hogilo – or at least my dried hydrangea flower head is being moved away from the entrance, sometimes being pulled into the house and other times pushed outside it!! The last quick peek under the lid showed the house stuffed with bedding but – obviously – no sign of a hog unless he is well tucked in. I have at least 2 regulars appearing on the camera images at the same time – but not together if you know what I mean. One will be in the feeding station while the other waits outside or one will be running around and the other one is still and subservient! One is much bigger than the other but even the smaller one has grown. However, I am still getting +/-30 video clips a night – so there may be many more than 2! I have just ordered some more Ark hedgehog food!
Nobody came to eat last night, food untouched. Temperatures are high again for the next 10 days. I will leave food out, just to see what happens. They should about 550 grams by now. –> I figured the average growth between first weight in september and a few weeks ago was 7 grams a day, so I counted on. But maybe they are finally hibernating now. 😉
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