Hedgehogs stopped feeding

Hi everyone, we've been feeding hedgehogs since they came out of hibernation this year. We are very lucky and sometimes get three or four a night, though that has dwindled naturally as the year has gone on. I have two hog feeding stations and use dry biscuits, semi-moist feed, and a wet cat-food style food, rotating them every few days, but usually offer more than one food type each night. The hogs have without fail been clearing all food (and leaving their little, or sometimes big, presents around the garden to prove it...). As of about three weeks ago, they stopped taking any food - just very abdruptly stopped. I use trail cams so i know that hogs are still visiting regularly, but they ignore the feeding stations now. They don't even go inside them anymore. Just wondered if anyone has had a similar experience. Could it be they have other priorities right now, like building hibernation nests, or maybe there is more natural food to forage (we have a very 'buggy' garden and lots of slugs right now). In previous years we've had it where hogs stop visiting for a few weeks/months and then turn up again, but never had it where they are still around, but not taking any food at all (wood mice are happy with this situaion i should add - more for them!). It just seems so sudden and abrupt!

  • Thanks for this Wendy, Much appreciated, and some useful responses. It looks like it's not just me, which i guess is reassuring. There was one hog yesterday evening that i watched, around 7pm. I had put some food out in a dish in the open, so not inside the usual feeding station, but it didn't even investigate it! I did put some food out at the back of the garden too but haven't checked the trail cams yet - it looks like some food has gone, but could be the mice!

    Thanks again for helping post this to the FB group. I will keep trialling things in the garden and will update if any change. I think the response 'they can be finnicky' sums it up Joy
  • Few more comments Neil
    My ones have been eating very well and have only left crumbs, they won’t touch any wet food, have tried different ones occasionally but always left. Purina (pink bag) kitten biscuits goes down a treat and is the favourite, seem to be buying bags of them at a time. Not sure how many I have as only seen 4 at one time. Can anyone answer on average how much one hedgehog can eat in a night?

    If there's plenty of their natural food around they will eat that & it is best for them really,they will eat what you put out when they cant get enough foraging.

    It's a myth that HHs eat/love slugs. Only if they're desperate. Slugs carry lungworm which can be fatal in hogs x

    Mine have also stopped eating the food for the past week or so which is unusual

    This is me commenting ... Looking back I realise that my hogs went off early in October two out of three years, one was initially interested in the hoghouse but never hibernated in it ... this is the first year since 2018 that there are babies, hope the one currently using house stays all winter! I shall continue to put Iams kitten biscuits & water in feeding station for any visitors throughout Winter months but won't set trailcam after the visits tail off, whenever that may be ... I have a small security cam to set up instead which I can view on my mobile phone!  This should alert me to any visits during mild spells ... if we have any! Lol

     

     2013 photos & vids here

    eff37 on Flickr

  • Thanks Wendy. After checking trail cams it was a wood mouse that swiped the food (again)! I guess i'm still seeing the hogs around, and they seem healthy, so maybe they are just foraging enough natural food. Our garden is very unkempt and has lots of bugs. Cams are out most nights now so hoping they come for a snack again before hibernation time!
  • You must have a plentiful supply of nztural food Neil, my garden is only very small so lucky enough to see three of the hoggie youngsters feeding well through the night with one in residence in hoghouse, had three together a few times over past few nights!
    Last night's footage, another wet one unfortunately bringing out the slugs
    https://youtu.be/bV56DTTJLK0
    Many more on my YT channel!

     

     2013 photos & vids here

    eff37 on Flickr

  • Nice footage Wendy. It looks like the hog with the slug tries to dislodge it as it leaves the feeding station! You certainly have a busy little hog family there!
  • if its of any comfort, our hedgehogs have stopped visiting.

    It could be pure coincidence, but the temps dropped dramatically the night they stopped visiting.

    Another link that might be of some interest is the British Hedgehog Society: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

    Also check out your local wildlife trust, they often have good info and more to your location as well.

    I look forward to any follows.

  • Thanks Mike, that's helpful. It does seem like others have experienced similar this time of year.

    The BHS were very helpful when we had a gas company digging up pavements and leaving large holes for a month, with no work being done, and no barriers to prevent hedgehogs falling in. I think they wrote to the company after i contacted them for advice!
  • Unknown said:
    Thanks Mike, that's helpful. It does seem like others have experienced similar this time of year.



    The BHS were very helpful when we had a gas company digging up pavements and leaving large holes for a month, with no work being done, and no barriers to prevent hedgehogs falling in. I think they wrote to the company after i contacted them for advice!

    You're welcome.

    I have a trailcam monitoring the ground in our very urban back garden, and since we last conversed, still no hedgehog sightings here, and the temps suddenly dropped down to 3ºC so my guess is they've gone into hibernation.

  • Me too !!!  This is no 3 night where I catch them occasionally on my Tapo camera … instead of the usual flurry and argybargy of between 3 and 4 hogs, I’m getting one and at a push two throughout the whole night ????  It was abrupt as well … I have a couple in the hothouses so they may be settling down in prep for the winter hibernation but if I see them on camera all they do is drink the water?!?!?