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!
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
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.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Unknown said:Thanks Mike, that's helpful. It does seem like others have experienced similar this time of year.
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?!?!?