Here is a brilliant website for all the information you could possibly want about hedgehog houses, what to feed hogs, (always meaty dry kitten food, where meat is the first listed ingredient) , ( not cereal which is used to bulk up cheaper food - Tesco kitten food is great, or Purina kitten food, or Sainsbury’s) how to encourage them into your garden, and what to do if you see a hedgehog out in the day (they are almost always in trouble if you see them out in the daytime). https://hedgehogcabin.info/
Well I've looked at last night hog cam, and it was triggered 50 times! Between 8pm and 5am. 15 times it was a half hour bout of a male trying to chat up a female, he lucked out there. The rest were a mix of between one and three hogs coming for food or water. If I go by the markings that show up on a night camera, there were five different hogs.
A long thread so I don't know if it's been discussed before. Do people know what makes a good hog shelter? I heard a few cheapo ones from Aldi/Lidl are dangerous to them. Apparently they get stuck.
I'm curious what is good to get and what isn't? What design features make them safe or dangerous?
Also what homemade shelters are good?
Not sure we have them but it's nice if noisey to have a sleeping hog in your garden.
Well hubby bought me a lovely hog house Smooth sides, and a separate bed area are I suppose the best. But it took three years for a hog to adopt it.😀 Meanwhile an old bulb planter overturned and stood on bricks had two in it this winter.🙄 As long as it is quiet, with a bit of bedding they don't seem to care.😆
@NorthernJoe , the main thing to consider is access. Ideally it needs to have a kind of zig zag like the one in @purplerallim 's photo above. This stops predators such as foxes being able to gain access to either food or the hedgehog . If you have a look at the BHPS website, there are plenty of hints and tips https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-homes/ You can adapt a plastic box (see earlier photos in the thread pages 90 and 114 ). I've found that if you leave bowls of food out in the open, neighbourhood cats or foxes usually arrive before the hedgehog.
A very eloquent post. Apparently some people use gloss paint 🙄. I'm sure no forum member would do this to a hedgehog and cause undue stress to a wild creature, but it doesn't hurt to spread the word 🦔
My daughter works in hospitality. A friend of hers engaged her to help with the paperwork, setting up, staff selection and training etc, of a town centre pub he has just bought. Her own training was stretched last week.
One evening she saw a hedgehog crossing the outdoor seating area.She was rather surprised given the urban location (the seating area was recently a car park!), but even more surprised a short while later when a female customer approached carrying a hedgehog in her hands. The following surreal conversation went something like this:
Daughter - Please put the hedgehog down.
Customer - But it's so cute!
D - Please put the hedgehog down. Don't you know they carry lots of parasites?
C - I don't care, I just love him!
D - Please put the hedgehog down. He's a wild animal, not a pet.
C - I want to take him home with me!
D - He might have a family and babies, and he wouldn't be happy without them.
C - But I want to adopt him!
D (Speaking slowly and clearly) - Please put the hedgehog down! You can't adopt him.
You can't come into the pub carrying a hedgehog!
It took a bit longer for the customer to be convinced, but she did eventually return the hedgehog to the seating area, and after getting his bearings he scuttled away. Daughter is still marvelling at some of the things she had said, that she never thought she would need to utter in a work environment. She said it felt more like nursery school
Posts
https://hedgehogcabin.info/
15 times it was a half hour bout of a male trying to chat up a female, he lucked out there.
The rest were a mix of between one and three hogs coming for food or water.
If I go by the markings that show up on a night camera, there were five different hogs.
I'm curious what is good to get and what isn't? What design features make them safe or dangerous?
Also what homemade shelters are good?
Not sure we have them but it's nice if noisey to have a sleeping hog in your garden.
Smooth sides, and a separate bed area are I suppose the best. But it took three years for a hog to adopt it.😀
Meanwhile an old bulb planter overturned and stood on bricks had two in it this winter.🙄
As long as it is quiet, with a bit of bedding they don't seem to care.😆
If you have a look at the BHPS website, there are plenty of hints and tips
https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-homes/
You can adapt a plastic box (see earlier photos in the thread pages 90 and 114 ). I've found that if you leave bowls of food out in the open, neighbourhood cats or foxes usually arrive before the hedgehog.
Thanks
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A very eloquent post.
Apparently some people use gloss paint 🙄. I'm sure no forum member would do this to a hedgehog and cause undue stress to a wild creature, but it doesn't hurt to spread the word 🦔
Thank goodness your daughter saw what was happening.
It is not always easy reading, but if anyone is using plastic rat traps ,please make sure they are under cover.
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The work these rescues do for these is endangered creatures is amazing 🦔🦔🦔