Well, to follow on from my last post ... they were absent for for four nights then turned up and ate a little, but last night they licked the plate clean as they used to.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yeah i tried to video last night but unfortunately it didn't work with the light from the LED street lamp nearby. Which is a shame because they were building nests (if you call them nests?) last night in the bought hedgehog house and the one i made.
How do i know if they are big enough to survive hibernation? Do i just leave them be and let nature take its course?
They really need to be around 600 grammes at this time of year Tom, to hibernate successfully although even that is no guarantee. It might be an idea to keep putting food out until it is not touched at all. We still have hogs feeding nightly but the two youngsters we caught on camera were obviously not up to that weight so I managed to catch both at the feeders (a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with a torch!). Phoned the SSPCA who came to collect them to take to their wildlife centre. Both had ringworm which is easily treated but I would not have spotted. Having overwintered two last year I would not do it again because there are just too many things they can suffer from and need specialist care.
Just found a tiny hoglet - weighed in at 9 oz. It was walking - almost running down our driveway leading onto the road - this at about 2 p.m. One tick on it. I have put it into the empty tortoise house for now - plenty of straw and some food. Should we take it to the animal rescue centre? I don't want to overwinter it in captivity here, and not sure whether to let it go into the safety of the field tonight.
I have just calculated 9 oz to be approx. 250 - 300 grams, if that is correct then I will get it to the animal centre a.s.a.p. and hope that they can give it the appropriate care over the winter, and will ask if we can have it on release (if it survives the winter).
You've definitely done the right thing GD, straight to the rescue. There is no way he/she will survive the winter at that weight & food sources are dwindling at this time of year. Good idea to get weighing hogs before they disappear folks, especially if in doubt.
Tbh, if it's out during the day I would contact the rescue regardless of weight. Could be it's suffering from ringworm or similar condition that wouldn't be obvious.
Thanks for all your helpful comments. I am pleased to say it is now at the rescue centre - named and hopefully they will be able to bring it through the winter and we can collect it in the Spring. It had mange as well as at least one tic. They had 3 delivered to them this afternoon! I am feeding another slightly larger one each evening - and will try to weigh it in the next few days before deciding on it's future.
Posts
My boss lent me his wildlife camera last night and the pics weren't too bad for a first attempt
even though it's upside down haha
Last edited: 31 October 2017 16:53:20
Well, to follow on from my last post ... they were absent for for four nights then turned up and ate a little, but last night they licked the plate clean as they used to.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yeah i tried to video last night but unfortunately it didn't work with the light from the LED street lamp nearby. Which is a shame because they were building nests (if you call them nests?) last night in the bought hedgehog house and the one i made.
How do i know if they are big enough to survive hibernation? Do i just leave them be and let nature take its course?
They really need to be around 600 grammes at this time of year Tom, to hibernate successfully although even that is no guarantee. It might be an idea to keep putting food out until it is not touched at all. We still have hogs feeding nightly but the two youngsters we caught on camera were obviously not up to that weight so I managed to catch both at the feeders (a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with a torch!). Phoned the SSPCA who came to collect them to take to their wildlife centre. Both had ringworm which is easily treated but I would not have spotted. Having overwintered two last year I would not do it again because there are just too many things they can suffer from and need specialist care.
Just found a tiny hoglet - weighed in at 9 oz. It was walking - almost running down our driveway leading onto the road - this at about 2 p.m. One tick on it. I have put it into the empty tortoise house for now - plenty of straw and some food. Should we take it to the animal rescue centre? I don't want to overwinter it in captivity here, and not sure whether to let it go into the safety of the field tonight.
I have just calculated 9 oz to be approx. 250 - 300 grams, if that is correct then I will get it to the animal centre a.s.a.p. and hope that they can give it the appropriate care over the winter, and will ask if we can have it on release (if it survives the winter).
I'd take it to the rescue centre, GD...walking about during the day and only weighing 300g doesn't sound good.
You've definitely done the right thing GD, straight to the rescue. There is no way he/she will survive the winter at that weight & food sources are dwindling at this time of year. Good idea to get weighing hogs before they disappear folks, especially if in doubt.
Last edited: 08 November 2017 17:35:57
Tbh, if it's out during the day I would contact the rescue regardless of weight. Could be it's suffering from ringworm or similar condition that wouldn't be obvious.
Thanks for all your helpful comments. I am pleased to say it is now at the rescue centre - named and hopefully they will be able to bring it through the winter and we can collect it in the Spring. It had mange as well as at least one tic. They had 3 delivered to them this afternoon! I am feeding another slightly larger one each evening - and will try to weigh it in the next few days before deciding on it's future.