This is the dilemma @Russell Tilling, you feed them and get the enjoyment from them, or you don't feed them and hope they head to a safer location. I don't envy you. Ironically our local rescue is on a road where they drive like maniacs, several hogs have been killed. One of them was a previous "resident" who had been microchipped, and she was still in the same area 2 years later.
That's very sad Russell and Dave. Speeding drivers was the main reason I was reluctant to encourage them, because I'm on a road and the hogs could be crossing, but since mum and two youngsters appeared in the summer, I felt I had no choice. I know it sounds daft. I did get footage on the camera - the r*ddy cat eating their expensive hog biscuits. I'd had my suspicions that it was. Then 2 nights ago, the little visitor who's been in before, and again, I'd suspected he was digging under the side gate to get in the back garden. I've foiled him now, as I've mortared the bottom of the gap...
It didn't work last night for some reason, but I tested it for a bit today, so hopefully all's well. I can move it around, so I've got it pointed towards the gap under the front fence where the hogs had made the little gap themselves, and there's the pathway in the grass. Fingers crossed.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think I had a much belated return visit from a hoggie last night! The food in the feeding station was gone but there were crumbs left behind . Hedgehogs leave crumbs,cats lick the dish clean!
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
Well, we had a new visitor last night! Chuffed to have a hog back although Dudley the rescue was less than impressed! Will have to see if it was a one-off or whether they'll be a regular visitor. Biscuits went out anyway last night although they seem pretty much untouched by this morning.
There is lots of stuff doing the rounds about leaving hollowed out Halloween pumpkins out for wildlife when you are done with them. They provide some water and fibre to animal's diets when there may not be much else around.
However, now there is a thing doing the rounds saying DON'T leave pumpkins out because they will give hedgehogs raging diarrhoea. Now I'm not sure where this dire rear piece of news has come from but it appears to be somebody seriously over-egging the pudding. It's recommended to give dogs and cats a dish of pumpkin to SOFTEN stools if they are constipated, that does not mean they will start to brownwash the walls.
Water and fibre soften stools, they don't cause raging diarrhoea unless you consume mountains of them. No hedgehog is going to sit and eat an entire pumpkin, they'd be bloated long before they got the squits and remember, you are putting out a carved Halloween pumpkin with all the pulp, and seeds, removed.
If you do see a bloated hedgehog lying on its back, huffing and panting, whilst it tries to ram the last chunk of pumpkin down its gullet then by all means raise your next pumpkin off the ground so he can't get at it but otherwise, perspective is needed.
Certain foods ARE bad for hedgehogs. Mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts are high in phosphorus, low in calcium and cause metabolic bone disease. Sultanas, banana, cake, biscuits, get stuck on their back teeth and cause tooth decay the same as we get if we don't brush our teeth. Hedgehogs don't have toothbrushes. Bread is bad for everything not just hedgehogs. It's all stodge with no nutrients. Milk - hedgehogs are intolerant and that does cause raging diarrhoea which will kill them if they are not found fast and treated.
So on balance, ideally put out fresh water, cat biscuits, tinned dog meat or hedgehog food which will provide a correct diet but really, a hollowed out pumpkin will not be a big deal.
This is from Wirral Animal Sanctuary's Facebook page via my local rescue.I cannot get the video link to work, but it is upsetting to see this poor hog suffering. Please spread the word about this, it is appreciated.
We would like once again explain where we stand on the mealworm debate and why.
We’ve more frequently been seeing people state that mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts are ok “as a treat”. The problem that we see here is that we don’t know how many people will take that on and provide those treats to hedgehogs in their garden. How many people in the same neighbourhood even? If a hedgehog visits several gardens and they all sprinkle a few mealworms on top of its food? That’s harmless right? WRONG. You will never know if the small amount of mealworms, sunflower seeds or peanuts you are providing is just a treat or a lethal dose of phosphorus. Please remember, it all adds up, it definitely did for the young hedgehog in the video below. Proper bone development is crucial in juvenile hedgehogs, mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts, actively strip bones of calcium, causing metabolic bone disease.
The poor hedgehog in this video was admitted to the Hog Centre in the summer. He didn’t make it.
We strongly advise everyone not to “treat” their hedgehog with mealworms. Cat/ dog food and water is all hedgehogs need. If you want to treat them throw in a pouch of kitten food! 🦔
Oh poor little creature - I think the above advice is spot on, we don't give our hogs any of those treats, but they do feed from the mess under the bird feeders before coming to eat at their controlled hog food in the dish, I will have to be stricter with the mess.
I think they make a good point @Guernsey Donkey2 , that even though there may only be a few mealworms in each garden, over the course of a night, they add up. Thanks for thinking of them !
We are fortunate here, that although they are declining in the U.K. they appear to be thriving here even though we often see them squashed on the road. Our local animal rescue do a marvellous job of caring for any taken in to them, they have over 100 in at the moment, they are microchipped before releasing - although any taken in by October are over wintered at the centre only being released in the Spring when around the 600 - 700 gram weight..
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I did get footage on the camera - the r*ddy cat eating their expensive hog biscuits. I'd had my suspicions that it was.
It didn't work last night for some reason, but I tested it for a bit today, so hopefully all's well. I can move it around, so I've got it pointed towards the gap under the front fence where the hogs had made the little gap themselves, and there's the pathway in the grass. Fingers crossed.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The food in the feeding station was gone but there were crumbs left behind
Hedgehogs leave crumbs,cats lick the dish clean!
From my local hedgehog rescue's Facebook Page:
There is lots of stuff doing the rounds about leaving hollowed out Halloween pumpkins out for wildlife when you are done with them. They provide some water and fibre to animal's diets when there may not be much else around.
However, now there is a thing doing the rounds saying DON'T leave pumpkins out because they will give hedgehogs raging diarrhoea. Now I'm not sure where this dire rear piece of news has come from but it appears to be somebody seriously over-egging the pudding. It's recommended to give dogs and cats a dish of pumpkin to SOFTEN stools if they are constipated, that does not mean they will start to brownwash the walls.
Water and fibre soften stools, they don't cause raging diarrhoea unless you consume mountains of them. No hedgehog is going to sit and eat an entire pumpkin, they'd be bloated long before they got the squits and remember, you are putting out a carved Halloween pumpkin with all the pulp, and seeds, removed.
If you do see a bloated hedgehog lying on its back, huffing and panting, whilst it tries to ram the last chunk of pumpkin down its gullet then by all means raise your next pumpkin off the ground so he can't get at it but otherwise, perspective is needed.
Certain foods ARE bad for hedgehogs.
Mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts are high in phosphorus, low in calcium and cause metabolic bone disease.
Sultanas, banana, cake, biscuits, get stuck on their back teeth and cause tooth decay the same as we get if we don't brush our teeth. Hedgehogs don't have toothbrushes.
Bread is bad for everything not just hedgehogs. It's all stodge with no nutrients.
Milk - hedgehogs are intolerant and that does cause raging diarrhoea which will kill them if they are not found fast and treated.
So on balance, ideally put out fresh water, cat biscuits, tinned dog meat or hedgehog food which will provide a correct diet but really, a hollowed out pumpkin will not be a big deal.
This is from Wirral Animal Sanctuary's Facebook page via my local rescue.I cannot get the video link to work, but it is upsetting to see this poor hog suffering. Please spread the word about this, it is appreciated.
We would like once again explain where we stand on the mealworm debate and why.
We’ve more frequently been seeing people state that mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts are ok “as a treat”. The problem that we see here is that we don’t know how many people will take that on and provide those treats to hedgehogs in their garden. How many people in the same neighbourhood even? If a hedgehog visits several gardens and they all sprinkle a few mealworms on top of its food? That’s harmless right? WRONG. You will never know if the small amount of mealworms, sunflower seeds or peanuts you are providing is just a treat or a lethal dose of phosphorus. Please remember, it all adds up, it definitely did for the young hedgehog in the video below. Proper bone development is crucial in juvenile hedgehogs, mealworms, peanuts and sunflower hearts, actively strip bones of calcium, causing metabolic bone disease.
The poor hedgehog in this video was admitted to the Hog Centre in the summer. He didn’t make it.
We strongly advise everyone not to “treat” their hedgehog with mealworms. Cat/ dog food and water is all hedgehogs need. If you want to treat them throw in a pouch of kitten food! 🦔