I was under the impression that hedgehogs hibernate in winter ?

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

Ive just seen one on the drive at the side of the house, we usually get at least 2 of them throughout the year as they probably come in and eat all the slugs in the garden and drink the water what i put out for the birds.

He or she was just sat or stood their on the drive curled up, i was always lead to belive that they hibernated in winter and didn`t come out.

When exactly do they hibernate from and is their a rule of thumb about how long they are away hibernating for ? Are they still active when they hibernate or do they normally just stay hidden away.

Sorry for any obvious questions as i don`t know much about them, what do they like to eat that people may have in the house ? I wouldn`t mind putting some food out for the hedgehog if i can but obviously i don`t want to attract rats as well.

[Littlesparrow]

Reading other hedgehog posts, they have to be a good weight to hibernate and if you see them out and about now you should weigh them. You can feed them meat based cat food and water to drink, no milk.

[Littlesparrow]

Have a look at ' T'is a Hard Life' Post.

[davecatt]

As I understand it,Hedgehogs dont go into true hibernation.

Frogs for instance,switch off completely when the ambient temperature falls to a certain level. If that temperature lasts longer than the frogs reserves of body fat then the frog dies. Nothing will interrupt the frogs hibernation except an increase in temperature

Hedgehogs go into a dormant state with the onset of cold weather. There are no hard and fast rules, some parts of the country get cooler sooner than other parts. But,unlike reptiles, Hedgehogs and other mammals that spend the winter in a dormant state may wake several times if necessary to forage for food or to move to a warmer refuge.

Mammals that dont have enough reserves of body fat during their dormant state succumb to hypothermia and never wake up.

If your Hedgehog is still there then I would be tempted to intervene,is it still breathing but torpid? if so weigh it on your bathroom scales then ring the local wildlife rescue centre and ask for advice. If it is fit enough perhaps it just needs somewhere to shelter. If its immature and/or undernourished then it will need help.
Dave

[mbaldw]

That’s interesting Dave – I’d not considered that definition of ‘true’ hibernation before. I’d always seen true hibernators as those that depressed their body temperature, metabolism and breathing rate, regardless of whether it was continuous or punctuated. The ‘pseudohibernators’, to my mind, were always critters like badgers and squirrels that simply reduced their activity during the winter months. I guess there are more ‘grades’ of hibernation that we think! At any rate, hedgehogs certainly show the physiological readjustments associated with hibernation: body temperature drops from ~35oC to ~10oC (tracking ambient); heart-rate drops from ~220bpm to ~14bpm; and they take about 13 breaths per minute, compared to about 50 while foraging. As you say, they wake up periodically (even under constant ambient temperature), although they have been known to freeze to death during hibernation.

Steve, as Dave and others have said, there are no fixed dates for hibernation and -- under the right conditions they may not hibernate at all -- and it’s still not certain what actually triggers it (check out some of Hedgehoggy’s posts for some interesting insights into this from her hogs – the hedgehog page of my website also contains some more details of the changes). The literature suggests they may enter hibernation at any point from around November until January, with males starting before females. I still have active hedgehogs in my garden as, I know, do many others, but around here most seem to be holed-up by mid-December. If you can catch and weigh it, it would be interesting to know whether s/he is close to the 700g recommended for successful hibernation.

Cheers,
Marc.

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

It was about 11pm last night, when i went back out 5 mins later he or she was nowhere to be seen as i had gone to get my camera and when i got back the hedgehog had gone, it had probably gone into the garden for a mooch and a drink. I have a feeling that the hedgehog comes into our garden late at night from somewhere else and feeds, i believe they eat slugs from what ive read and we have quite a few of those on the lawn as ive seen them when ive shone the torch.

Ive seen a hedgehog throught the year in the same place as i seen it last night, one night i heard a load of loud grunting coming from the garden and wondered what it was, it sounded like a dog in the garden doing some heavy panting and sniffing. I opened a side window and shone a torch into the garden and their was 2 hedehogs making a right racket lol.

Just out of interest, do these things bite if you approach them or is it safe to handle one ?

[mbaldw]

Just out of interest, do these things bite if you approach them or is it safe to handle one ?

Only if very frightened or distressed, but my understanding is that it's very rare. Even if they do bite, the jaws are weak and apparently do not puncture the skin. Gloves are advisable, nonetheless. Check out Hedgehoggy's article on my site, or this page on the BHPS site for more info.

Cheers,
Marc.

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

Thanks

If i see the hedgehog again late at night are you ok to take a pic using a flash ? Obviously with it being pitch black you would need a flash, i don`t want to stress or startle the hedgehog.

[mbaldw]

I've taken photos of hogs using flash before and most weren't phased by it at all - didn't even look up from what they were eating! That said, there does appear to be the potential to dazzle them, so I've always used flash from above, rather than directly in-front and in-line with, them.

Cheers,
Marc.

[CharlieCreek]

Originally Posted by Steve_In_Cheshire

Just out of interest, do these things bite if you approach them or is it safe to handle one ?

I handle them all the time obviously as a rescuer and in situations where if a hedgehog was going to bite it would, and have never been bitten. The other half did get a wee nip off one she was steadying once when I was doing an injection but no puncture wounds.

So no their defence is to ball not to bite, but they should only be handled when it is really necessary and always with gloves as yes they can bite but more importantly they can carry a whole range of zoonotic diseases.