Hedgehog hibernacula

[mbaldw]

Hi folks,

I had an e-mail from a lady a few days ago asking how long it would take for the hedgehog in her garden to build a hibernacula (she was thinking about the most appropriate time to release it, assuming it gains sufficient weight in time). I've never even found a hibernaculum, let alone seen a hedgehog build one, so I had a flick through the hedgehog books I have. Reeve (1996) cites Knight (1962) and Berthoud (1982) who report one day and three-or-four days, respectively (dependent upon the availability of leaf litter). According to Hedgehoggy, one of the permanent (blind) residents in her garden recently took four days to build her hibernaculum and it got me thinking if anyone else had observed this? I wondered whether anyone had seen hibernaculums built in only a couple of hours, or maybe ones that took a week or more to construct?

Cheers,
Marc.

[momji1971]

If she's been rehabilitating the hog it's now too cold to release into the wild.

regards.
Stu.

[Hedgehoggy]

Originally Posted by momji1971

If she's been rehabilitating the hog it's now too cold to release into the wild.

regards.
Stu.

Don't worry, Stu, the lady in question is very hedgehog aware and was merely wondering how long it would take the hog to build a hibernaculum if she had managed to get the hog up to a safe-hibernation weight to release during a mild winter spell into a purpose built house in her garden. As it doesn't look like we're going to have any mild weather this side of Christmas, the hog will likely hibernate in her shed.