Where did my hog go?

[vole-woman]

I was thrilled last week when a hedgehog seemed to have moved into our garden. There was scat all around, and every night I put out cat food and my camera and got photos and video clips. But for the last four nights, no sign.

This is par for the course. When we've had hogs in the past, they've always just been passing through. It's really disappointing.

Why do you think this is? I have a hedgehog house, a stream with shallow bowls to drink from and we never use chemicals. There are tons of minibeasts in our garden. I

Is there anything more I can do to encourage a hedgehog to stick around? Or are they always itinerent? Other people I know seem to have permanent hogs.

[willowjay]

It is strange how the population seems to change from week to week. About a month ago I had 4 regular visitors who happily munched away every evening. Now only one appears, but he (she?) is as regular as clockwork - so much so that if I haven't put his supper out he hangs around waiting for me (I swear he's looking at his watch - what time do you call this then?) Where the other 3 have gone I have no idea, but my hog scoffs everything I put down. Can you over-feed a hedgehog?

[tigertom]

Allways had one in my garden from late March to May June then none till late Aurgust then stays till it gos for its winter nap. This year diferrent as had one as normal till about end the of may, but I have had three or four young one since about second week of July one of them shown below.

[url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/archive/showphoto.php?photo=167169][/url
MIKE

[Hedgehoggy]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

I was thrilled last week when a hedgehog seemed to have moved into our garden. There was scat all around, and every night I put out cat food and my camera and got photos and video clips. But for the last four nights, no sign.

This is par for the course. When we've had hogs in the past, they've always just been passing through. It's really disappointing.

Why do you think this is? I have a hedgehog house, a stream with shallow bowls to drink from and we never use chemicals. There are tons of minibeasts in our garden. I

Is there anything more I can do to encourage a hedgehog to stick around? Or are they always itinerent? Other people I know seem to have permanent hogs.

Continue to leave out a little food, come rain or shine!

Hogs can travel up to several kilometres per night during their foraging, so if there’s an abundance of their preferred natural food available, they won’t always need our handouts. Some nights the hogs visiting my garden don’t bother with my handouts, but they’ll often still stop for a drink from the fresh water I leave out daily. Try positioning your camera where they have access to water in your garden. The other possibility is that your visiting hog could be a pregnant sow who has gone off to give birth. If this is the case, she’ll be back before you know it looking for a good feed, so do continue to leave out a little food and water on a regular basis. During lean times, hedgehogs most definitely will remember and return to (and rely upon) a reliable food source.

Originally Posted by willowjay

It is strange how the population seems to change from week to week. About a month ago I had 4 regular visitors who happily munched away every evening. Now only one appears, but he (she?) is as regular as clockwork - so much so that if I haven't put his supper out he hangs around waiting for me (I swear he's looking at his watch - what time do you call this then?) Where the other 3 have gone I have no idea, but my hog scoffs everything I put down. Can you over-feed a hedgehog?

No, you can’t overfeed a non-captive hedgehog who has the freedom to roam. The hog demolishing all your supplementary food could also be a pregnant sow, or indeed a lactating mother.

Of course, I’m only surmising that both of the hogs mentioned above may be pregnant/lactating, but it’s very feasible.

Originally Posted by tigertom

Allways had one in my garden from late March to May June then none till late Aurgust then stays till it gos for its winter nap. This year diferrent as had one as normal till about end the of may, but I have had three or four young one since about second week of July one of them shown below.

[url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/archive/showphoto.php?photo=167169][/url
MIKE

Aaw, that's a lovely photo, tigertom, and the mother would have shown her offspring where to get a regular good meal from.

[Farplace]

It is possible to "overfeed" a hedgehog - ie to make it overweight - but it is more QUALITY than QUANTITY that you have to worry about. Stuff with a high sugar content ( sultanas etc?) should be fed sparingly. mealworms and good quality cat food are fine. He/she will love chopped peanuts, but they also pile on the ounces.

[Hedgehoggy]

I must admit, I’ve never heard of wild hedgehogs (with freedom to roam) becoming overweight due to supplementary feeding. In captivity (mostly the long periods of over-wintering) they most certainly can become obese if left unchecked due to lack of exercise and food on tap.

[paulinemiller10]

Hi vole-woman, Hedgehogs will stay for a week or two in a home in your garden before moving on, they often have several nests and will travel from one to the other, their beds can get full of ticks and fleas, so hoggy moves on to the next one, if you keep two hog houses in your garden with one hoggy, he will often use one for a while,then move to the other.
They seem to like being on their own for a while, but also seem to need some company, so another reason why they like to move on, but they usually will always return.

Like above hedgehogs will not use a dirty house, the bedding needs to be changed often, hay will often smell musty after a while in the box, I used to find there is not enough ventilation in hedgehog houses, I used to make them with large vents under the roof, they also need to be placed under the hedge, or hidden away where hoggy feels safe.

Posting pic of Juliet snapped from a live cam in her bed, she is sleeping at the front of her bed with her nose in the passageway where there is lots of fresh air, Juliet knows she is safe and is relaxed and happy in her bed, when she leaves she will close her front door by scratching the bedding over the hole, she may then go off to use another bed for a week or so, I would then renew her bedding ready for when she returns. Pauline.

[vole-woman]

Thanks for your brilliant replies! I'll continue to put a few cat biscuits out, then, and keep a watch for scat. Will check the hog house, too.

[pattie may]

When the weather was dry in June I have nine different hedgehog visitors. Then it went down to four. Over the pass two weeks or so I have had three new visitors. One large female, a smaller male and a tiny (unable to find out it's sex as it was all feet when I tried to look).

I hope that the original nine visitors are okay and have just moved to pastures new. Welcome to the new visitors, especially the tiny one who must be this year's baby. Let's hope he tells his/her brothers and sisters where I live.

When there were lots of visitors I was refilling the food dishes two or three times during the evening. At the moment I put out one dish of food and sometimes a hedgehog will come before I go to bed. I leave out two dishes of food and two dishes of water overnight. It's not always eaten by morning.

[vole-woman]

Well I found a couple of brand new (and very fresh!) droppings this morning, so maybe the hog's only reaching me by the end of the night. Don't know where to put the camera as there's no pattern to the scat, it's all over the garden. But anyway, the poo doesn't lie.