Would a resident rat scare off visiting hedgehogs ?

RED · #1 (**permalink**) 31-10-2011, 12:47 AM

Went into the garden and noticed a hole had been re-dug next to the shed. (Space between shed/fence has recently been blocked up) So looked down the back, noticed a large pile of fresh dirt.
So peering in with torch and noticed...

A RAT !!

So...was wondering whether said rat, and possibly its family (It appears to be living under the shed, in a large cavity as the shed is on stilts, kind of!) has scared away the hedgehogs ??
Obviously time is getting on for the hogs, but I would've expected to have seen/heard them sometime within the past few weeks but I haven't.

It's hard to work out a cause, because we recently welcomed a Chorkie into the family so had to block-up the free access around the garden, so the dog can play and explore without getting out. However every night we've been removing the wood from the 2 main entrances the hogs use under the fence, putting the leftover dogfood out for them, then replacing it in the morning.
So is it possible the scent of the dog has put the hedgehogs off, and so the rat has decided to move in ?? or simply the hedgehogs have scurried off to hibernate so the rat has taken advantage ??

Dogghound · #2 (**permalink**) 31-10-2011, 09:05 AM

Its very unlikely that a rat would be the cause of the hedgehogs dissapearance. A dog is a possible cause, however again unlikely unless there has been physical contact and the dog has caused actual disturbance to the hedgehog. It is almost November now and most hogs (around here anyway) have started to hibernate or are getting close. I suspect that this is the main reason why you have not seen it recently. They often change habits close to hibernation, including habitat use and it may have wandered more widely to find a suitble hibernacula.

Billabong Karen · #3 (**permalink**) 31-10-2011, 09:34 AM

Bet the rat has been loving the food you've put out for the hogs, though...

RED · #4 (**permalink**) 02-11-2011, 10:44 AM

Thanks for that Dogghound.
I did think it was possible, that with us being up north, they'd hunkerked down already.
The dog hasn't had any direct contact, not that we're aware of, but as I said the boards are up while she's in the garden so there's pretty much no chance of them meeting (She'd be more scared than the hedgehog i'd imagine lol)
I'm sure the rat was loving it Karen, but bet it isn't as happy now i've noticed lol

Need it to dry up a bit so I can clean the breadcrumb & fatball mess up off the ground.

May be a daft question but would a rat have a litter this close to winter ?? We're planning on borrowing a live trap and relocating it but would have to make sure there wasn't a litter of pups under the shed first!!