Hedgehogs and the Vet

A very good report I found in the Independent.ie siteregarding hedgehogs and vets and what they have to contend with

Hedgehogs are shy creatures with an effective response to the prying fingers of a vet: they curl into a tight ball. Wearing gloves, I carefully lifted the rolled-up creature out of the box onto my consult table to have a better look, but all I could see was a sphere of prickly spines.

Hedgehogs present an entirely new type of challenge to vets: when a prickly patient is on the consulting table, it's impossible to examine it properly if its curled up. Patience is needed: eventually, hedgehogs cautiously unroll themselves, and a gentle examination can then commence.

Hedgehogs are my favourite type of wild animal patient. If anyone reports that they've found a sick or injured hedgehog, I'm always happy to have a look. In fact, even healthy hedgehogs can benefit from a quick visit to the vet: it's useful to have a weight check, worm dose and flea treatment. Poorly hedgehogs often need much more intensive intervention, but it can be rewarding: they seem less stressed by human contact than some wild animals. After a few weeks in rehabilitation, a hedgehog that is on the verge of death can be restored to full health, ready to be released to an independent life in the wild.

Read More Click Here

Hedgehogs behaviour

Tonight was very interesting. I sat watching my little prickly friends scurrying around the garden, eating, drinking and then I heard a very strange noise coming from a flower bed. It was not a grunting sound that I heard before but more like a snorting sound. I captured video with sound and i will add it to the post.


At one stage I saw one scratching his head with his hind paw, but did not capture it on camera. Also our cat Preab paid a visit looked at the hedgehogs looked at me as if to say hey they are heer again haha and walked off. Its great that he does not try to atack the hedeghogs even when they are eating his food.

I saw at least five different hedgehogs this evening and also last night. They seem to enjoy the warmer weather and do come out and noticed that they drank lots. I had to fill their water container three times before going to bed.

Below are a few images of last night and tonight and also the video of the noise that I heard tonight. The video did not work fear not you can watch it here https://www.facebook.com/HedgehogWatchDublin

Hedgehog Watch Dublin 13/14 June 2015

Last nights update on Hedgehog Watch Dublin was pretty good. I got a lend of a proper flash for the camera I use. The flash lit up the garden nicely and I hope you enjoy some of the images that I took.

It was cool again, but this did not put the urchins off coming to the garden. As i have said before it is very difficult to count the hedgehogs as they all look the same except the ones that have a dirty mark left on them after they have gone under something dirty. I notice two of them had a head to head and one of them made a strange sound like a shrill and the other one ran away. Probably some posing haha and saying I am the boss hehe.


The cat food again was the winner in the food stakes and only after the cat food was gone did they eat the hedgehog food. I am amazed at the way they do like the cat food and its hard cat food, not the soft stuff. Its great listening to them chewing the food adn I will evetually get a video camera and take some good video footage.


Hope you enjoy the images of last night please tell me what you think and if you have any questions please contact me

Hedgehog Watch 12/13 June 2015 Dublin

Very quick update on the hedgehogs as its Friday. Cool tonight and not much going on, but we had three visitors. One was spooked very easy, never saw him/her before as all so far had no problems with me taking pictures of them. Below fond a few images, one image shows a hedgehog drinking water and you can see his tongue, pretty cool... Enjoyyy

thirsty hedgehog

notice its tongue

grass in my eye lol

notice its tongue lapping the water like a dog or cat

hungry hedgehog

Hedgehog Watch 11/12 June 2015

Last night was great, again we had plenty of spikey visitors. The more I sit in the garden and watch these creatures the more I like them. They all seem to have different trails within the garden, Some go staright to feed at the feeding plates, some scurry around the garden, some in the flower beds and then eat from the feeding plates, its so interesting.
Some of them have no problem with me taking pictures and walking about while others grunt and run off into the hedge for cover as if to say leave me alone. The ones that have no problem are so cool they let me take the pics from about 2 feet away, the only thing is I would like to have a camera that is better in lowlight as the one I am using is not great. I use the flash sometimes and the little lads do not even flinch they are so easy with it.
Again the cat food is proving to be more popular thatn the hedgehog food we bought. I have seen out cat and a hedgehog eating from the plate at the same time, but have not captured the image, hope to soon. I will add a few more images on the facebook community page  https://www.facebook.com/HedgehogWatchDublin for your enjoyment
Please Like the facebook community page and share your images of hedgehogs

number 1 visitor

number 1 close up

number 2 visitor

he was cool and calm

don't know whats on his back

trying out the hedgehog food

hedgehog close up notice the teeth and whiskers

Hedgehog Watch 10/11 June 2015

Tonight was cool and not as busy. They got their business done quickly and off they went. Yes a quick snack, a scurry around the garden, a drink and off they went either under the gate or into the flower beds.

Every morning the food is gone, by the way I give them enough not too much though and remember we cannot over feed them as their natural diet is slugs, snails etc. If we feed them too much they will stop hunting so if you are feeding hedgehogs in your garden please do not overfeed them.

First visitor tonight

They are growing pretty quickly

Think its mud

Ready for the off

Ahhh a drink of water nice

Hedgehog Watch Dublin 9 June 2015

taking an early night tonight. At least 3 visits tonight. I have moved the feeding plates out of the sensor range and I know I missed a few more. Adding a few images from tonight. Hope you enjoy.

If you are following the images and whats going on you might notice that I change the feeding plates around. Notice tonight the hedgehog food is on the left and the cat food is on the right. All went to the left (hedgehog food) first and turned to right and fed on the cat food. Its very interesting to see their reaction. I wish I had a better camera for lowlight, maybe someone could recommend a lowlight camera please.

Springwatch BBC

Just a quick post regarding wildlife. If you are interested in wildlife programmes I ahve to say that Springwatch by the BBC in the UK is a great programme. Its a LIVE prodcution and has been running for the past 2 weeks. Its on every evening at 8pm on BBC 2 and I know that most have that channel.
Much of the UK wildlife is similar to ours and the facts you find about different species are great. They did a report on the decline of hedgehogs in the UK and how the population has been devastated and now the hedgehog is on the UK's endangered list of animals, quite shocked by that. Have to say that the programme made me think and check out if our Irish hedgehogs are ok or not and looked around the interenet hoping to find some site reporting how our hedgehogs are doing but I could find no national site so I decided to start this blog to try and get people to report on hedgehog sightings and maybe get a handle on how the hedgehog is doing in Ireland.

I know the blog is not even a week old and I am happy with the visitor numbers, but no one seems to be interacting or commenting on the blog itself and reporting sightings, this will take time. If you ahppen to land here and are reading this post please please share it with you friends and family and lets get people commenting and reporting on their experiences with our lovely Hedgehogs

Don't forget Springwatch is on every evening at 8pm on BBC 2, you will enjoy the programme. Here is a link to the Springwatch website for more information http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qgm3

2 of our visitors having a snack

Hedgehog Watch 09 June 2015

What an interesting last couple of hours sitting in the garden with hedgehogs scurrying around me, it was so cool and the fact that they knew I was theer and went about their business was great. At one stage I got very close to one eating and another one appeared and was starting to eat and the one already eating sort of hissed at him, its hard to describe the sound it made but it was great to witness it.

Hedgehog climbing probably a 6 inch step

One left the garden and squeezed under the gate and I followed it and it went under another gate into next doors garden. Later it came back and had a drink.

Image taken just after one hissed at the other

Just a few minutes ago, it was very quiet and I heard one of them in the flower bed and as he scurried, he was sort of grunting (best way to describe the sound it made).
Again they preferred the cat food. Every morning both foods are finished and the water is drank so I feel they are happy to be here.

interesting close up

Earlier today I asked a neighbour did they have any hedgehogs and the reply was "I have to clean up after them" haha so there is the sign and they were happy as the slugs and snails etc will be kept at bay.

look at his/her teeth

Hedgehog Watch 7 June 2015

Busy tonight as 5 different hedgehogs have visited the garden. They firstly sweep the perimeter of the garden then smell and locate the food and tuck in, then another sweep and take a drink, its very cool the way they actually all have their own routes. Again the cat food is the most popular.
It was funny earlier when the cat came home from his escapades and saw the two plates of food and which one would you say he ate ? Think about it haha !! It was the hedgehog food ! he must have liked the smell and taste of it.

I took a few more pictures tonight you can look at them below

Decline in Hedgehog numbers ?

This article refers to the decline in hedgehog numbers in the UK, I don't know yet if there is a survey sight in Ireland, so I am trying to get this blog out to the Irish nation and get some feedback and maybe get reports on how the hedghog numbers are in Ireland. Please Share this blog as much as possible THANKS

The once common sight of hedgehogs in gardens could become a thing of the past, with the spiny species having suffered a dramatic decline in recent years on a par with the loss of starlings, red squirrels and other British wildlife.
Ecologists this week published figures suggesting hedgehog numbers declined by over a third between 2003 and 2012.
Such a precipitous drop means the hedgehog, celebrated in culture from Beatrix Potter's Mrs Tiggy-Winkle to Philip Larkin's poetry, is becoming an increasingly rare sight in the UK's gardens, parks and hedgerows.
The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), a charity which has been running counts of hedgehogs for over a decade and compiled the figures, believes there are now fewer than a million hedgehogs left in the UK, down from an estimated 2 million in the mid-1990s and 36 million in the 1950s. David Wembridge, PTES's surveys officer, said the fall should ring alarm bells.
Ecologists stress more work needs to be done to pinpoint the reasons behind the decline, but said likely candidates are habitat loss, poor management of hedgerows and fragmentation of habitat, due to new roads, housing and other developments. Tens of thousands of hedgehogs are killed by road traffic each year.
Climate change, which increases the likelihood of extreme weather such as heavy rainfall that can flood the homes of animals, is also considered a potential factor.

For more on this click the following http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/29/hedgehog-population-dramatic-decline

Marking a Hedgehog

Here's a question to you all ! Would anyone have an idea as to how i would mark a hedgehog without harming it ? I would like to mark them all and see how many are visiting the garden. Maybe you may have heard of a technique. Thanks in anticipation of an answers

slug pellets a no no

Slug pellets really a no no
 
These can poison hedgehogs and should only be used as a last resort. Try using beer traps or sprinkling ground up shells around the plants you need to protect. If you have to use pellets, place them under a slate which is inaccessible to hedgehogs.
My opinion is stop using slug pellets if you have hedgehogs as they naturally eat the slugs. Its not that the hedgehogs eat the pellets its that the hedgehog eats the poisoned slug and this is what kills the hedgehog, so please be aware of this and give the hedgehog a chance.

Below you will see sadly two dead hedgehogs presumably piosed by eating poisoned slugs

Hedgehog friendly Gardening

Hedgehog-friendly gardening
Cover drains and holes and place bricks at the side of ponds to give hedgehogs an easy route out. Cover swimming pools overnight and when not in use.
Check for hedgehogs before using strimmers or mowers, particularly under hedges where animals may rest. Check compost heaps for nesting hogs before forking over.

Build bonfires as close to time of lighting as possible and check them thoroughly before lighting.
Remove sports or fruit netting when not in use to prevent hedgehogs becoming entangled, and getting injured.

Hedgehogs v fast food packaging

Heres an article I found regarding how harmful fast food packaging can be towards hedgehogs and indeed all wildlife.
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/…
Hedgehogs vs KFC!
After a long time and a lot of negotiation KFC are changing their packaging to prevent littered cups from harming hedgehogs.

David vs Goliath – Round 2!
You may remember the media mayhem a few years ago when the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), a tiny charity based in the South Shropshire hills, took on McDonald’s and won. The design of McFlurry cup lids meant that when a hedgehog sought out the left over ice cream inside, it got the cup stuck on its head. After much pressure from BHPS and a considerable amount of time, the lid design was changed to reduce the size of the hole, preventing hedgehogs getting their heads in if the cups were littered. There was also a “litter harms wildlife” warning stamped onto every new lid.
Now they’ve been giant-slaying again following reports that the KFC Krushems milkshake packaging was causing the same problem. It has taken a long time and a lot of negotiation, but the charity is delighted that KFC has also agreed to alter their packaging in order to save hedgehogs.
Fay Vass, Chief Executive of BHPS said “We are delighted that KFC are changing their packaging to prevent littered cups from harming hedgehogs. We would ask that people dispose of litter responsibly as it can have a devastating impact on wildlife.”
A spokesperson from KFC said “From today, KFC in the UK and Ireland will cease production of the current lid for the Krushems cup. After consultation with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, KFC UK/I has developed a new lid with a smaller aperture to prevent potential harm to wildlife and will introduce this into all restaurants over the coming months.”
Video footage of a hedgehog trapped in a cup can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gz7mIEFBsE

All sorts of rubbish left out and accessable can effect hedgehogs in a very bad way. Make sure your rubbish is out of the hedgehogs reach or they will get hurt as the image below shows