General Chat

Went out to look a little while ago and all the titbits are gone including half the half crust of bread I put them on, before I read that bread isn't good for hedgehogs! Since he has been eating soggy bread every evening, and this piece was soaked in water as I do it for the birds, I can only assume he enjoys it and seems to be thriving on it! It was wholemeal with seeds lol! Nothing but the best!
Will get some cat/dog food tomorrow.

Lizx

Well after reading the info from the site, I have just been out with a few tiny morsels of cheese and some raisins and sultanas to add to the little pieces of fat from some ham we had in the fridge, that's what he has been eating most evenings, only small pieces, o.h. is so fussy he will trim the tiniest piece of fat from such things. I know they shouldn't have fishy things and nearly bought some dog food the other day, the sort in a sort of plastic tube, so I could freeze some and wrap the rest up in the fridge to use daily, as it was a big tube! I also knew they shouldn't have bread and milk but he has been hoovering up any bread and soggy cream crackers I put out for the birds, the starlings manage to flick most of it on the floor but hedgehog seems to clear it up every night. Hope it isn't making him poorly. I didn't know about the slugs and snails causing illness so will have to just hope any I find I can get rid of before he visits. We have had a bit of a problem with lily beetle this year, o.h. hadn't been checking his plants and when I did the other day, got shot of several beetles and lots of poohy larvae, they are disgusting as the beetle lays the eggs and covers them in poop till they hatch out. He has lost several of his favourite lilies but his own fault for not checking. When he sprays plants with bug spray he only does the top of the leaves, I can't get through to him that the underside of leaves is where nasty things hide!
Anyway, will keep my camera handy and see if I can get a better pic of hedgehog as the one I have already isn't too clear, but will try and send it to Jude later if I can.

Thanks for all the info.

Daff, yours sounds sweet with the baby in tow.

Lizx

We have a mrs tiddlywinkle (that is my name for her, I first saw her when I was.. well, tiddly, lol)

OH and I had a long conversation about whether she was a he or not..... I was adamant, as her face is so pretty.... well, it is!!

Anyway... hubby was outside last night having his nicotine fix while he was watering the garden, and he called me out... and there was Mrs Tiddlywinkle.... with baby Tiddlywinkle, lol.... we hadn't seen her for a few days, and this was a cute little baby with spines.... so must be a couple of weeks old, I imagine!! Aw bless them, they are sooooooo cute, waddling around the garden... didn't seem fazed by us being there at all.

I must dig my camera out and try and get a photo of them.

Love

Daff xxxxx

When I lived in Essex I had lots of them, also a little family, OH said they were like little hairbrushes walking up the garden.
Now live in Hampshire, and sadly, they wont come in our garden, I found out from a man who saves them, that it is because we have badgers in our garden.
By all accounts badgers are the only animal with jaws strong enough to unfurl a hedgehog. So they keep away,
We were very disappointed, as you could adopt them and make a home for them in your garden.

Mo

Sorry Kath..was doing something else.

If you see them in the day, there is something wrong with them :((

I few years ago I found one wondering in the road, I bravely picked it up in a rug and took it home. I phoned the RSPCA and they came and collected it. It had fleas and maggots :((.
Anyway I never gave it much though after that as I thought they would just put it down.Months later they brought it back to me to put in the garden.
It stayed for a few weeks then moved on.

Marion

I agree Marion - I didn't know about the lungworm either.

We have a very high beech hedge right round our garden and because it looses it's leaves every year we always have quite a few hedgehogs living under the hedge in the leaves. We even see them now and again during the day which is a real treat for us.

Kath. x

Ws just going to post that addy too Kath.

You learn something every day. I see they can get lungworm from slugs/snails, and they only eat them if they are starving...never knew that.
And no fishy foods.

Have a look here. It will tell you the things that hedgehogs like to eat:-

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/diet.htm

Kath. x

They like bananas too. Cat food I think is better for them than dog food..think I read that some place.No lettuce or milk.
You can double check that though.Might be getting confused with milk being bad for cats and too much lettuce is bad for rabbits...give them the 'runs' etc

Marion

Send your photo to Jude Liz, she'd love to put it on her blog!!

They like dog food Liz, what you been leaving out for it?

The night before last, well in the early hours of yesterday, I managed to get a photo of the hedgehog I have been enticing back to the garden every night. I save any titbits of meat for him and he turns up between around 1 am and 3am, and yesterday I managed to snap him before he scarpered. If I interrupt him mid meal, he comes back later and clears it up lol He/she is quite a big hedgehog but have no idea how to tell what sex it is lol Moves too fast for me to pick it up and check and not sure I would want to , lol, what with fleas and prickles. I wouldn't want to scare him away anyway - hopefully he is also tucking into slugs and snails, I don't give him too much so he has room for those nasty critturs.

Lizx