What to do if you find a hedgehog that may need rescuing.
A hedgehog seen out and about during daylight hours is in trouble and needs help. If you have found a hedgehog that you think may need rescuing, pick him up and pop him into a high sided box and bring him indoors. Fill a hot water bottle with warm water and wrap it in a towel. Place it underneath the hedgehog, cover him with a towel and then ring the Rescue Centre for advice. Leave the box somewhere quiet away from children and pets. Be aware that any handling or noise will cause the hedgehog a great deal of stress and stress alone could kill him. Do not give the hedgehog anything to eat until you have sought advice, as this may interfere with any treatment it may need. Offer only water, and NEVER give a hedgehog milk as it is very bad for them.
If you are concerned that the hedgehog's condition may be serious or life threatening and you are unable to contact the Rescue Centre, please take the hedgehog straightaway to a Vet.
Advice on orphans.
If you should accidentally disturb a nest with baby hedgehogs in it, carefully replace the nesting material with a stick
so as not to leave you scent on it. Watch from a distance to see if the mother returns. When a nest has been
disturbed the mother will either desert or kill her babies. However sometimes she may move her babies to another
nest site. If you think the babies have indeed been abandoned or if they are in immediate danger, please ring the
Rescue Centre for advice and in the meantime leave the babies somewhere warm and quiet.
How to encourage hedgehogs into your garden.
Hedgehogs basically need three things – food, water and shelter. You can help hedgehogs by letting a small corner
of your garden grow wild and undisturbed. A log pile, a compost heap and piles of leaves are all ideal places for a
hedgehog to nest. Regularly leave out a dish of chicken based cat food and a dish of rainwater and in return he will
eat all the insects, snails and slugs in your garden.
