We are committed to encouraging through knowledge the integration of wildlife into our countryside's and gardens along side us in a natural balance
If you shop with Amazon through our site you will be supporting us and enabling us to carry on our work. Why not tell your friends as well. Amazon is a fabulous web site to shop withHedgehogs are very useful visitors to any garden. They eat slugs, beetles, caterpillars, and a variety of other cute creepy crawlies making them a real gardeners friend.
Hedgehogs are opportunists and will rest and shelter where it is safe, a wild area, a pile sticks. even a very well place hedgehog house will help attract them and keep them with you.
Water is a draw for our spiky friends but please make sure your pond has an area where a hedgehog can climb out by using a rock or mesh. They are reasonable swimmers but cannot tread water indefinitely.
They love most foods and have asweet tooth. Milk isn't good for them so please don't give it to them.
Dog food, nuts and minced meats are similar to a natural diet. They will eat sweet things but like us their teeth will rot and with no false teeth or dentists on hand in the wild they will not survive well in the wild.
Please be aware that drains can be a death traps if a hedgehog falls down one so please keep them covered.
Strimming around the edges in a garden can disturb a sleeping hedgehog and can even harm or kill them.
If you have a pond please ensure it has rocks or wire mess to enable the hedgehog to climb out should he fall in. Hedgehogs can swim but will quickly become cold and tired if they cannot get out .
Litter is a great killer of the hedgehog; Pots and tins that they get stuck in looking for food can entrap them.
If you find a hedgehog , place the hedgehog in a large box with clean, fresh hay or crumpled newspapers or dry leaves. Also add heat with a hot water bottle with fresh clean water and some dog food.
More hedgehog information and hedgehog gifts on www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/
After a long hard battle the British Hedgehog Preservation Society celebrated the news that McDonald's have altered the lid on their Mc Flurry dessert!
The original container design trapped some hedgehogs and many were found dead. The new smaller lid has a smaller aperture so the people will need to take the lid off to get to the ice cream. Even if the cup does get thrown to the floor with the lid still on it, the hole should be too small for our spiky friends. Well done Mcdonalds , every little helps.
European hedgehog
Erinaceus europaeus
Hedgehogs are named after their pig-like habit of rooting through the undergrowth for food. They are quite noisy and can be heard snuffling and grunting during their activities
These hoglets are just a few days old. They open their eyes between 9-12 days .
Their spines are already changing from soft white to brown.
With hourly feeds and warmth they should all be fine.
Below the youngster is a few eeks older his spines are hardening and the feed is every four housr .before long he will be in the outside run and ready and to go.
Life span
Up to five years.
Statistics
Body length: 15-30 cm, Weight: 1.5-2 kg.
Physical description
The hedgehog is Britains only spiny mammal. The upper parts of the head and body are covered in short, yellow-tipped spines - adults may have up to 5000 spines. The rest of the body is covered with brown fur, and the hedgehog has a short tail.
Distribution
European hedgehogs range across Europe, including Britain, from Scandinavia to Romania. They were introduced to New Zealand.
Habitat
Their preferred habitat is forest, hedgerows, scrub and cultivated land, and they are commonly found in gardens.
Diet
Hedgehogs eat slugs, snails, beetles and earthworms. They also sometimes feed on eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds.
Reproduction
Males and females may share a nest for a short period, during the breeding season. Females produce one or two litters a year, of about five young. These are weaned after five weeks.The mother will just leave the nest sometimes you will hear piping (a shrill noise) that the abandoned hoglets make.
Conservation status
Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act in Britain, and may not be trapped without a licence. Numbers are in decline due to habitat loss.
Hedgehogs are often killed by manmade influences, such as in ponds, bonfires, on roads, by strimmers and lawnmowers, pesticides, garden netting and litter. They are also killed by foxes, pine martens, stoats and badgers.
Behaviour
Hedgehogs are solitary, non-territorial animals and are most active at night after heavy rainfall.
In summer, hedgehogs shelter during the day in temporary nests of leaves, moss and grass. By autumn, hedgehogs have dramatically put on weight in preparation for their hibernation. Their hibernation nests are typically situated under hedgerows.
They hibernate until the following March or April, during which time their body temperature and heart beat fall dramatically, from 190 to about 20 beats per minute. Most hedgehog deaths occur during this hibernation period.
Their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell and hearing are very good, and they can swim and climb well, but cannot tread water indefinitely. Their dense covering of spines offers protection when the animal is disturbed, rolling up in a tight ball covering the head and soft underside.
