Accessibility Homepage Skip navigation Sitemap

Forum

Register and log in to gain access to our forums and chat about everything 'hedgehog'!

Thank you for looking to contribute to the Hedgehog Street forum. Please note that when submitting replies or posts, these are run through our spam-checkers, so there may be a slight delay in your posts appearing, and reflecting in the forum post details below. However, if you think anything has gone awry please contact us.

The views and opinions expressed in this forum do not necessarily represent the views of PTES or BHPS.

Home Forums Champions’ chat House for hedgies in an urban yard Reply To: House for hedgies in an urban yard

#14553
Avatar photo
Nic

Hi Sonicshouse

It’s difficult to advise without knowing more about your yard (i.e. how big it is, where everything is, in relation to each other, etc.) , but I’ll try my best.

If you want a hedgehog to nest in the igloo, then a quiet place would be best. Even for over-day stays, they would probably prefer some peace and quiet. The pot idea might work. Sometimes it’s a case of trial and error. But don’t move it too often if it doesn’t get a tenant – some hogs like them to become part of the scenery before they will use them. If there isn’t suitable nesting material, then try to get some. Put a small amount in the hogilo to give them the idea, but many hogs prefer to do their own nest building with materials from nearby. So a pile of suitable material (leaves, long grasses, hay, etc.) nearby would be useful for them.

I am wondering about the raised beds – how high, how large, etc. Maybe crazy idea, but maybe you could make some sort of ramp so the hedgehogs could access them more easily. (If they were big enough, maybe you could even locate the hogilo on top of one of them – but if they are quite high that may not be practical). But you could plant them with hedghog/wildlife/insect friendly plants so the hogs could forage around them. You could use some ideas from https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/ scaled down. i.e. woodpiles, etc. to encourage beetles for the hogs – they probably prefer beetles to slugs.

The most important thing is to provide water for the hogs. This can be as simple as leaving a large plant saucer always filled with water. The larger ones are better, because hedgehogs will often walk through water containers and tip them over. But once the hogs have got used to water being there, don’t forget to keep it topped up, otherwise they may have a wasted journey to get there.

If it’s possible to link your yard with others that would be good too. Lots of linked yards, might be very helpful for the hogs, especially if everyone tries to make theirs hedgehog friendly! https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/

Good luck.

Hedgehog