Daylight hog! Is he okay?
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Hi all!
We have an adult hedehog living in our street who is something of a celebrity. Everyone knows he is here and puts out water or food for him and I see him almost every day. There are often kids playing out and he doesn’t seem afraid of anyone, he just toddles by them, apparently he’s quite used to it (everyone leaves him well alone, though).
However we see this hog most days, several times a day. He can be out 10am, 11am, midday, 4pm, and most commonly 7 or 8pm. Is this normal behaviour? He (or she) doesn’t seem unwell, always walking around and on a well worn trail, sometimes scratching a bit. There’s a hog path between fences he uses and a definite route. I assume he is alright but being out so often seems strange to me. Should I be worried? This morning he was out when we put out the laundry, 11am! We have a hog house in our garden but I don’t think they use it anymore, as other people definitely put some in as well.Many thanks, any advice appreciated.
Hi arttheanimator
Normally a hedgehog out during the day would ring alarm bells that it might need help. But, correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds from what you say that this particular hedgehog has been out and about during the day for a long time i.e. I am imagining weeks or months? In which case, it’s possible if people have been regularly feeding it during the day and not at night, that it might be learned behaviour.
However, if at any time you are concerned about the hedgehog (or any hedgehog) you can find the contact details of your nearest hedgehog carer by ringing BHPS on 01584 890801. It might be worth ringing up, anyway, and having a chat with a carer about this hedgehog – then you can describe things in more detail to them and take their advice.
thank you for your reply! Yes, he’s apparently quite used to being out and about, he’s very active. I personally stopped feeding him because the neighbours cats were eating it all (and I didn’t want them overfed) but I put water out for him still. I moved to my home only October last year and everyone told me to ‘keep an eye out for the hedgehog’ so I’m guessing he’s been behaving this way for some time. At least since the warmer season started, he’s been out a lot. Just not what I expected from a hog!
I’ll definitely keep an eye on him 🙂 I’ll see if I can get some local advice.
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