Small hog but not a hoglet
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Hello. We are quite new to the world of hog. In the summer we realised we may have a hedgehog visiting us. We built a house, made 2 feeding stations and put out the appropriate food. As it turned out we had about 3 or 4 hogs vivisiting us.
The week of Nov, the food stopped being eaten, and I assumed they had all gone into hibernation. Having attended a hog talk in the summer, I knew it was important to keep putting out small amounts of food. In the last week every scrape has been eaten, and the water bowl emptied.
This evening I spied a small hog chowing down. It’s not one of our regulars. I wouldn’t say it’s a hoglet, but it’s considerably smaller then our summer visitors.
How do I proceed? I will of course continue to feed, but is there any other course of action I need to take?
In the hedgehog book we bought there was a section on people fostering in runs over the winter outside. This seemed to contradict everything else I knew about rescue i.e being indoors.We love our hogs and want to help them as much as possible.
Hi Bosshogg
If the hog looks small, the only way to be sure whether it’s big enough to survive hibernation is to weigh it. In late autumn/winter the recommended minimum weight is 450g. But if the hog is regularly turning up for food, you might get away with it being a bit less, as hopefully it would put on some weight before deciding to hibernate.
I would find your nearest carer (you can get contact details from BHPS on 01584 890801 – try to get details of a few if possible, in case some are already full) and find out what they recommend for your area. i.e. if it is still mild there, and near the mimimum weight, they might suggest leaving it be for a while. It all depends how small it really is.
To weigh, if you have an outside light, I would try to pick a dry night, and take your scales outside in preparation. Then scoop the hog up into a container (1 litre ice cream containers are ideal to weigh in). Use gloves, as their spines can be very sharp if they roll up. If it’s over 450g you can release it immediately (or if it’s over the weight recommended by your local carer).
Just in case it’s underweight, have a box/pet carrier, or the like ready. Newspaper in the bottom in case it spills the water and food you will need to provide and either a small towel or some torn up strips of paper for it to burrow under.
I think most rescues keep the hogs inside, at least to start with, but some may move them outside when the reach a certain weight. But these days, it is thought that hogs can be released during mild spells in the winter if the have reached an appropriate weight.
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/guidance-on-releasing-rehabilitated-hedgehogs/Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
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