Someone is visiting!

[ARH]

Hello and what a great site this is! I will read through all the info but for now I am happy to report I think I have a visitor!

I bought a hedgehog house and a few days put out a feeding station with dry food and water and it’s been going overnight. Camera bought and will be set up from tonight but almost certain it’s a hedgehog as poo has been found in the entrance tunnel of the house.

So, for now just continue to replenish food and water and leave house and see what happens? is it likely a visiting hog will use the house it’s been visiting to eventually hibernate in?

Thank you

[Gr8mums]

That’s great you’ve got a visitor, or maybe more than one !

From what I’ve read on here, they tend to prefer a new fresh place to hibernate but we never really can predict what they are going to do .

Happy hog watching .

[Nic]

Hi ARH

Sounds like you’ve well and truly got the bug already! Really good to hear you have a hog visitor.

Yes, I would just keep leaving food out (hedgehog/cat/dog food is all fine). I would always leave some water sources outside as well – and 24 hours a day in case a dehydrated hog or nursing mother is desperate for a drink during the day.

Re. hibernating – as Gr8mums says, they like to keep us guessing. Sometimes they decide to build nests in feeding boxes!

Good luck.

[ARH]

I’m thrilled to say it was a hog! Caught on camera eating away and having a good drink of water. I have actually moved the water bowl from outside the feeding station to just near the hog house as I have now added some wet food as well as dry to the station and I didn’t want there not to be enough room for him/her/them to move around!

Considering where I live is a new housing development I am really pleased that at least one, has more than likely returned to their home ground, albeit smaller now, that the building has finished. I have plenty of hedgerows and fields in front so hopefully that’s where they spend most of their time. Food and water will be left for as long as its needed.

Thank you for your replies and for not laughing at me getting excited!!

[Nic]

Hi ARH

I think it’s brilliant that you are excited!

Unless your housing development is one of those enlightened ones which include holes in the fences/walls for hogs to get through, you might like to look into making a hedgehog highway for them. The more gardens they can access without having to cross roads, the better for them. Hedgehogs need access to many gardens. Some information here:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/
Sadly there aren’t so many hogs in the countryside these days and they rely a lot on people’s gardens. You might like to create some wildlife friendly features in your garden – info. here:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/helpful-garden-features/

There are lots of free downloadable resources:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/my-hedgehog-street/free-downloadable-resources/

Good luck. Hope the hogs do well. Happy hog watching.

[ARH]

Thank you Nic for those links I will put them on the community page and hopefully others will follow as well.

Camera didn’t last long, 3 nights but not an expensive one, refund obtained so for now will continue feeding and leaving water and leave them in peace. I am just happy to know they are around.

[Nic]

Hi ARH

Sorry to hear the camera stopped working. Unfortunately some of the cheaper ones can be a bit unreliable, although some people have been lucky. Well done getting a refund.

If you feed the hogs quite the near the house, you may be able to see them. They don’t seem to mind an outside light, if it stays on, but aren’t always so keen on security lights which go on and off. You can even use solar lights. I usually have one room which is dark so that I can watch them and they are less likely to see me. I watched the hogs here for years before I had a camera.

Re. the links. The last one may not be available unless you are registered with Hedgehog Street, but the others should be o.k.

[Author]

Posts