Two in one house

[morganventura]

I read hedgehogs are normally solitary but last night my trailcam shows two going into the same hedgehog house and staying in there. Is this unusual? I’m surprised there is room!

[Nic]

Hi morganventura

We have had reports on the Forum about hogs using the same box before. Hoglets will sometimes share, in the short terms at least. But also, if you are relying on video footage, cameras are notorious for missing parts of what’s happening. So maybe there was some exiting not caught on video – or were they following each other?

[ElsieD]

Hi

I had three, all in the one house. I put a temporary house out, next to the original and one of them has moved in there. I have a new house coming sometime today so will put that next to them as well. I was quite shocked when I checked to see what was in the house, all three of them, on top of each other. I always thought it was one hog to a house too but know different now.

Elsie.

[ElsieD]

Hi again,

well not three now, have probably 7, all in one house at present. I have put my new des res out next to the old one and am hoping some will move into it as they are rather crowded in the one. I counted at least six but think there was another one underneath. I rang a local hedge hog rescue centre and spoke to a nice chap and he said to wait for a couple of weeks, then weigh one of them to see if they are big enough to hibernate. He said they will probably disperse eventually. I sure hope so as we cannot cope with that amount here. If they are not big enough I think they will be rescued.

We never expected so many to be in the house though, quite a shock.

Elsie.

[simbo65]

Hi Elsie, are they new born hoglets?
If they are babies don’t disturb them.
Mum can desert them if she is disturbed and then they will have no chance of survival!!
Do not lift lid to look at them just leave alone.
Mum knows what she is doing.
If you can leave out food and water they should have a good chance that mum can wean them.
The problem is they might not be big enough to survive hibernation and that is when they will need to be overwintered by a carer but if mum can give them a good start in life then hopefully they stand a good chance when going to the carer

[ElsieD]

Hi simbo65

No they are not little baby ones, I would say about half grown. I am doing as the hedgehog rescue chap said and will weigh one of them in a couple of weeks and contact him again if necessary. They are now occupying both of my houses so that is better than being all crowded in together in the one. They are eating the food I put out, meaty cat food, I have been feeding hogs for years now by the way. Also water. They are fine for the moment anyway, ok.

Cheers, Elsie.

[Nic]

Hi ElsieD

Hoglets will sometimes share boxes, in the short term, as mentioned above. It’s testament to the des res you’ve made for them that they seem to all want to claim possession of it! They’ll probably get fed up with sharing after a bit. Maybe you need a whole row of hog houses!

It’s lovely that so many hoglets have managed to survive to half grown. Clever mother hog/s.

[simbo65]

Hi Elsie
Fantastic news!
So good to hear they are doing well.
Please see keep us posted.
Well done mummy hog and you.

[ElsieD]

Hi again

I put the new house next to the old one and they immediately all moved into that one. When I checked the old one it was a bit damp inside and also rather mucky with their poos. I removed that one and have thoroughly cleaned it but not put it back yet. They are all still in the new one and I have propped the roof open slightly with a bit of wood for more ventilation as I assumed them all in their breathing would cause the condensation. Anyway, so far so good. I am keeping an eye on them now and will weigh one in a few days as I judge they are a bit small to hibernate successfully. I will have to contact the rescue people once I determine how much they weigh. They are eating all the food I put out for them anyway so that is good. I will keep you posted.

Cheers, Elsie.

[rosieyvonne]

Hi
I am new to this but i’m hoping for some advice.
I have ordered a camera to see if i can get a better idea of what going on .

I have had adults coming to the garden for months now but last night to very small hedge hogs came to my feeding station and both went into my hedge hog house and cuddled up i took some pictures i’ve added.
i checked this morning all the food is gone and do have the youngsters . i am a bit worried as i’m reading about the weight being very important
i hope they come back again tonight as they were gone out the house when i checked in the morning

thanks

[Hettihog]

Hi Rosieyvonne
You would be well advised to take the advice provided on this site by the experts like nic and simbo65.
If the hogs are small you need to weigh them. Because if they are not up to weight they won’t make it through the winter. It’s too late in the year now for them to put the required weight on, even if as you say they are eating well.
It depends on your area / climate but I was told the hoglet I was going to to weigh would need to be at least 450grams – but you need to bear in mind that Cutie the hoglet in my garden was weighed months ago and has had plenty of time to pack the food away and put on weight and it’s only now that I feel confident Cutie will be big enough to survive.
If I found a small hog now I would definitely be prepared to weigh and rescue. It’s most likely that the hogs need to be taken to a hedgehog carer centre to overwinter and develop ready for release.
All the details you need are provided on the forum.
Hopefully nic will see your post and reply.
Wishing you and your little visitors lots of luck. x

[Hettihog]

Hi rosieyvonne
This is the number you need to call for advice regarding best practice and locality of rescue centres .

BHPS ASAP on 01584 890801
If you are able to weigh get prepared before hand. It’s a good idea to ring BHPS in order to locate and contact your nearest centre to check they have room for more rescues.
I got my gloves, scales and carrying box already before I captured Cutie-
I used the paper recycling box as a carrying box – straw and lots of torn up newspaper at one end and water/food at the other end.
I used my kitchen scales and put the hog in an empty ice cream tub to weigh.
If you’ve not done it before it can feel unnatural and a bit stressful- but I promise you once it’s done you will feel great knowing you’ve helped the little ones survive and given them the best chance of making through the winter.
Good luck and keep us posted. x

[rosieyvonne]

Hi 👋
thanks so much for replying to me . They both came back again at 8 and went into the hedge hog house and i’ve been feeding them but one seems more active than the other . They are so small . I will go and buy scales tomorrow and if they return i will definitely weigh them tomorrow night I have 20 years old chinchillas bigger than them so hopefully i can manage to lift them and not hurt them as that’s what i’m worried about that i would stress them out .I will be in touch tomorrow. I will add a picture of them to my account so you can see them

😊

[Hettihog]

Bless you , I’m sure you will be fine. Sounds to me like they are quite likely to be too small to make it without help and will need rescuing .
Good luck ! x

[Nic]

Good luck rosieyvonne. I think Hettihog has pretty much covered everything. If the little ones do weigh over 450g (or the weight that your local rescue recommend at this time of year) then you can let them go immediately and they will probably carry on where they left off.

It is really worth contacting your local rescue first, not least to make sure they have enough room to take more underweight hoglets in. But tell them that the hoglets are visiting regularly for food, because if they are borderline weight, they might think it’s o.k. to leave them. They will be best placed to give you more specific advice.

Don’t worry about hurting the little ones by picking them up, they are likely to put their spines up to protect themselves, so might end up hurting you – their spines are very sharp when standing up, so make sure you wear gloves. Just scoop then gently up and straight in to a container to be weighed in. Some hoglets are quite active and try to climb out, so just be aware of that. If you take the scales, etc. outside you can keep the stress to a minimum. i.e. scoop up into container ,weigh and either release (if heavy enough) or put into larger container for them possibly to spend the night in.

Let us know how you get on.

[Author]

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