Two in one house

[Nic]

Hi Yvonne

I have seen hogs licking ice, but not crunching it. But they probably wouldn’t get much water that way. But is there somewhere, maybe in a corner near the house, where it might be less likely to freeze. Or if you have a feeding box, put some in there. It might keep the frost off it a bit longer. I have heard of people putting ping pong balls in to float around, but haven’t tried that myself, so not sure how well it works. I would put new water out before you go to bed. If you just break the ice, it might re-freeze more quickly. Then hopefully if the hogs visit fairly early, they will have a chance of a drink.

I would be a bit worried if their poo is runny all this time. I wonder if it would be worth checking again with the wildlife centre.

The hogs, surprisingly don’t seem to mind the cold that much. Two different winters I have had hogs here who didn’t hibernate. In both cases the only days they missed visiting were when the snow was too deep for them. Luckily it only lasted a few days. They did tend to go in and have naps in boxes between naps (so perhaps a chance to warm up as well) – one hog had built a lovely nest in one box and spent some, though not all days there.

[rosieyvonne]

Hi Nic sorry for late reply

I have had a sickness bug i had tried to send this earlier but it must not have saved

thanks for all your advice you have given me and i will continue to feed them as they are still coming all th time and as you said they may choose not to hibernate 😬

one came tonight at 7 which is early for them , he still got some runny poop and let me scratch him on the nose and didn’t curl up or anything just looked up at me waving his long nose

He’s definitely eating all the hedge hog food and i genuinely don’t think he is eating anything but they food i give him as i put out a lot and it’s all gone in the morning maybe that could be why his poop is like tar
I will call the wild life centre tomorrow again and see what they say
maybe they will advise me different this time
thanks again
Yvonne

[Nic]

Hi Yvonne

I would definitely try to get the hog checked over, if it has had runny poo all that time.

Hogs who eat natural food do have dark looking poos, often with shiny bits (beetle wings) visible in them. But they are normally formed poos.

Good luck. Hope the hog’s o.k.

[rosieyvonne]

Hi Nic

just to update you .My local wildlife centre are coming to collect the 2 youngsters i have left to check them over . They poop has went from black tar to slime ( sorry for graphic info )
I have to collect them tonight and i’m so worried i’ll stress them out and they will come in the morning to get them back . It’s frozen here but they are still coming and the 2 of them ate back in the same house again even though there isn’t room now they are bigger 😂 not sure if it’s both of them with upset tummy’s or just one but they said they will check them both over .

[Nic]

Hi Yvonne

I wasn’t sure if you meant you’ve caught them already or you still have to catch them. But either way, don’t worry too much, it’s better that they get checked over to make sure they’re o.k. They’ll probably forget all about it once they’re back home again. Don’t worry about graphic descriptions of hog poo. It’s quite normal on here!

Youngsters do tend to like eating together and sharing bowls. It’s possible they have decided not to hibernate. That does occasionally happen with hoglets. I have had them here (although only one at a time) and both of them continued to visit all winter except for a few days when snow was too deep for them. But including when there were hard frosts. The problem is trying to make sure there is some unfrozen water for them, in that weather.

I hope the two little ones are o.k. and that they can soon return home.

[rosieyvonne]

Hi Nic

No they said they would collect them tomorrow so i will need to get them at some point tonight . I was thinking of setting my alarm for 5 am as they are alway still here at that time instead of taking them too early . I am worried about what temps to keep them at in the house and the lady said to put them in a pet holder which i have with a wee blanket .
fingers crossed they both come as only one is here just now and it’s not as cold tonight as last few days . They seem fine to look at and watching on the camera but it’s just there poops don’t look good and they have put on lots of weight .
sorry what i meant was they have went back into sharing the same house again .
Maybe they won’t hibernate and ill be worried sick all winter lol 😔

[Nic]

Hi Yvonne

I would be inclined to catch them when you see them, in case they don’t come back later. I normally keep any hogs which need to go to the Wildlife Hospital overnight in my kitchen which doesn’t have it’s own heating, but is obviously a bit warmer than outside. But not somewhere too warm. I usually give them a pile of torn up strips of paper which they can burrow into. Newspaper on the floor, as they nearly always spill their water, which you will need to provide – and some food. They are likely to make quite a bit of mess, so you might want to rethink the blanket (depending on whether you mind it getting in a mess). They quite like burrowing under small (hand) towels which you can use instead of torn paper. I quite often find that they burrow under the newspaper on the floor.

It’s good that you have a pet carrier, as they are very good at escaping! If there’s any chance they can escape, I would make sure they are in a room with the door shut.

Good luck. I hope you manage to catch them. I hope they are o.k. and will be back home soon.

[rosieyvonne]

thanks for that nic just another question before i go back out and check
Do you thing the 2 of them will be ok in the carrier together since they still sleep in same house together ok still?
it just seems a bit small for 2 hedge hogs
xx n

[Nic]

I expect they’ll be o.k. in together if they’ve been sharing a box anyway. They won’t be in there long – although I don’t know how big the container is.

[rosieyvonne]

Hi Nic

It’s been a while since i’ve been on . After our last conversation,, only one of the 2 came back and i left it that night because i was not sure if that was the one with the runs . Then like they knew i was going to capture them , they then didn’t come for back for a week .
I phoned back up my wildlife rescue and said right i’ve got the 2 of them but there is no more runs and they are over 1000g so they said just to leave them .They had a few ticks too but said they are better off not being stressed and they know i’m feeding them and done a good job .
I have one big one come back 2 days ago after no activity again for a while Then one night on camera he seems to use all his energy getting out of the house as he’s massive .He seemed to lye down flat for 5 seconds ,like a stumble then got up again which seemed quite strange but the rest of the night he was active on camera . It’s really wet here and flooding so i hope they are all ok . Its really windy tonight and i’ve checked him again and he’s snuggled up in one of the houses . I was thinking maybe their nests could get flooded in this weather is that possible ?
Just thought i’d update you 😀 Have yours all gone now still or have any came back x yvonne

[Nic]

Hi rosieyvonne

Sorry about the delay replying. There’s a bit of a glitch in the system at the moment and the front page isn’t updating properly. Hopefully, it will be fixed soon.

Typical hogs. I sometimes think they must be psychic! Sounds as if the hogs there are doing pretty well, if they’re that big! I agree re. the ticks, unless there are loads of them.

A bit worrying about the flooding. Yes their nests can be flooded and they may need to build another one, although apparently they sometimes change nests during hibernation time as well. Hopefully if they find themselves in trouble they will make their way back to you for some food, etc.

I still have one hog here. She didn’t hibernate last year, but she was a hoglet then. There’s still time, but I don’t mind her still being here. That is except for one particularly bendy cat who keeps trying to eat the hog food!

[rosieyvonne]

Hi Nic

I haven’t seen any my hedge hogs for so long now .So i’m guessing that is them gone till feb/ march ? . There is spider webs in the hedge hog houses etc no activity on cameras . I’ve stopped putting out food although i do still put water out for my birds . I think i’m going to clean them out now as this is my first year with them going into the hog houses. No one took up the on the houses last year . I’m going to get more for this years lol
Have all your hogs gone now , i know you mentioned that one was still coming ?
😊

[Nic]

Hi Yvonne

Yes, it sounds as if they may have hibernated, albeit a bit late. I still have my visitor – she is quite big now. But she is a bit of an exception, in that not only did she not hibernate last winter (she was a hoglet then) but she also spent months in Wildlife Hospital after a life threatening strimmer injury and added to that she has poor, if any, vision. So I’m quite pleased she hasn’t hibernated again, so that I can keep an eye on her. I don’t see her every night, although I do most nights. That could be partly due to her managing to evade the cameras sometimes, though! Luckily, now, she is coming early enough for me to see her in real time, which is helpful. One particular cat, however, is not helpful, which might be why the hog is now visiting earlier, so that she gets to the food first!

Re. cleaning out boxes this is the recommended guidance https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/cleaning-out-boxes/
which says April and October. However, if you are absolutely certain they are empty, i.e. that it isn’t just in the entrances where there are spiders webs, you could give them a clean out now. But if you aren’t sure, be very careful, for fear of disturbing a hibernating hog. They can be completely covered in vegetation.

It won’t be long, now until the hogs start coming out of hibernation. The males tend to return first, often March, although it’s possible it may be earlier there. It’s also possible that as they went into hibernation later they might come out later as well. There is a certain amount of variability and individuality and also uncertainty in the knowledge about hibernation.

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