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The hedgehogs are back

Penny and Roger are the hedgehogs I adopted last August from a hog rescue centre, as they can't be released into the wild because of the problems they have and need feeding every night. I knew they were in the garden somewhere as the food kept going, which is great as nobody thought they would even make it through the winter.

Tonight they have found each other.image

I didn't name them, whoever takes them to the centre names them.

Posts

  • flowering roseflowering rose Posts: 1,632

    that's lovely to hear as for a long time now there has been no hedgehogs here.

  • JoybellJoybell Posts: 126

    I will try and take some photos tomorrow night. I live in North Wiltshire.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    That's great news - we had (at least) three hedgehogs in the garden the other night - we were pretty certain that at least three were visiting us as we'd seen two at one time and one at another, but that was the first time we'd seen all three together.  I've a feeling there may be one other as we've always had a much bigger one (known as Hefty) and he wasn't one of the three.  

    They make so much noise pushing their dish around on the terrace that they woke OH up - not me, I can sleep through almost anything image - except I do remember being woken a couple of summers ago by a nightingale singing in the garden while on holiday near Bodmin Moor. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • hartleyharehartleyhare Posts: 81

    Do you have one male and one female hedgehog ? If so then they could have babies, which would not be a good idea if these hedgehogs have problems. You didn't say what the nature of their disabilty is. I'm assuming that they have a physical disability, ie,  legs missing or are blind ?? Also the knock on effect of two hogs becoming 7+. Sorry, not trying to be a killjoy, just trying to make people more hegehog aware. Its really great that you were able to offer a home to disabled hogs image  Are your hogs handleable at all. If so its relatively easy to sex adults, so you woud know what you have. Males have a ' belly button ' , which is actually their manhood, its quite obvious. Females do not.

  • JoybellJoybell Posts: 126

    Roger is a male and had been hand reared, this was the last hedgehog to be rehomed from the hog centre as builders were about to start work, and needed somewhere safe and nightly feeds. Penny was found wandering around dragging her back legs, they nursed her back to health, even though she is a bit slow.

    I don't handle them, just watch them and make sure there is food and water, if they did have babies that would be fine, as we have over half an acre of walled garden for them to roam in and log piles and no slug pellets.image 

     

     

  • hartleyharehartleyhare Posts: 81

     Back leg problems can affect the pelvic area and make it difficult for sows to give birth. If she is still is still having difficulty in moving normally then possibly she has some lasting damage. Did the rescue get an x-ray done to diagnose why she was dragging her legs, could be several reasons that cause that to happen. Does Roger have any disabilty that prevents him from being returned to the wild ?

    Another point to consider is that 1/2 an acre is not large enough to sustain 7+ hogs ( assuming that mum has 5-7 babies and they all survive ). In the wild they roam over a mile. And those babies will grow up and have babies. It is also illegal to keep healthy wild animals captive.

     

     

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