https://www.yorkshirehedgehogs.co.uk/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGQR75leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHeAW3CZnqtDZ1X01zeiul43V577KIpzwe2W–Mkc11EWNW6e9hXxjznMGQ_aem_YtO4YWhXe7K02Pee2R_nuw
Please leave shallow dishes of water out around your gardens and ask family, friends and neighbours to do the same. Hedgehogs can struggle and particularly in more rural settings. There is no life without water for any living thing, we are so lucky to be able to switch a tap on we easily forget the struggle of wildlife finding water.
If possible creating a feed station and putting cat food or kitten/cat biscuits will also help support struggling hogs
Slug pellets are a poison which kills birds and hedgehogs
FLYSTRIKE: Whilst you are waiting to get in touch or are on your way to rescue, please take photos of the affected areas, then use a toothbrush, tweezers and/or flea comb to remove as many as you can. Please DO NOT BATH them. Water will speed up hatching and make it more difficult to remove. DO NOT LET THIS DELAY TAKING IT TO RESCUE.
You can find details of rescues at www.helpwildlife.co.uk.
Our closest rescues are: Urchins (York), Prickly Edge (Methley), Castleford Hedgehogs (Castleford),, Haxby ( N York), Hedgehogs at Holme (Holme on Spalding Moor), Lucky Hedgehog rescue (Hull)
SPRING:
At this time of year (Feb/March) out in the day is not ok.
The mild weather means that we are seeing lots of hogs coming out of hibernation, but there is very little natural food around yet.
Please help them by putting out some water and cat kibble. You don’t need expensive hedgehog food, but remember no mealworm, sunflower hearts, bread or milk.
If they look like they are struggling, contact a rescue immediately. Do not try and help it yourself.
Hogs can take up to 48 hours to fully come out of hibernation during which time they are very vulnerable. If they are out in the day they are probably hypothermic and may be dehydrated and suffering from parasites.
If you find one please contact your local rescue, do not try and keep it yourself. Minutes matter.
SUMMER:
Shared from other pages
Baby season is here
If you take a mum and babies to a rescue..please do so in different boxes so mum can be reintroduced under supervision..we have had people bring mum and babies in together only to open the box to find mum has killed them
here’s a guide to help you all to determine if a hedgehog needs help when out during the day, here are some questions you should think about before stepping in ( post taken from facebook)
1. What is the hedgehog doing? Does it need a rescue?
A. Running in circles, (rescue asap)
B. Collecting nesting materials, ( doesn’t need a rescue)
C. Sunbathing, (rescue asap)
D. Flies are around/on the hedgehog (rescue asap)
E. Coming out for a drink and food and going back to the nest (ring your local rescue and tell them everything you see)
F. The hedgehog is unsteady on its feet, like it is drunk (Rescue asap)
G. I have a hedgehog bumping into things. (Rescue asap)
2. I’ve disturbed a nest, what do I do?
A. Leave the nest alone
B. If mum runs off do not panic she will be back
C. It’s been 5 hours since mum ran off (ring your local rescue)
D. There’s no mum In the nest and the babies are squeaking (ring your local rescue)
3. My dog has taken a baby hedgehog out of the nest and I don’t know where the nest is.
A. Phone a rescue asap keep the baby warm do not feed it or give it water
4. There is baby hedgehogs walking around my garden.
A. Is mum with them? Is she taking them somewhere? Watch them from a distance she could be moving Nests
B. If mum isn’t there pick them all up. place them in a box and phone your rescue, something isn’t right they need help.
AUTUMN:
September has always been a seasonal peak for babies being born and historically the beginning of Autumn juveniles. With global warming having such an impact and creating milder weather babies and nursery nests will continue into December. Please do think about putting kitten biscuits which are a small biscuit for little mouths alongside water. This will help the juveniles and keep them out of rescues. Babies make a high pitched beeping noise and nests will be in gardens through out the Autumn. Be careful when gardening, especially if using a strimmer: hedgehogs won’t run away.
Now leaves are falling from trees, instead of clearing them away why not make a leaf pile in a corner of the garden? Leaf piles are amazing for wildlife, giving small mammals, amphibians and insects a place to shelter, hibernate or forage.
WINTER:
In winter, anyone whose garden floods in places, please move hedgehog houses and keep an eye out for wet hoggies. They don’t wake up automatically even in a flood. Moving boxes now won’t wake up any hibernating hogs. They can swim just fine, but if hibernating somewhere that floods, they might drown because they don’t have a mechanism for coming out of hibernation quickly.Please keep your eyes open for hedgehogs needing help. They are still about in this relatively mild weather. With flooding expected, if your garden floods please move hedgehog houses to a high point in your garden. Hedgehogs can not wake up quickly to swim away if they are in hibernation, it can take 20 minutes or longer and takes a lot! of energy. So please keep putting food out. They can hibernate under fallen trees, under sheds, in wood piles and in fact any other undisturbed space they fee safe in. Many hedgehogs die during hibernation because they are unwell or their chosen site isn’t suitable, so please take care over this period.
Hedgehogs seen out in the daytime, if not an actively large mother hedgehog, it means they need help because they are nocturnal animals.
If you see any hedgehogs out between 8.30am and 4.30pm they need help
However this does not necessarily apply the other way round i.e if a hedgehog is out at night even if dark, it is not automatically a healthy hedgehog.
At night healthy hedgehogs will usually run away because they hear you walking. Another behaviour is they just freeze in the hope no one can see them. And the final reaction if they have something touching them like a dogs nose or paw they will curl up. These are normal reactions but if you come across a hedgehog at night that is curled up already as you approach them, they most likely will have been there for some time already, and are probably not actively foraging and are probably in need of help.
The most common problem is they have an internal parasite burden. The parasites feed off the food the hedgehog eats causing the hedgehog to loose weight. Eventually the burden starts to become too much they quickly become underweight and their body starts to shut down. At this point even in the middle of the heat of summer the hedgehog will start to suffer hypothermia as the blood starts receding from the extremities to the main organs. In making a decision whether to intervene or not with a hedgehog you come across whatever time of night it is, think “does this hedgehog look healthy in its behaviour?” Trust your gut instinct and have the confidence to take action to get it to a rescue.
On seeing a hedgehog that needs help please place in a high sided box. Give heat by using a hot water bottle, wheat bag or just a bottle with a firm top, all of these must be wrapped in a towel so not to burn the hedgehog. Please allow enough space in the box for the hedgehog to be able to move away from the heat if it needs to. Place a shallow dish of water and also a shallow dish of cat biscuits, wet cat or dog food into the box. place a light cloth such as a tea towel or hand towel over the hedgehog so it can hide and not feel exposed and threatened. Position the box in a quiet space away from pets and young children. THEN, ring round to find your nearest rescue that can take it in.
options are: look on Yorkshirehedgehogs.co.uk OR Britishhedgehogs.org.uk for a list of rescuers nearest to you that have spaces available.
Hedgehogs at Holme Rescue,
Holme on Spalding Moor
07778 445854,
Willow Hedgehog Rescue
Thorpe-Willoughby
Phone 0752 115 0329
Phone 0752 115 0329
Garforth Hedgehogs
Garforth
Contact via Facebook
Garforth
Contact via Facebook
Swan and Wildlife Rescue Hospital
Barlow nr Selby – Now takes hedgehogs as well as birds and other wildlife.
Phone 0776 342 4892 YSRH.ORG.UK
Barlow nr Selby – Now takes hedgehogs as well as birds and other wildlife.
Phone 0776 342 4892 YSRH.ORG.UK
You can also make contact with your local vets who accept hedgehogs.
out of hours emergency vets in York (Minster vets at Salisbury Rd, 01904643997)
Cawood Parish Council are delighted to support the hedgehog highways initiative by requesting all new builds provide these.
Hedgehog highways are gaps in fencing to allow the hedgehogs to forage for food in a much larger area; barriers between gardens are one of the main problems preventing hedgehogs finding enough natural food to eat.
Our first request has gone out to Orion Homes who are built Bishop’s Gardens, but it’s never too late for existing gardens to join in:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/HEMP.pdf