Animal Profiles - Hedgehogs
Erinaceus Europaeus
The Common Hedgehog is covered with 1” spines along it’s back and sides. The face, throat, chest, belly and legs are covered with coarse, grey-brown fur. There are approximately 5,000/7,000 spines on an average adult hedgehog, which also has a small tail. The spines lie flat when they are at rest only becoming erect when they are disturbed or frightened when they also curl into a protective ball. They can live for up to five or six years or even longer under good circumstances although up to half do not make it through the first winter. Those that do, stand a good chance of surviving in future years. Like Robin Redbreast they are also known as “The Gardener’s Friend”.
Hedgehogs are very noisy eaters, surviving on beetles, caterpillars and earthworms, and will eat fallen fruit as well. They also enjoy a saucer of a meat based pet food, not fish-flavoured, as a supplement to their diet and if this is left in the same place, each night, they soon learn to call in for their supper. Never feed bread and milk as this causes severe stomach upsets with very smelly results! They are grateful for a dish of water as they can suffer from dehydration in extreme temperatures.
Hedgehogs give the impression of being slow, tank-like creatures, but in reality they have quite long back legs and can run very fast when necessary. They are also marvellous climbers and can quickly tackle a chain link fence or rough wall with ease. They will not only visit your garden but other surrounding gardens during the night, a male covering about three times the distance as a female.
They are solitary creatures only meeting, like ships in the night, to mate and then they are on their way! The courtship can take many hours and is very vocal. After a gestation of approximately six weeks the female produces a litter of between two and six babies no more than the size of a 50p piece. She raises them on her own and they leave the nest at about four weeks old and are mostly independent by then, although they would appreciate some supplementary food from a kind householder.
In late summer/autumn time, if you find a small hedgehog and are concerned please contact the North Devon Animal Ambulance. As a rule, if they weigh less than 450 grams by mid-October then they will not make it through the winter and will need to be cared for. If you wear protective gloves, or use a towel, gently pick up the hedgehog and place it in a large box with plenty of bedding, either straw or newspaper and keep it in a warm place, and then give us a call on 07817995751 or contact us via this website. The NDAA will collect the hedgehog and take it to our special hedgehog foster-mum who will look after it for the whole winter or until such time as it has attained its optimum weight of 600 grams. When handling the hedgehogs please be careful as they do carry a lot of parasites such as fleas and ticks, so always wear gloves. We can treat them for these problems when they are in our care.
Many hedgehogs die as a result of human thoughtlessness. We put down slug-pellets and the slugs that die from eating them are sometimes eaten by the hedgehogs who are slowly poisoned. Hundreds are killed on the roads, probably the only time many people see a hedgehog. Bonfire Night also kills many hundreds as the hedgehogs take up residence in pre-made bonfires, sometimes several weeks in advance, and no one thinks to check before lighting them.
If you have hedgehogs in your garden please encourage and enjoy them for the charming, amiable and wonderful creatures they are.
