Holderness Hedgehog Hospital

The UK has seen a rapid decline in hedgehogs with numbers falling by about half since the turn of the century which means hedgehog numbers are likely to stand at under a million.

In 2020 Hedgehogs were included on the Red List for British Mammals which means they are now classified as vulnerable to extinction.

Holderness Hedgehog Hospital (HHH) was set up in 2016 to help address a shortage of local specialist rescues in the area, as well as to help educate people on the species.

Our aims are to educate the public and to rescue, rehabilitate and release as many hedgehogs as possible.

Since 2016 we have grown and grown and after a lot of hard work we became a charity in the summer of 2018.

We now have a number of satellite rescues within the East Riding including: Preston, Burton Pidsea and Skeffling.

Everyone involved with HHH is a volunteer, without their continued support and commitment we would not be able to continue.

We have 3 assessors who triage and administer lifesaving first aid to hedgehogs that come into the rescue, plus a large group of amazing volunteers.

Our educational talks are very important to us. We have spoken to groups such as schools, scouts, WI and wildlife groups.

These allow us to engage with the public and get them involved in trying to save our prickly friends.

Consistent fundraising is important to ensure every hedgehog which comes through the rescue has the best opportunity in life.

HHH is self-funded and we usually host events such as craft fairs, take part in car boots, have regular raffles, have food donation bins in supermarkets and ask local business for support.

Hedgehogs are hardy little things that will keep going no matter how ill they are or until they collapse.

We receive lots of calls about hedgehogs that are out during the day, have injuries or for advice if a nest is disturbed, when or if to intervene and what to do.

A female with young, she may be moving nest sites, having a break or looking for food.

Some also wake at dusk to look for food or are still about at first light. Young hedgehogs may leave the nest for a short time before returning , again this isn't anything to worry about as long as the hedgehog looks and is acting normally.

If you are unsure you can call us or your nearest rescue and we will advise you on what to do. (Click here)

If you do see a hedgehog out during the day or you have concerns, remember hedgehogs do not sunbathe and they shouldn't wobble when walking.

Not all hedgehog issues are visible, they can have an overburden of internal parasites and have a cough or what seems like cold.

If a hedgehog does need rescuing you will need a high sided box as they are very good at climbing and escaping.

Something to cover it such as a towel or fleece and somewhere it can go away from sunlight and flies.

There are diseases that can pass from hedghogs to us and precautions must be taken so gloves, towel or similar should be used to pick the hedgehog up.

By adopting a hedgehog as a gift or for yourself you will be helping us rescue even more hedgehogs.

Your adoption will last 12 months and for a one off payment of £25 you will receive your adoption card telling you all about your hedgehog's story.

You will also be sent via e-mail, quarterly news letters with updates on their story and helpful tips, advice and other hedgehog stories.

Having hedgehogs visit you is amazing, you get to watch them and you may even be lucky enough for them to make your garden their home.

You may already have visitors but you've just not seen them, look out for signs such as hedgehog poo.

Firstly they need to be able to get access into your garden. Create hedgehog highways between gardens, these need to be the size of a CD case and be made in fences, gates or even walls but have a look around your garden, you may already have them in place, check the gaps under gates etc. Highways allow hedgehogs more opportunity to find food, mates and nesting sites.

Leave a small area of your garden to nature, let the grass grow long and sow wildflower seeds. This provides good coverage for hedgehogs to hide and to nest in plus food from the visiting insects.

Make your garden a safe place by covering drain holes, ensuring there is an escape ramp from ponds and tidy up rubbish that could trap or entangle hedgehogs.

Provide a nesting box: Nesting boxes offer hedgehogs a home to rest during the day, to rear their young and to hibernate during winter. These can be shop bought or home made using what you already have such as: bricks and a paver, a gap under a shed or a wood pile. Make sure it is out of direct sunlight and prevailing winds and place them under shrubs or trees for protection from the weather.

Hedgehogs often struggle to find enough food and water on their nightly forage so providing it daily makes their life a little easier. It’s also a great way to encourage hedgehog visitors into your garden.

Hedgehogs like puppy, dog, kitten and cat tinned food, preferably not fish flavour as they are not keen and often leave it. They prefer jelly and paste tinned food as the gravy type food can give them an upset tummy.

They also like cat or kitten biscuits (not dog biscuits as they can often be too big)

Using a feeding station keeps the food out of the weather and it can also stop other animals such as cats from getting to the food. These can be home made using what you already have: such as a plastic tub, wood or just place under a table or chair.

Do not leave out milk, hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and giving them milk will kill them.

Mealworms are also very harmful: they cause metabolic bone disease and robs the bones of calcium and makes them weak. It causes suffering and will ultimately result in the hedgehog’s death.

Always check before using a strimmer or lawn mower in long grass or weeds, also check compost heaps before forking over. It only takes a few minutes and it could save a hedgehogs life.

Check before carrying out any major garden work such as removing sheds, decking and landscaping gardens. Hedgehogs don’t always nest in the most appropriate places and love to hide and nest under many things for shelter.

Ensure fruit netting and anything else that could trap a hedgehog is kept up off the ground and stored safely when not in use.

Do not use pesticides, these can kill hedgehogs and other wildlife that eat the poisoned bugs. Slug pellets are also dangerous as the hedgehog can eat the poisoned slug

If you’d like to be involved, becoming a volunteer is easy: You can be involved as little or as much as you like and all you need to do is request to join our Facebook volunteers page (link here). Please remember to answer the questions and complete the form as it will affect your request if these are left blank.

We are very excited as we will soon be training our new hands-on technicians.
These are volunteer foster carers who would like to take the next step into caring for hedgehogs.
They will learn how to give first aid, check samples and to administer medication.
We'll keep you posted on their progress.

With spring now with us, were have been able to arrange several releases in the last few week. We wish them all the very best of luck in their new homes.

We also have a number of trainee hog nannies.
They look after the small hoglets that come in without a mum.
This is an extremely hard job with feeds every 4 hours for the tiny ones.
It can also be upsetting as the success rate is low.

Female hedgehogs are looking for nesting sites to have and raise their young. A nice clean house will be ideal for this.
Filling the house with clean dry bedding with encourage a hedgehog to use it, you can also leave extra bedding such as leaves nearby so they can add to it. You’d be surprised how much they can cram into the space.

During lock down last year lots of people took the opportunity to tidy or revamp their gardens, as such we had more disturbed nests than ever before.

Hedgehogs think they are safe and have the perfect spot to raise their young but it can turn out not to be the case.

If you are thinking of clearing an area, removing a shed, decking or lighting a bonfire please be careful and check that there isn’t a nest there, they can be very well camouflaged and not easily seen.

If you do disturb a nest DO NOT PANIC, re-cover ASAP, leave alone, go back inside and ring your nearest rescue as they can talk you through what to do.

Thank you so much to the ladies from the W I at Hollym. We had an amazing time talking about all things hedgehogs. They raised £77 with a donation and raffle plus they collected newspapers and lots of food for us.

Many thanks go to Sarah and Janet who organised it so that our charity benefited from the Easington coffee morning.

We'll be sharing lots of information this week so we hope you'll learn something new and please feel free to share.

- There are 17 species of hedgehogs.

- Hedgehogs are nocturnal, foraging by night and sleeping through the day.

- Breeding season for European hedgehogs is between April and November, later babies known has autumn juveniles struggle to survive with most not making it through the winter.

- Litters are of upto 7 babies normally but occasionally more.

- Babies are called hoglets and are born with soft pink spines that harden within hours of birth.

- Babies leave the nest for the first time between 3/4 weeks and follow mum around at night learning to forage for food.

- The life span of a hedgehog is on average 2-4 years but they can live longer.

- They have 5-7 thousand spines that are up to 1 inch long that are controlled by a huge muscle along the hedgehog back.

- Hedgehogs have a rarely seen tail of 1-6cm long.

- Hedgehogs rarely have fleas but when they do they are hedgehog specific fleas so only live on hedgehogs.

- Hedgehogs are very good swimmers but can occasionally drown in garden ponds that don’t have easily found escape routes.

- A group of hedgehogs is called an array.

- European hedgehogs hibernate usually between November and March but don’t hibernate solidly, they wake occasionally for a snack. Some smaller hedgehogs particularly autumn juveniles don’t have the body mass to hibernate so struggle on searching for food over the winter.

- Hedgehogs are 1 of only 3 British mammals that hibernate, the other 2 being bats and dormice.

- In the Middle Ages hedgehogs where known has urchins and even have a mention in one of William Shakespeare’s plays.

- Hedgehogs self anoint by rubbing frothy saliva on themselves, they do this when stimulated by a strong taste or smell.

- Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant so they must never be given milk.

- They curl into a tight ball when they feel in danger, this protects the vulnerable area underneath that hasn't any spines.

- Hedgehogs can walk upto 2 miles a night to forage for food or look for a mate.

- They are called a gardens friend. This is because they eat bugs and caterpillars which can be a problem when growing fruit and vegetables.

- Hedgehogs rely on their nose for hunting and foraging for food as their eye sight isn't very good.

-Hedgehogs have a very varied diet and eat many things including insects, snails, frogs and toads, snakes and bird eggs,

-They construct a nest called a hibernaculum. During hibernation, the body temperate drops and they slow their breathing rate. Many hedgehogs can lose up to a third or more of their body weight during hibernation and must find food and water quickly when they wake.

-Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight but have an excellent sense of smell and hearing. They use both to sniff out and hear their prey.

-The most common domesticated hedgehog is the African pygmy hedgehog, which a hybrid of the white-bellied hedgehog or four-toed hedgehog and the North African hedgehog.

- Hedgehogs are solitary animals.

-In the UK wild hedgehogs are considered an endangered species and it is illegal to keep one as a pet.

-Hedgehogs are a fairly vocal animal and can communicate through a combination of grunts, snuffles and/or squeals, depending on species.

- Hedgehogs are actually quite fast and can travel up to 3km per hour.

Hedgehog breeding season is in full swing, fingers crossed there will soon be lots of little hedgehogs running about and helping add to the population.

Baby hedgehogs, known as hoglets are born after a pregnancy lasting 4 to 5 weeks.
They can be born any time from May/June and sometimes a second litter is born in the late summer/ early autumn.

Newborn hoglets don't have spines (if they did it would be very uncomfortable for their mum when giving birth!)
There is a layer of fluid under their pink skin and this shrinks back very soon after birth to reveal their first spines which are white.
After a day or 2, brown spines start to grow.

There are usually several babies in a litter, they are approximately the size of the top 2 joints of an adults middle finger and on average weigh 15 to 20 grams. Hoglets are born with their eyes and ears closed up.
Their eyes open at around 14 days old, ears unfurl gradually and their skin darkens.
Hair starts to develop on their head and body at 2 to 3 weeks of age.

Hoglets wriggle around from a few days old, and are very wobbly when they start to walk. They soon learn to scuttle around more quickly.

They feed on milk from their mother and she will stay in the nest with her babies for the first day or so. After that she will go out to forage for food. Sometimes this may be during the day and she will move with a purpose to find food and water.

They can ball up from an early stage, which is an important defence mechanism to protect them from predators.

At 3 to 4 weeks old they will start to go out at night with their mum to learn how to forage for food. They will stay with mum until they are independent at around 6 weeks old. At this stage they will be around the size of an orange!

Their normal diet is insects and bugs. We can help young hedgehogs by providing shallow bowls of water and meaty cat food and kitten biscuits.

Hoglets may be orphaned if the mother has been killed, or she may abandon the nest, hedgehog mums don't always choose a sensible site to nest in and this might result in her being disturbed, last year one was found in a carrier bag!

If a nest is accidentally disturbed, it is best to wait and observe to see if mum returns. If a mum feels threatened, she may move her babies to another nest site.

Abandoned or orphaned hoglets may crawl out of the nest searching for mum. They will become distressed and make a shrill squeaking sound, a bit like a smoke alarm.

If you find a hoglet/s that may have been abandoned, please call us for advice on what to do.

Hoglets that come in to HHH are cared for by our hedgehog nanny. It is a full time job during hoglet season and in many ways it is like caring for a human baby.

They need regular feeds of a specialist milk and are fed with a 1ml syringe with a tiny teat on the end.
This continues during the night for the very young hoglets. Instead of a nappy change they are carefully 'toileted' as their mum would do.

Feeding equipment has to be steralisd and there's lots of washing to do as they are nursed on soft fleece blankets which they poop on - a lot!!

Up to 2 weeks of age they will be in our incubator to keep them at a constant warm temperature. They even have soft toys - these are for them to snuggle under as they would if they were still with mum.
Their skin can become dry, so they may have a gentle massage with oil to help.
We use puppy pads in the incubator and cages as their claws grip better, they slide around too much on newspaper and it can strain the ligaments in their legs.

As the hoglets grow, they will be weaned into a soft meaty food at first. It gets very very messy and they often need a quick wipe over to clean them up, until they learn to clean and groom themselves.

Once they are feeding independently they may move on to another foster carer until they are ready for release back into the wild.

We successfully hand reared several litters and individual hoglets last year and released them back into the wild.

Today is how you can encourage hedgehogs into your garden.

Having hedgehogs visit you is amazing, you get to watch them and you may even be lucky enough for them to make your garden their home.

Firstly they need to be able to get in and out.
You can do this by creating a hedgehog highway. A hole in a fence or a gap under a gate will do. As long as it's the size of a CD case it will be big enough.
Hedgehogs need to be able to access a number of gardens while foraging for food, we do encourage everyone to open their gardens up and not enclose or shut them off.
The more gardens that are open the better it is for the hedgehog population.

Providing support feeding will encourage them to return and help when food is scarce.

Hedgehogs and other wildlife soon become dehydrated during the warm weather so providing water in a shallow dish is essential.

You can make a feeding station, this will keep the food out of weather and also stops unwanted visitors such as cats.

Providing a hedgehog house gives them somewhere to nest and hibinate during winter.
These can be shop bought or home made.
Make sure it is out of direct sunlight and prevailing winds.
Place them under shrubs or trees for protection from the weather.

Leave an area of your garden to grow wild.
This will encourage insects and bugs which are a food source for hedgehogs.

Plant shrubs, bushes and create a log pile. These will give them areas to hide, forage for food and nest.

You may already have visitors but you've just not seen them, look out for signs such as hedgehog poo.

We have lots of ideas on feeding stations and houses in the albums section, take a look and see if you can encourage our prickly friends to your garden.

Hedgehogs numbers have been falling rapidly over recent years and part of the reason for their rapid decline is thought to be ever increasing loss of suitable habitat and nesting sites.

We always release hedgehogs to areas where people feed them and provide suitable housing for them should they need it.
It makes returning to the wild following time in a caged hospital environment much easier for them if they have a ready made suitable house to go into.

Sometimes they make good use of these provided houses and stay around the release site and sometimes they wonder off to build their own , but having it available should they need it is important to help them adjust.

It’s not only newly released hedgehogs the make use of purposes built hedgehog houses though , any hedgehog can stumble upon a house and take a liking to it and move in.

It is advisable to look for the biggest house you can as hedgehogs like a LOT of bedding to keep them insulated during hibernation.
You may look at a house and think a hedgehog will easily fit inside but considering the mass of bedding they need and the size of a fully grown hedgehog and it may not.
There is little point buying a small house as it may not be used.

Another thing to consider when choosing a house is a removable or lift up lid, this makes it a lot easier to have a peep inside to check for residents when it needs cleaning out, some houses don’t have this so do check before you buy.

Once you have a suitable house there are a few other important things to consider.

Placing of the house is vital to encourage the hedgehogs to feel safe and secure and want to use the house.
Ideal places are at the bottom of your garden in a quiet corner with lots of shrubs and bushes around, even better if it can be tucked nicely under a bush to provide that extra bit of privacy.

Don’t forget to ensure it sits in a shady spot to avoid the sun beating down on it during the summer or your hedgehog may look for a cooler bed for the daytime. Shelter from the winter elements is needed too to avoid rain, wind and snow blowing into the house.

Bedding inside the house is also important. A few handfuls of dry hay or straw and dried leaves is ideal to start it off, the hedgehog will do the rest and make it their home bringing in what it needs.

The house needs to be throughly cleaned just once a year after hibernation so sometime in April weather permitting.

They are very easy to clean , first remove all the bedding and dispose of it in a bin or compost heap then give it a good clean on the inside.
Ensure you do this on a fairly warm sunny day and in the morning if possible you you can leave it open to dry off in the sun and have it back ready to use for your night time visitors.

If you are lucky enough to have a litter of babies living in your house it might also be advisable to give it a clean once the babies move on. But please don’t disturb them until they move on naturally or mum may abandon them.

Always ensure you lift the lid and check very carefully to make sure your house is not occupied before you start to clean it. If there is a hedgehog using it please leave it alone.
Please take a look at the pictures in our hedgehog house album at the top of our page for ideas.

Don’t worry you won’t need a mortgage to buy a hedgehog house , some are very reasonably priced or you could have a go at making your own.
You can do this with things you already have.
Bricks, pavers, roof tile, wood pile or an old recycling box!

Feeding stations.

Many of you may already have feeding stations and be regularly feeding your garden visitors which is fantastic , but for those that don’t this is a guide to setting up your very own hog diner.

A hedgehogs natural diet is mainly bugs and insects but due to falling numbers of these they can struggle to find adequate amounts of food to keep them strong and healthy , so by feeding them you are very much helping them thrive.

Hedgehogs in the wild will never be solely dependent on food provided by people but support feeding is doing exactly that and supporting them.

It is very simple to set up with a plastic storage box as a feeding station but you can however make them from other things you may have lying around like a wooden orange crate or a plastic tray and some bricks.

The key thing is to make sure the hole is big enough for a hedgehog to get in and out and has no sharp edges to scrape against.

If you have cats in the area that steal the food a feeding station may solve this problem.
A simple tunnel is sometimes needed with cunning cats, this can be done by placing a few bricks in front of the door with a big enough gap a hedgehog can squeeze around but a cat can not.

You can also use a wooden hedgehog house , just line it with news paper has they can be messy eaters and it makes cleaning up a lot easier.

Once you have your feeding station ready the next thing is what to put in it......

A shallow bowl of cat or dog meat is perfect , meat or poultry flavours are preferred and a bowl of cat biscuits to help keep their teeth clean.

Meat should be put into the feeding stations ideally just before dark to avoid daylight hours when flies are around. Flies also love meat and will quickly lay eggs in the meat before a hedgehog eats it which could be harmful.
Cat biscuits can be left out during the day has flies don’t seem interested in those so they are safe when the hedgehogs emerge later that night.

Clean water should always be available too but this can be left outside the feeding station in a shallow bowl so has not to take up space.
Providing water is vital has we (humans) have over the years taken away many natural water sources used by wildlife.

Strictly no milk or bread has hedgehogs are lactose intolerant !!!

Now place the feeding station in a quite sheltered spot preferably were you have seen hedgehogs in your garden with the food inside and wait.

It may take a little while for the hedgehogs to find the feeding station but once they do they ll be back regularly and if your very lucky nightly.

Feeding hedgehogs and providing water at any time of the year can be life saving for them so by setting up your hedgehog diner you definitely helping them and making their struggles to survive a little easier.

We have lots of ideas in our album "feeding stations" at the top of our Facebook page.

Day 6 (Go to Day 7)

What do hedgehogs eat.

-As part of their staple diet hedgehogs eat a wide range of insects in the garden including some that gardeners consider a pest.

- The best way to help is leave a wild area, make a wood pile plus compost heaps and bug hotels will all attract insects and allow the hedgehog to forage.

-You can help visiting hedgehogs by feeding them the correct type of food to supplement their diet.
Hedgehogs often really struggle to find enough food due to the known decline in insect populations over recent decades so food you provide in your garden can be a real lifeline for them.

-They enjoy cat biscuits and loaf or jelly tinned dog/cat food and of course a clean bowl of water is always welcomed by thirsty hogs.
Food with gravy can give hedgehogs upset stomachs which isn't very nice for them or you when it's in your garden.
If you do use gravy food you can drain most of it off.
Recent research also shows fish flavours have no effect on hedgehogs but they do prefer meaty ones.

-To keep cats from eating the food a simple to make feeding station is all you need like in the video, it also keeps the food dry in the rain.
(We'll be posting about feeding stations tomorrow.)
Start with leaving just the cat biscuits until the hedgehogs find the feeding station and are returning regularly for the food, this will save wasting meat which has to be disposed of the next day if not eaten.
Cat biscuits don’t attract flies and it doesn't go off in the heat so can be left if dry in a feeding station for a while until the hedgehogs discover them......once they do they’ll return like clockwork for a nightly meal.

- There are also a number of specific hedgehog foods you can use such as Brambles and Spikes.

-Meal worms are very bad for hedgehogs, they can develop metabolic bone disease from eating them ,even just a few on a regular basis can be harmful. It weakens bones and the poor hedgehog can be in a great deal of pain and easily break legs, unfortunately it is very hard to treat and usually the only option is to euthanize so the best rule of thumb is to avoid them completely.

- Milk is also a no no, hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and giving them milk will cause a very upset stomach and if they continue it will cause a slow a painful death. Water is all the need.

- Bread has no nutritional value at all so please do not feed them this.

- Peanuts can become trapped in the roof of the hedgehogs month, these along with sunflower hearts are very fatty so it's best to avoid them.

Hedgehogs are very good at getting themselves into trouble while in our gardens, so today is all about making our gardens safe and hedgehog friendly.

Pesticides and other garden chemicals are very dangerous for all wildlife. Use a wildlife friendly one or you can make your own.

Poison can be eaten by any wildlife that can access it, it can also cause secondary deaths if the poisoned animal or slug is then eaten by something else. There are a number of other ways you can stop unwanted garden pests such as slugs and snails that won't harm hedgdhogs, such as a beer trap.

Mouse or rat traps and glue mats: these can cause a slow, painful death to anything caught, using a humane trap is much safer.

Checking before strimming or clearing an area will stop any accidents, injuries and nests disturbances.

Hedgehogs love to nest in piles of wood or garden waste such as bonfires: moving the bonfire before lighting will save any hedgehog that is asleep inside.

Compost heaps: check before digging over as these are ideal places for a nest.

Ponds: hedgehogs can swim but they do need to be able to get out. Having a slope, ramp or rocks will allow them to do so.

Garden netting and game nets: remove them at night or raise them off the ground, this will stop hedgehogs becoming trapped and tangled.

Cover open drains and clear any rubbish: again this will stop them becoming trapped or injured.

Dogs: if you think your dog will pick up or harass a hedgehog you can keep your dog in once it gets dark or supervise while it is outside.

Rubbish: hedgehogs can become trapped or injured because of rubbish and some even use plastic to make nests.
Clear old plastic, metal and other rubbish from your garden to make it safer for all wildlife visitors.

Following these simple steps will help save a hedgehogs life.

If you'd like any advice on how you can make your garden safe we are here to help and answer any questions you have.

With restrictions easing we have now resumed our education talks.
These are very important to us as it allows us to educate everyone on the plight of the hedgehog and what part we can all play in saving them.
From opening up your garden to the dangers of pesticides.
We cater for any group and we have given talks to nursery classes, schools, cubs and also the WI.
These are free and we only ask for donation of items we use such as food or cleaning materials.

Christmas Fair - Sunday 27th November, 10am to 3 pm at Thorngumbald village hall.

07563-917914

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Holderness Hedgehog Hospital

Our mission - Rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned hedgehogs
in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire

What to do if you find a hedgehog
Our adoption pack
How you can help visiting hedgehogs
How to become a volunteer
News
Fundraising
Events
Contact us
Donate
Photo gallery

Holderness Hedgehog Hospital

Our mission - Rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned hedgehogs in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire

What to do if you find a hedgehog Our adoption pack How you can help visiting hedgehogs How to become a volunteer News Fundraising Events Contact us Donate Photo gallery

Our mission - Rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned hedgehogs
in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire

What to do if you find a hedgehog
Our adoption pack
How you can help visiting hedgehogs
How to become a volunteer
News
Fundraising
Events
Contact us
Donate
Photo gallery