To house a hedgehog - Forth Hedgehog Hospital

Tonight we received our new hedgehog, Daisy.

Daisy was very underweight when found last autumn but thanks to the commitment of Nadia of the Forth Hedgehog Hospital she now weighs more than a kilogram. I want to draw attention to the work of the hospital does, and the easy steps we can take to help reverse the serious decline of our hedgehogs before they vanish from the UK completely.

Nadia's hospital is a registered charity in Rosyth, Fife. This winter it rehabilitated twenty-one hedgehogs, including Daffodil - blind in one eye, found outside, in daytime, in our garden last autumn. Daffodil is now strong and fit and regularly returning to Nadia's garden.

If you've found a hog in Fife you can phone Nadia for advice. If you're not in Fife, Google "found a hedgehog" and you'll see lots and lots of info and people to contact.



If you have a garden, or know someone who does, PLEASE:

- leave some long grass, log piles, wilder patches.

- DON'T STRIM, MOW, BURN, SPRAY without first checking for hogs (and frogs, toads, nesting birds, moths, etc)

- consider building or buying a hog box.

- don't put up fencing that prevents all entry and exit - leave a few small gaps at the bottom or cut a hole or two.

- put a plank or shallow sloped edge  in your pond to save hogs from drowning.

- consider putting out cat food each night.

- put out a shallow basin of water for drinking.

- look at this link to see why these things matter - www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/endangered.php.

- Please share this post and encourage others to help.



Some links:

Figures are variable but all agree that hedgehogs in the UK are in serious decline - 30% or more have gone since 2002. Please please take a few minutes to read the links below. It's so easy to do little things that can really help.

How many are left? - www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/how-many-are-left-.html

Found a hedgehog? Should you do something? - www.hedgehoghospital.org.uk/when-to-call.html

Buy or build a box? - www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/houses.php

Please click 'like' on Forth Hedgehog Centre's Facebook page. Please do consider supporting your local hog rescue centre. Help needn't always be financial - cat food, bedding material, hog boxes may be just as welcome.

Please have a look at the Hedgehog Street campaign - www.hedgehogstreet.org



Building a home for Daisy:

There are lots of options for building or buying a hog home but please go for practical rather than too slick or gimicky: if you build your own, for example, a hog probably won't go near it if it's been painted or preserved or built from treated wood.

Here's mine, following the excellent advice at www.hedgehog-rescue.org.uk/houses.php.

And Daisy being given the key.

Thank you for helping.

Good night Daisy.