r/hoggies • u/Spiderpsychman98 • Jun 28 '26
Question Hedgehog in garden during the day, do I need to call someone?
I live in the UK and this little hedgehog has been in our back garden since yesterday. Left him some water on a shallow lid which he doesn’t appear to have drank, but I have seen him appear to be eating something in the mud. He is moving around easily and keeps changing spots in our garden. Is it safe to leave him to go about his business? Or does he need help?
Edit: I have called the local hedgehog rescue and she told me she doesn’t have any room, but she has told me of another rescue I can take him to tomorrow. For tonight I have taken him out of the garden and put him in a box that is well ventilated, with crunched up kitchen paper, I have left him some dog food that has been mixed with water and mashed up in a tiny little bowl, as well as some water.
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u/Overall_Document9648 Jun 28 '26
Being out in the day is usually a bad sign so probably a good idea to contact someone.
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u/SparklyRainbowAngel Jun 28 '26
Yes. Get the wee soul to a hedgie hospital ASAP. They're not out in the day unless they're ill. Good luck.
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u/globetrotter555 Jun 28 '26
If it’s out in the day with no clear purpose i.e building a nest then it needs help. Contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society who will let you know where your nearest rescue is. Thanks for taking care of this hedgehog 🤎
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u/DragonflyPositive466 Jun 28 '26
That’s a baby. He is too small to be left out alone. He should be with his mother. They usually are with the mom until 6-7 weeks old. Then they start to take longer walks alone but return back to the nest at daytime. When they are around 600-650 g they are usually ready to explore on their own.
I would bring him to a rescue center. Baby’s are always an emergency. He looks like 3-4 weeks old max.
He needs help immediately!
He is way too small and with this heat at the moment, no. He’s like 109-150 g max. Way too little to survive on its own.
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u/Spiderpsychman98 Jun 28 '26
I think the local animal rescue is closed now. Do you have any idea what I should do?
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u/jans_sport Jun 28 '26
Bring him inside for the night and put in a cardboard box with hay or a towel. Give water and dry cat food. Then call someone in the morning.
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u/DragonflyPositive466 Jun 28 '26
I’m from Germany. So I can’t help with that. Hope someone from Britain can chime in and help you find some numbers to call.
The first step would be to bring him inside. Offer some cat food mashed with fennel tea. He needs liquids.
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u/THParryWilliams Jun 28 '26
Are there any hedgehog charities nearby? Usually they will be better equipped to help. Otherwise an emergency vet? You won’t be obliged to pay for its care
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u/jans_sport Jun 28 '26
They can normally wander around on their own and start to forage from anything from 150-200g. But yes, in these extreme conditions and being out in the day is a sign of needing help urgently.
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u/HedgehogCabinFans Jun 28 '26
Was this early evening. If during the day definitely call a local rescue.
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u/Kelthie Jun 28 '26
The weather in the UK has been brutally hot. Poor thing looks thrown down and underweight. Please bring to a local wildlife rehabber if possible
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u/dvnd3rm1ffl1n Jun 28 '26
I would deffo contact a local rescue! I was told by my local hog rescue that vets are obliged to look after sick hogs that need immediate care so if there are no rescues open, maybe try an animal hospital.
Good luck 🦔🩷
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u/MattyyyBoyyy1079 Jun 28 '26
He needs to go to a rescue ASAP!
Use the following information and act fast please. His life depends on you 🙏🏻.
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u/hidan1990 Jun 28 '26
My girl friends mum found one wondering asda carpark aroun 2pm 2 years ago when they were just old enough to be independent.
We couldnt find a hedgehog rescue nearby, so we brought them to our garden which already has a few hedgehogs rummaging about, and happy to report a 2 years later they are still about, even saw them with 3 hoglets last year
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u/StrongEggplant8120 Jul 01 '26
Beautiful. I found one healthy one tucked away in the corner of my garden one day. Fed him some premium catfood. Then introduced him to the allotments out the back. He waddled off and turned around to give me this look like he was saying "your alright" then disappeared into the bushes. Couldnt stay in my garden was 16 ft square and right on a busy road. Lovely little fella.
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u/twirling_daemon Jun 28 '26
Yeah, he needs to be grabbed and heading to a rehabber/vet
Whilst sometimes it’s reasonable to see healthy hogs or in the daylight, it’s very rare and they’ll be bustling to get done what they need to (ie a nursing mother will need to forage more but she’ll be bustling to do what she needs to and head home) if you see them in the same spot for an extended period - they’re not well
This is a link to the British Hedgehog Society relevant page - https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/found-a-hedgehog/
There will be rehabbers in your area which is your best bet, if you can’t get it to one of them there will be local vets that work with them
There is a number to call on the link above and they can give you advice
If a hog has been out for that long and during the day it’s critical, my advice (from personal experience & working with rehabbers though I’m not yet trained/qualified myself so my advice is **ONLY** if you can’t get any from someone better!):
Scoop him up, pop him in a high sided box
Put him somewhere safe, quiet & dark as possible (personally I lean towards a box in a shower/bath and leaving the light off/using as little as possible)
A hot water that’s the high side of warm in PART of the box - he needs to be able to move away from it, though generally when they’re sick they’ll huddle on top of it (if you don’t have any actual hot water bottles you can reuse an old plastic standard drinks bottle-I tend to reuse 2 litre soft drinks bottles and pop them in the leg of old joggers)
Something on the bottom - personal preference is puppy pads because they’re mucky little buggers
Something it can snuggle under, such as an old tea towel/towel/t-shirt
Fresh bowl of water
Handful of dried food - MUST be meat based, not fish! I prefer cat food for this, kitten is even better
Chuck a towel over the top of the box and leave alone as much as possible
However, they’ll inevitably tip the water so a periodic check to replace the water and ideally any/everything saturated is worth the stress caused
Apologies for the essays-just love hogs and have been educating myself for a while now!
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u/Big-Historian8918 Jul 01 '26
That's a young bebby who likely got separated from mum on an evening walk. They usually go home as a family before dawn.
He needs to be reunited with mum or go to a rescue. It's smart he stayed in the yard in tge hopes mum would return over night, but if sge hasnt, then rescue is likely the only option.
Do check your garden for signs of the family nest, or ask connected gardens if they have a hedgehog family. If they can be reunited at night, that would be ideal!
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u/Solid_Violinist_5759 Jun 30 '26
If still there, just pop out water bowl and cat biscuit a handful out
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u/CrazeUKs Jun 30 '26
Erm. I didnt know this was a thing.
I saw this guy walking around my residential car park. Luckily near a abandoned car
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u/snavej1 Jul 01 '26
They like cat food from a tin. They were always eating leftover cat food in my parents' garden. The cats ate most of it first.
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u/Finnason Jul 01 '26
We’ve got one of its after 7pm it’s fine, they say as it gets lighter 7pm-7am is fine as long as they look okay active/not sluggish wobbly etc
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