Kitchen Garden Forum

Clearing the area in front of the compost heap to get last years out when spotted this hedgehog right where I was about to move the slab and leaves.
It is alive as it shuffled a bit when my wife was having a look.
Guess I'll have to do compost another day.

Good job you spotted it in time!!

MikeA i usually leave the compost undisturbed at this time of the year, snakes and slow worms sometimes nest in mine, the heat from the compost makes a neat incubator.

We had the garden redone last autumn and the main wooden heap is full and needs emptying and the 2 plastic ones we collect in are both overflowing. I've not seen any snakes here and it was 10 years ago we last saw a slow worm so it should be ok.

We just went out and the hedgehog was waking up and shuffling but it was also making a coughing noise. I've never heard this before. Perhaps somebody knows if this is normal

MikA, hedgehogs do snuffle and snort when moving about (could the "hog" part of the name come from this similarity to a pig's noise?), so he/she was probably just making a normal noise. When excited, the snorting becomes really loud.

Thanks Monica,

I'll keep an ear open for more.

MikA

Found this about coughing hedgehogs -

Lung worm is a parasite that occurs naturally in hedgehogs but, in a healthy hog, it will be kept to a manageable level. It is when the hedgehog's immunity is low - due to disease, injury, or dangerous weight loss - that the lung worm will take hold. Lung worm can be fatal if it gets out of control and goes untreated. The surest sign of lung worm is coughing - but it is not always easy to distinguish hedgehog coughing from other noises it may make.

Hi MikA,
There is no reason why you should not lift the Hedgehog out of the way and carry on with what you are doing. This is what happens here and they come to no harm.
JB.

Diane,

I read about lungworm and it is quite worrying for dogs as well. It is quite likely to be the parasite as it definitely was more like a smokers cough than snuffling. It was also interesting to find out that hedgehogs don't predominantly eat slugs and snails. These are in fact the carriers of the parasite.
It was still in the garden today, witnessed by a huge pile of leaves behind the greenhouse (if it was the same one). Ttomorrow night we will try and listen for any coughing and ask the local hedgehog centre for advice.

Johnboy It looked so peaceful under its' pile of leaves.

Hi MikA,
The Aaaaagh factor comes to the rescue
JB.

I think the severe winter has killed off all our local hedgehogs. I regularly saw five or six every night last year and haven't seen one this year. I hope there are still some around.

Good News

Just seen the hedgehog walking around the patio hoovering up the left over suet logs we feed to the blackbirds. Must try putting a few out late evening after the birds have gone to bed.

First time ever seen one walking around.

Often hedgehogs out during the day aren't the fittest and it can be a sign of illness.

glallotments wrote:Often hedgehogs out during the day aren't the fittest and it can be a sign of illness.

This was after 10 when it was getting quite dark

Update on our visiting hedgehog.

Found a lovely site http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/search.php?search=1

Decided to put a few suet logs out for it with a dish of water. At 10.30 p.m 3 nights ago it came and ate the lot. 2 nights ago night no hedgehog but it came again last night at the same time.

I think we shall try to provide proper hedgehog food in a feeding station so off to the local pet shop