European Hedgehog
(Erinaceus europaeus)
You might be aware of our long running series of “All About…” bird species, but we thought we’d mix it up a little this time. To celebrate our favourite spiked garden visitors returning fully rested after an especially bitter cold spell, we decided to bring you a comprehensive guide to all things Hedgehog: All About the Hedgehog.
Our native UK hedgehog is Erinaceus europaeus, which is one of seventeen species of hedgehogs. These different types are found in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, and have also been introduced in New Zealand.
Appearance
Hedgehogs are unmistakable with their pointy, snuffling snouts and spiky exterior – the spines of which are essentially hollow hairs stiffened by keratin. When a hedgehog instinctively rolls into a ball, this contortion sends the spines pointing outwards to create a spiked shield – it fully surrounds the softer fur around the head and belly to deter predation. An adult hedgehog typically reaches 23-25cm in length, and has a very short tail of only a few cm. A hedgehog’s legs are around 10cm – which is surprising considering how they seem to disappear beneath their bodies, but less surprising when you see how fast they can move!
Habitat
During the twilight hours and deep darkness of the night, hedgehogs can travel miles, looking for a mate or rooting through hedges and undergrowth in the search for food including insects, worms and snails. Lack of sightings could partially be due to their nocturnal activities not aligning with our own typically diurnal society.
Typical habitat for hedgehogs is woodland – with hedgerows and overgrown areas of our traditional British countryside providing suitable shelter for them. Sadly, with the proliferation of urban development, this natural habitat is diminishing, which has meant that the need for hedgehog homes has increased over the years. These provide a place of safety for hedgehogs in our own gardens.
According to The Guardian, “More than half of people surveyed had never seen a hedgehog.” While this research is potentially skewed by how the survey was conducted, and whether in an urban or rural populace, it remains an unmistakably shocking finding. In fact, studies reveal there are only about one million Erinaceus europaeus left in the UK.
Breeding
Hedgehogs roam far and wide – up to two miles a night – in search of a mate. As you’d expect, when it comes down to it, the actual mating process requires some careful consideration. It involves the female lying down with her belly flat to the ground, as she flattens her spines to allow for the male to mount from behind. Without this careful arrangement of spines and particular positioning of bodies, it’s essentially impossible for mating to occur.
Most baby hedgehogs are born in June and July, with an average litter size of four or five young, of which two or three are usually weaned successfully. The mother is liable to desert or even eat the young if she is disturbed. Young hedgehogs will leave the nest when they are around three to four weeks old to go on foraging trips with their mother. After around ten days of foraging with their mother the young will wander off on their own.
Females are capable of having a second litter in late September or October but these young are unlikely to survive the winter. In Britain it is thought unlikely that female hedgehogs ever manage to successfully rear two litters in a season as the young from the second litter are unable to put on enough weight to survive hibernation. These late litters can lead to ‘autumn orphans’ still foraging around well into winter sometimes in the day time and often looking underweight.
Diet
Hedgehogs especially enjoy snacking on earthworms, caterpillars and beetles, however you can supplement their diet with specially formulated hedgehog food – available in crunchy or semi-moist varieties – see our top picks at the end of this article.
Hedgehogs are often thought of as big slug eaters, but they actually eat very few slugs. In fact, slugs could give them lungworm, so they’re generally eaten as a last resort. If you’re looking to keep those pesky slugs at bay, you might want to look elsewhere.
Hibernation
While we have discussed hibernation in our other hedgehog articles, we couldn’t publish a feature entitled: “All About the Hedgehog” without touching upon this yearly phenomenon.
Hedgehogs start to prepare for hibernation as early as mid-October, however it is not unusual for some to delay hibernating until as late as Christmas. You might also be surprised to discover that most hedgehogs will emerge from hibernation for a few days at a time during the winter months to feed and replenish their supplies. Contrary to popular belief, they do not enter a constant state of hibernation.
Due to mild winter and urban sprawl, typical hibernation habits are affected – hedgehogs are coming out of hibernation earlier than ever before, or not hibernating at all. Typically, hedgehogs return to their active lifestyle at the beginning of spring, however we are increasingly seeing fluctuations in this schedule.
If you want to know more about hedgehogs hibernating click here.
Try Our Interactive Hedgehog
Sources:
- Wildlife Trust
- People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)
Thanks to ‘Hedgehog Bottom Clinic’ for their help
When I was young, we always had hedgehogs in our garden. Sadly, we have not seen, or heard, a hedgehog for over 20 years. Such a shame!
Very informative. Thank you, especially for the audio, so glad of that. If you could do it for birds too it would be great to hear them. I once heard 2 hedgehogs mating , what a noise, sounded like a Roman orgy. Haven’t seen one in years sadly, they used to be about here in my semi rural spot.
Pat
I used to hear hedgehogs mating every year – yes high pitched squeals – that was near Bristol back in the seventies. I now live in a secluded area with a three acre garden near to a forest – I regularly see hedgehogs in the garden – usually around dusk – last encounter was a female with two young.
Probably along with the majority, I have not seen a hedgehog, alive or dead (years ago it was almost a certainty to see one having been run over) for more years than I care to remember.
However, the hoops one has to jump through to acquire a hedgehog or two is somewhat onerous.
Indeed, I contacted a ‘rescue’ place and pretty much was given the third degree so far as taking a hedgehog in was concerned. Such were their requirements, I felt it was nigh on impossible to adopt and offer a home with an appropriate environment. This was despite the fact our setting met the criteria.
Questions such as ‘have you seen a hedgehog’ amazed me when especially they are nocturnal and I ‘m not!
Can only hope Mr/Mrs Hedgehog finds his/her way to us of their own accord.
Paul, the question they asked of “Have you seen a Hedgehog?” should have really been, “Have you seen a Hedgehog in your garden recently?”
Are you aware of any Badgers in your area, if so, it is highly unlikely that you will see a Hedgehog as Badger can, unfortunately, open one up when curled.
For many years, I cared for hedgehogs which had the misfortune to be around during the day and underweight.
My friend and I cared for a Hedgehog which became a non-returnable (our vet recommended this) and she, Hettie, survived four and a half years with us, living indoors in a specially designed run, made by myself. She was a pleasure to look after and was classified as a pet, so we had to pay for her vet care. Had she been classified as a wild animal and returned to the wild after their care, the vet fees should have been free.
If I could look after another, I would not hesitate, such wonderful animals. And living indoors, there was no smell and she was kept as clean as possible. She even made a hibernaculum in her special run, a joy to watch her build it.
Sadly, Hettie had to be put to sleep as she had developed a cancerous tumour – such an awful illness to be bestowed on such a beautiful animal.
Vets do not have to treat wildlife for free and I would suggest the vet who told you you could keep a wild hog may have seen a way to make some extra cash.
Rescues do not recommend and in fact would, in many cases, refuse point blank to allow you to keep a wild animal indoors as a pet. The stress issues this can cause are immense for the animal that normally avoids humans lilke the plague. They then develop diseases they wouldn’t otherwise get if left wild.
We have a resident mum and two autumn-born youngsters living in our hedgehog house. They kept coming out in the evenings, so I have left dried food out all winter and someone came for some last night. The longest nobody came for food was last week when it was very cold and snowy, so they definitely don’t hibernate all winter!
I get lots of them in my garden (up to four adults at a time) and when we have the patio doors open, we sometimes struggle to hear the TV above the snorting and squealing of the mating rituals! The face to face standoffs of the males are hilarious to watch and sometimes as one male is feeding another will rush in and tip him up! I can’t wait for the new season and will set up my night cam to see if they are up and require regular feeding.
Interesting article! We have hedgehogs coming into our garden in Devon. Unfortunately, last year one was killed on our quiet village road – I just wish people would slow down! Last night at around 7:30pm we saw another hedgehog in our garden and it was eating the fallen bits of bird food under our feeders. We put out some hedgehog food which we had stored from last year and it was all gone this morning – I just hope that it was eaten by the hedgehog and not our neighbours cat!! It’s unfortunate that the ground is still frozen from all the snow, thus making it more difficult for hedgehogs to dig for worms – I hope they will survive!
Hi just read your comments regarding the possibility of cats eating the food.I had the same problem as I have 2 cats and solved it by buying 2 plastic storage containers and cutting a 4inch by 4 inch opening in the front .That stopped the cats from scoffing the meaty food and biscuits that I put in there with a dish of water.
We used to get hedgehogs in the garden on a regular basis – sadly no longer the case – my husband has made a lovely hedgehog house – we check carefully in the hope
that someone has disturbed the ‘furnishings’ or moved in –
As someone else has mentioned ‘death on the road’ – we live on a busy road and we have a small wood close by – I haven’t seen a fatality for about 18 months –
a morbid way of establishing whether or not a hedgehog community exists –
I have an ample supply of slugs that are all sizes and ‘flavours’ – just no-one to come and dine
Informative articles like this do a lot to promote the welfare of the wild hedgehog. I would like to add some comments to help those kind enough to look out for the spiky ones. If you see a hedgehog out at night from around late October to March, and it weighs less than 650g, it is likely to be an autumn juvenile and won’t survive the winter UNLESS you rescue it and take it to your local rescue (try British Hedgehog Preservation Society or contact your local vet for details – best to be prepared and find out details before you need them). Beetles, not slugs, are what hedgehog likes. As it gets colder in late October, beetles vanish and hedgehogs will eat slugs and earthworms if they can’t find anything else. This diet increases their internal parasite burden (lungworm and roundworm) which can kill them. Leaving out hedgehog or cat biscuits throughout the winter will help avoid this. Plastic feeders can keep cats away from hoggy’s food – lots of ideas on line for these, for example, Willows Hedgehog Rescue and Hedgehog Bottom (both hedgehog rescues and charities). Rescues will only release hedgehogs where there are other hedgehogs. However, if you do not have hoggy visitors but can make your garden enclosed so nothing can get in or out (semi-wild garden is best) then a rescue might let you have a hedgehog that cannot be returned to the wild because it is blind or has other medical problems. Heathcliff Hedgehog from Little Silver Hedgehog Rescue is one such hoggy.
Well done on spreading the news about our spikey friends who are declining in number. Can’t wait for them to wake up so I can start filming them overnight again. We have already done a big order from so have lots of hedgehog food ready for when they wake up! We also have a few hedgehog houses in our garden. If you have any spare hedgehog food or give donations of hedgehog food to charity, please consider Medway Hedgehog Rescue (on facebook) who run completely on donations. They currently have Timmy, a 3-legged hedgehog who we rescued from my parents garden with an infected leg. He has his leg removed by a vet and has been with Medway Hedgehog rescue since December. He is now fit and heathy and weighs 1kg and is ready for release in the warmer weather! He is also chipped! Hedgehogs are lovely creatures and deserve to be saved from extinction. I’ve attached a photo of Barney, one of our wild European hedgehogs who visits our garden for food, water and to sleep.
There’s quite a gang of hedgehogs in my Mother’s Norfolk garden, and we can watch them from the conservatory. They eat fallen sunflower hearts from the bird feeders, but we also leave out kitten chicken food for them as well as supply of fresh water. However, we still seem to have loads of slugs in the garden! Amazing how fast they move around.
Last year we had three in our suburban garden but only one came every day. The other popped in from time to time! I was so excited. We haven’t seen on in the garden for three years until last year. ‘He’ doesn’t seem to use the hedgehog house we have in the garden. How can we lure ‘him’ in?
I had two hedgehogs in my garden around Sept/Oct. 2016 eating bird food so I put cat food out for them and made a nest back of a holly bush from a broken rat trap. The following spring we had THREE which included a baby. Two disappeared and I bought hedgehog food and put it in a dish in the “bird cage” that keeps larger birds and cats out. Saw “Hector” quite often, but also had a young rat so I wasn’t sure who was eating the food. I put piles of leaves by the holly bush so I hope Hector hibernated and has survived the awful winter, the rat didn’t as it was dead on my garden during the cold spell. Hector did come out before Christmas in deep snow looking for food as there was a trail from back of the holly to the bird cage. I also had two redwings in the garden during the snow eating the berries off the holly. I live in a residential area of a big city and usually only have sparrows, blue tits, robin, magpies, pigeons (of course) and a pair of jackdaws, never seen a redwing before.
Because slugs and snails here in UK are predominantly infected with the lung worm parasite which causes pneumonia and a slow horrible death in any hedgehogs unfortunate enough to have eaten any infected gastropods it is recomended to put a dish of food out all year round for them. Good quality cat food is perfect.
Hedgehog (and bird, for that matter) vital statistics in inches would be nice – so much better than guessing (or imagining).
I love hedgehogs too. I was blessed to visit a hedgehog sanctuary while on holiday. One of the hedgehogs had recently had babies and l was able to hold one in my hand and give his tummy a little tickle. Oooh so soft. I didnt want to leave. Lovely card
How wonderful! I’ve just read your hedgehog post, Jessie. Hedgehogs out on summer early evenings may or may not be OK, but if you see them in the late autumn then it’s definitely code red! Very sadly, we had two little ones on our lawn the first year we lived here. They were called ‘autumn juveniles’ according to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, and they are really in trouble. They get born late and then can’t get big enough to hibernate. I fed ours some meal worms, which they ate, and then took them to a wildlife centre but sadly they both died. I hope your Tiggy lives and flourishes and deals with all those beastly slugs for many years to come.
We have 4 and sometimes more in our garden at mating time.they eat us out of house and home during the summer but I don’t mind as they need help. The more hedgehogs the better!
I am lucky enough to see hedgehogs in my garden every evening as many as 4 seen at the same time. I leave out food and water for them every evening and will continue to do so until usually Christmas or until the food is no longer taken.
I have been feeding a visiting hh or two every night but they don’t use the hh house. I am concerned that when I’m away for a few days they will leave and not come back as there will be no one to put food out.
Hi Margaret, I had this same concern a couple of weeks ago before going away – but they still visit every night since! I wouldn’t worry. Seeing as hedgehogs can wander up to 2 miles a night for food, they’re likely to wander back to your garden on their rounds if that’s one of their stops! The hedgehog house is a good back-up for if they need it, but they might currently have a safe spot to rest that they’re familiar with. It still may attract other hedgehogs who need a place to stay!
Thanks Andrew, I feel a bit happier knowing that, I would hate to lose them and hopefully the hh house will be used someday.
You’re welcome :) Feel free to keep us updated!
I have two hedge hogs in my garden, they have got some young ones but not sure how many, I think at least three or four young ones. They are under my shed and come out every night to eat some food I put out for them. It’s amazing to see how they can climb things like steps to get around the garden.
How lucky you are, I haven’t seen any young ones yet but live in hope, enjoy.
Hedgehogs are still coming every night, not ready to hibernate yet it seems. The past few nights there has been a much smaller one coming. Could this be from a late litter and is it likely to survive the winter I wonder. I will keep putting food out and hope it’s ok. Anyone any thoughts ? .
My hogs don’t seem ready to hibernate yet, maybe because of the mild weather. This past week my night camera has picked up a much smaller hog, I’m wondering if it’s from a later litter and if it will survive. It’s seems happy enough, moves quite quickly round the garden and in and out of feeding station. Anyone any thoughts?.
It’s nearly the end of November and hh is still coming. Food hadn’t been touched for a couple of nights but I left it just Incase and now it’s back again. Should I leave food out or am I keeping hh awake by the smell of food ?.
The commercial hedgehog box shown is not good if using has a feeding station cats can get in and it is to small for a nest box speaking has a professional zoologist