It’s time to hibernate, Hedgehog!
As swiftly as this year has gone, swiftly comes the time for our hedgehogs to scurry away and find a place to sleep for the winter. Known as hibernation, a Latin term which literally means “to pass the winter”, it is common practice for a number of different mammals to stow away for a cosy nap due to the scarcity of food over the winter months. This behaviour is critical for survival, and during hibernation extraordinary changes occur within the body of hedgehogs: breathing rates slow down, body temperature drops, and metabolic patterns adapt to the colder environment.
This relatively simple coping method allows hedgehogs to just shut down. In the lead up to hibernation, it is essential that hedgehogs fatten up and put as much weight as possible so that over winter there is a large store of energy upon which to call for the body to keep running.
It’s incredible to note that hedgehogs stop being warm blooded creatures, as this state often uses up too much energy. A comfortable surrounding temperature for hedgehogs to hibernate effectively is around 5 degrees, and freezing conditions must be avoided.
When do hedgehogs hibernate?
Hedgehogs begin their hibernation process in mid-October to mid-November. However, it is entirely possible that some hedgehogs may stay “awake” as late as Christmas should enough food be placed out for them, or if they haven’t managed to accumulate enough fat reserves prior to their usual time of hibernation. You’ll also find that most hedgehogs get up for a few days at a time over the winter period to feed – they do not enter a continuous state of hibernation.
There are a number of ways in which you can help hedgehogs over the winter period, including suitable habitats and homes like the one highlighted below. Also, by having a patch of garden or small area with dense undergrowth and a variety of scattered leaves and lengthy grass, you’ll help them to find comfort.
What to feed your hedgehog before hibernation?
The most critical thing a hedgehog can do prior to its slumber is create a pool of bodily fat reserves. Not being fussy eaters, hedgehogs can live off a variety of different insects, slugs, mice and even fruit; so, plenty of rich pickings in the average garden. To complement this, however, you can help by putting out either meat-based cat or dog food, or a variety of sunflower hearts and mealworms (dried); and even as a treat, a little bit of cake!. There’s also a range of specially-created hedgehog food from companies like Spike’s, whose choices include dry, meaty and semi-moist food (see below).
Leave out a dish of fresh water for your hogs, and make sure you keep it clean. Importantly, hedgehogs are completely lactose intolerant, so never put out milk, as this will certainly do more harm than good.
Semi-Moist Hedgehog Food
Encourage hedgehogs of all ages to your garden with Spike’s Tasty Semi-Moist Food.
Meaty Hedgehog Food
A moist and meaty hedgehog feast that can be fed on its own or combined with our Hedgehog Food or the Spike’s Delicious Crunchy Dry Food.
Crunchy Dry Hedgehog Food
A delicious and nutritious combination of chicken-based ingredients designed to supplement a hedgehog’s natural daily diet.
Igloo Hedgehog Home
The Hogitat features a sturdy, coated steel frame with a water-resistant felt roof and natural brushwood finish. It’s designed to blend into your garden.
As the nights draw in and we find ourselves increasingly driving in the dark, think hedgehog…..keep an eye out for movement in or at the side of roads (obviously driving safely yourself) particularly on windy roads when you can’t see round the bends, slow down (safely), give them space (safely), give them a chance! It is a privilege to see one alive, so enjoy that privilege, think hedgehog!
Hi Deb,
Great advice. Thanks for the comment.
Please do not put out whole peanuts, these get stuck in the roof if the hedgehogs mouth and render them unable to eat. Whole peanuts also kill young birds as they choke on them. Humans kill far more young song birds this way than any raptor!
As I feed hedgehogs in my garden I was glad for this bit of extra information. I have a hedgehog house like the one in the picture but no hogs have used it yet. Maybe im not putting it in the right place for them.
Great article. We have 7 hedgehog houses in our garden. We have just had a little hoglet Henry stay in our garden for the first time (his mum visits every night). He has left his mum and has set up house in one of our hog houses. As he is very little (only born in September) we are going to have to bring him indoors to fatten him up for the Winter. Hopefully we can get him up to 650g and be able to release him into our garden before it gets too cold so he can hibernate over Winter. We did this with 4 hoglets last year and they all survived. They loved their indoor wheel for exercise! Beautiful animals! I have attached a picture of Barney for your amusement.
How did you go about managing fattening them up logistically. Did you create a sort of pen with a house in it? What’s the wheel they used from exercise? We had some late hog let still out a week ago needing fattening up. Any tips would be great. Thanks in advance. :)
thankyou for this information as i feed all the animals in my garden as animals are my first love ( not people ) birds foxes squirrels ect.i do put dog food out at night and extra sunflower hearts but dont know if the hedgehogs eat it as well as the foxes i hope so as was excited to have seen 2 recently in my garden.
I have 4 hedgehogs in my garden in Bournemouth, I have eating and sleeping boxes for them.
I have a family of three visiting my garden each night, mum and two young and I have gradually seen them gaining weight over the months with a diet of live mealworms, sunflower hearts mixed with dried mealworms, peanut granules and special dried hedgehog mix, chicken pate cat food and always a bowl of water nearby. I haven’t been able to get a picture of all three of them together yet but here is one of the two youngsters.
At the moment I have only one small hedgehog visits my front lawn (next door to the park). My lawn has a fir tree surrounded by Christmas roses and other foliage. There are two “bedrooms” and two “eateries”. The meal worms and Spike which are left out overnight get well eaten, but nobody stays to sleep. How can I encourage someone to take residence?
We have up to six or seven hedgehogs which visit for their supper each evening and we watch them on our Nature Cam. They enjoy sunflower hearts, peanuts, mealworms, and Spike hedgehog food. I was also told to put out suet pellets, to help fatten them up before their hibernation. I absolutely love them and think we are so lucky to have so many. There are signs that they are already occupying the hedgehog house which my husband made for them. I think we shall have to make some more !
I was feeding a couple of hedgehogs in my garden earlier in the summer but sadly I found a dead one one morning which had been eaten either by a fox or maybe a badger so I haven’t put food out since. We get at least one fox frequenting our garden every night.
I live on Exmoor. Very wild and remote but we have a family of hedgehogs who come for food every night and we have built them a sleepover house. We try to protect them as much as possible but the biggest problem is the badgers. They destroy everything.
I saw one hedgehog last year and was amused to hear him/her happily grunting contentedly while munching probably some dropped bird food. No sign of him/her this year but wonder if setting up 3 cat scarer devices to ward off a black cat might have also scared off the Hedgehog?
I’d like to put out food for hedgehogs but I’m worried it’ll attract mice and rats. Any tips?
The only way we have been successful in stopping rats attracted by the hedgehogs’ food is to make a largish rectangular wooden lidded box as a feeding station. My husband made a wooden hinged ‘cat flap’ on one side leading inside to a baffle leading to an archway into the main part. Amazingly the hedgehogs had no problem pushing through the flap and it has worked a treat. We have a camera sited inside the box. I did get the idea from a blogger on another site somewhere.
We have a family of hedgehogs in our garden two adults two juveniles and two youngsters. I put dried mealworms and cat food out for them. There is always bowls with plenty of water for them to drink as we have three cats who amazingly just sit and watch them. We think they are living under my shed. One of the juveniles eats mealworms out of my hand. Beautiful and amazing little creatures.
I have lived in my house for 16 years and have a decent sized garden. Unfortunately I have never seen a hedghog in it. I would love to as they are adorable. Why?
We have three hedgehogs in our garden. They visit nightly and I feed them Spike dry food, a variety of meaty cat food and dried mealworms. One sunny day a couple of weeks ago my husband said cheerfully, “One of your hedgehogs has been sunning himself all morning.” Fortunately we have a brilliant wild animal sanctuary about 3 miles away (Foxy Lodge, Hemsby) so I immediately picked up the hedgehog and took it there. I posted the story on Facebook and had replies from several people who, like my husband, did not know that to see a hedgehog out in daylight is bad news. There is something wrong with it. The last report I had was that this one is a fighter and steadily improving so everything’s still crossed and I hope to have him back soon. The other two seem fine. Thank you Babs for the tip about suet pellets pre hibernation. I’ll be including them from tonight.
My garden is fenced all round but in spite of that I’ve twice seen a hedgehog wandering up the path. I got all excited and rushed and bought a hog house, hay and food. Never seen it since but the food is gone every morning.
How lovely to hear from so many folk who have regular visitors. Mine come and go, Often weeks with nothing and then they are back again. I do wish they would take advantage of their hogitat though. how does one encourage them to do so ?
Those who do not get hogs might try making a small gap at the base of their fences. Hogs travel long distances and being able to move from garden to garden is very helpful – and safer for them
Also do watch for hogs when lighting bonfires – many are kiled because they are sleeping inside
I READ MANY POSTS ON THIS SITE I AM SO GLAD PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF THE ANIMALS. I do wish we had hedgehogs in New York State USA we have so many grubs and all kinds of worms it is unreal. I wonder why they are not native to USA.
I’ve seen four hedghogs on the trail camera in our garden, all feeding round a bowl at of meal worms at once. it’s now mid October and the food I leave out is getting eaten far less than two weeks ago maybe some of them have already hibernated.
I did’nt know anything about how to look after them until i saw one in my garden now i put food and water out every night even made it a box because i was getting a bit upset cause cats was eating its food
I began with 2 large hedgehogs (mum & dad) with 2 young. One of the youngsters, who I named Frankie, took up residence in my front garden under a bushy tree & I fed him every night on cat biscuits, crumbled cheddar biscuits, occasional bacon rind, banana and chicken. All these very greedily gobbled up. I think he has hibernated now but he introduced me to his girlfriend before he went and she is very petite so I’m working on fattening her up for possible hibernation. I love watching them.
I’m so lucky as I live on an estate and because like many other people ( I prefer animals to humans !!), and so put out dried cat meat for the ‘hogs’ as I, growing up at my mums used to hear them snuffling and crunching. Even though I live on this estate, every night I have a regular 3 to 5 ‘hogs’ and it’s so funny to see them with a bowl balanced on their heads eating away and it makes my heart so happy…. Thank goodness that there are others like me and for the advice for making a den/home.
Since October I have been having regular visiting hedgehogs in my garden. I place a cat litter cover on my patio, faced it toward the window, put some cat food in a dish and made a feeding station. The hedgehogs approx 3 or 4 came back every night. I decided to make the station more comfortable and placed hay inside. It’s now Xmas day and I have had a hedgehog sleeping in there for a week or more. Other hogs visit the ‘cafe’ but only the one stays all night. He wakes to feed but then goes back to sleep again. I can’t decide if he is hybernating or just building up his fat reserves ready??
I have been leaving chopped up peanuts and apple in my garden for many years. Sometimes dog food. I have rescued a few that were in imminent danger on roadways and brought them home to my garden. I found a nest in my shed, which has a dog door, soon after rescueing one, right in the path of an oncoming car in darkness, who appeared to be pregnant. They have been noticeably present ever since. They are a Joy. M.
Please stop feeding mealworms to hedgehogs. They have high phosphate levels that deplete the hedgehogs calcium levels and reduces the strength of their bones.
I have two hedgehogs come into my garden every evening as I feed them ,when I opened my backdoor tonight there was a very small one eating will it put on weight to hybernate for the winter ,
This one is still visiting, even came down the garden when there was a covering of snow the other week. Picture from a few weeks ago, noticeably bigger now after catfood 1st course, then back for hedgehog biscuits later every night.
Sunflower hearts and mealworms don’t have enough calcium in for hedgehogs. Too much can contribute to metabolic bone disease.
Mealworms are a huge mistake for hedgehogs if fed in large quantities. They cause metabolic bone disease which can cause brittle bones and fractures. Please amend the information you have written above, as some people may only provide mealworms.