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Hedgehog help!!

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  • 17-10-2010 9:18am
    #1
    Hellrazer
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,593 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Hope the mods dont mind me cross posing this here aswell as Animals and Pets.

    Driving down to the shops last night and I noticed a cat pouncing on what I thought was a ball in the middle of the road.Turns out it was a hedgehg.

    Anyways I chased the cat off and the hog seemed to be in a bit of distress and possibly injured.
    Brought it home and fed it some cat food which it munched down in one go,drank a load of water and it seems a lot better now and doesnt seem to have any injuries that I can see.

    Quick question.I rang dogsaid last night and they said to release it but I have a feeling that the reason it was wandering down a main road where it was is because its habitat was possibly destroyed by building works--It was only about 200 feet from a major building site.

    So where is the best place to release it?My garden is fairly substantial and from reading websites anywhere that has overgrown areas,piles of wood,undergrowth make an ideal home for hedgehogs.Would it make it in a back garden?Do dogs bother them?Dogs aid said that cats cant harm hedgehogs since they cant get at them so to speak.My other concern is that my garden is walled in but its only about 100 metres from where I found the hedgehog so its probably within its territory.

    He sitting here in a box at the minute calm as anything.Theyre actually really quite cute.


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    #2
    jmkennedyie
    Registered Users Posts: 678 ✭✭✭jmkennedyie


    Recommend letting him/her out in nearby wilderness where slugs etc. likely and plenty of cover / grass / bedding material. Would not trap him in a walled garden, especially with a dog. Our family dog constantly barked when hedgehog visited.

    Agree they are cute, but would minimise handling as they are associated with ticks etc. Going to get coldish in next week apparently so would let him go sooner rather than later to give him chance find a nice cosy spot.

    At least he will be well fed :)


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    #3
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    Release it near where you found it. It'll wander back to its territory.

    Cats very rarely do any harm to adult hedgehogs. Usually, it's better to leave them where they are for a few reasons. They're usually fine despite looking distressed.


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    #4
    Hellrazer
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,593 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hellrazer


    tricky D wrote: »
    Release it near where you found it. It'll wander back to its territory.

    Cats very rarely do any harm to adult hedgehogs. Usually, it's better to leave them where they are for a few reasons. They're usually fine despite looking distressed.


    I was more concerned that its territory was destroyed in the building works.My garden opens back onto this land so I released it last night into my garden after making a hole in the fence for it to get back to this area.
    It headed straight for it and was gone in seconds--I didnt realise how fast they can move-always thought of them as plodding along scrounging for food.

    Hopefully now with this space in the fence we`ll see it again.Going to leave food out every night for it just in case.


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    #5
    dublinbiz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭dublinbiz


    I need a hedgehog for a large garden to fight off slugs !! Anyone know when I could get one? No dogs or cats where I live but still City living!


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    #6
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    dublinbiz wrote: »
    I need a hedgehog for a large garden to fight off slugs !! Anyone know when I could get one? No dogs or cats where I live but still City living!

    Afraid you can't just get one - its illegal to catch them and move them. They are protected by the wildliife act. The only possibility I can think of is that an animal shelter would be looking to release one back into the wild and you could provide a home. Wait until the spring as the hogs are getting ready to hibernate now. Also you will need to research if your garden is suitable and there is enough food and shelter avaiable in it. However, I suspect that if your garden was suitable you would already have hogs present. Slugs are not a hogs favourie food and indeed they catch lungworm from eating them. There needs to be a whole variety of food available. You might be better off combating the slugs with beer traps. Sink some margarine tubs or similar into the ground so the rims are level with the surface and half fill with beer or cider. The slugs will be attracted to it, fall in and drown.


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    #7
    dublinbiz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭dublinbiz


    Thanks for the advice!


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