Winter must be over, look who is out of Hibernation

hollydolly

hollydolly

SF VIP
Location
London England
It's pitch dark out there and I just quickly dashed out of the back door and up to the barn to get some milk.. and nearly tripped over this little guy...

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sorry for the quality of the pictures but hedgehogs scare easily, and so I didn't have time to find the Night setting on my phone.. literally just took this picture by the security cameras about 20 feet away.. . I dashed in to get him a little bit of water ..and came out hoping he'd still be there, and he was as you can see,.. just a baby... so his family would have been nearby..

Fortunately my bird seed wheelie bin is in the garden so still in the dark,I quickly opened a pack of meal worm which ordinarily in summer I would place on a dish in the borders for the hedgehogs to feed on in nocturnal hours.. but no time for that tonight , so I just put a handful down on the path in front of him, and hope then left him to hopefully not have been to scared , to have been able to eat it..

I'll go out there again shortly, and see if he has.. but this is early for hedgehogs to be out, so winter must be over..

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Well I'm happy to report that I didn't scare him enough not to eat.. he must have been starving, he ate all the mealworms.. so now I've just as a temp measure for tonight put a plate of mealworms and some water out in a corner of the border where they can access it easily, and now I know they're out of hibernation I'll get the usual arrangement of mealworms and water set up in several dishes and set throughout the garden for them tomorrow , because there will be the family of them to have to feed ..


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During the feeding and breeding year they're creatures of habit, they usually come out about an hour after it gets dark.. so if I want to see them I'll go into the garden around that time.. or conversely..avoid the garden, so as to let them feed in peace..
 
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hollydolly said:
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During the feeding and breeding year they're creatures of habit, they usually come out about an hour after it gets dark.. so if I want to see them I'll go into the garden around that time.. or conversely..avoid the garden, so as to let them feed in peace..
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The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

Obviously you care for all. 🤗🤗
 
@HD..was the dish empty this morning..
that..the 'visiting family s' enjoyed?🤔
 
Jace said:
@HD..was the dish empty this morning..
that..the 'visiting family s' enjoyed?🤔
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yes Jace.. well.. almost empty.. , I've just added more mealworms to it and topped up the water.

oddly we've just been told we may gent a big balst of snow next week, when we thought winter was over, so I'll have to keep an eye on the hedgehogs to make sure they get fed now they're out of hibernation.. . In summer they feed themselves on worms and insects.. but I always leave dishes of water out for them, but of course in snow and ice they can't feed..

Inidentally they're not visiting, they live in my garden.. underneath and at the back of my huge Laurel hedge...
 
Llynn said:
Cute, but prickly. Closest thing we have is the porcupine and as POGO would say. "they ain't nohow related".View attachment 271065
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yeah the hedgehog is a very mild mannered little guy.. and when he's scared he rolls up in a ball.. that could mean just a light shining on him.. or the threat of another animal like a cat or dog.. . ..as soon as that threat is over he runs fast to safety.. never fights..
 
Jace said:
@HD..curious..how did/do you know they liked mealworms? Did you research?
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oh I've been feeding them for many years..at least 20 .. I think it was my husband who first discovered they liked mealworms.. up until then I'd been using bread soaked in milk..which they did eat, but obviously there's little nutrition in that
 
hollydolly said:
oh I've been feeding them for many years..at least 20 .. I think it was my husband who first discovered they liked mealworms.. up until then I'd been using bread soaked in milk.which they did eat, but obviously there's little nutrition in that
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If only we had those type of animals, instead of ugly, mean, stinky pests. There was time here about 35 years ago they were all the rage to have as an exotic pet.
 
Jace said:
@HD..do they multiply? How many are there..a family of em?🤔
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well for the last few years it's been a family of 5, whether that family is still the same now or not I won't know until the real cold goes away and we get into spring and summer and they're out regularly..
 
It was just a fad for a while in the late 80's, early 90's. Some little animals are so cute people think they should be a pet. I am quit drawn to those little monkeys but I would never own one. I like ferrets and bunnies. Oh! who I am fooling, I just love animals.
 
Blessed said:
It was just a fad for a while in the late 80's, early 90's. Some little animals are so cute people think they should be a pet. I am quit drawn to those little monkeys but I would never own one. I like ferrets and bunnies. Oh! who I am fooling, I just love animals.
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yes I do too , but some animals are just not fit for indoor life. Hedgehogs are definitely one of those.. ..
 

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