Garden Hedgehog

[Miss Z]

Found this little guy sat on the back garden patio this morning and thought I should snap a few pics to share with Pet Talk. I used to see a lot more of these cute little things, but they seem to be in decline around my area.







I thought s/he may be ill, because it can be a bad sign if they are out in the open during the day and s/he didn't seem to be too keen to move. I put the little guy in a box with some paper shreddings, which I put underneath a bush in my garden, to keep it out of the wind and rain, and left a bit of corned beef and water near the 'entrance'. I did think about calling the vet, but after I'd left it for a few hours, I returned to find s/he had eaten the beef and drunk the water and returned to the wild.

[moosmom]

What a sweet lil guy!!! You done good, Zara. You're going to make an awesome vet!

[Karen]

Awww! Yes, sadly the wild hedgehog is declining in numbers - thanks for taking such good care and good pictures.

[Alysser]

Hedgehogs have always been on my top pet list, they just have the sweetest little faces, all of them are so freakin' cute! I've always wanted a hedgehog but they eat insects, I think, and I would NOT be able to give an animal insects as food, EW

What an adorable little visitor, Zara! How nice of you to help the little cutie out.

[Casper]

Good job with helping the little guy out, and thanks! He sure is a cute one.
I wonder why their numbers are declining....

[Miss Z]

Thanks everyone.

Yes, you're right, Alyssa, they do eat a lot of little critters. My dad hopes this little guy will stick around in the garden and eat the slugs that keep destroying his plants.

Courtney, I think they are declining for many reasons. A lot are, sadly, killed on the roads. Some are killed by rubbish - I rescued one a few years ago which was stuck in the plastic rings which hold beer cans together. I think also pesticides and slug killers harm hedgehogs when they eat the infected prey.

Their habitat has diminished greatly too over the years; the UK population is booming and we're cramming so many homes into such a small island! Thankfully, there is a lot of parkland next to my house where some hedgehogs can still thrive.