August 2010 - First day and night in garden for Hoglets!

Sunday 22nd: Well, we are nearing the end of this journey of raising 3 orphaned/abandoned baby Hedgehogs. Maybe in four weeks we will release the Hedgies into the wild. We are now looking at possible locations well away from roads and hopefully their main predator...Badgers! The Hoglets already spend about 5 hours outside in the garden at night so as last Friday was a dry and warm night, we left them outside all night with their respective shelters, their group-built nest and a good supply of food and water. But it wasn't just a case of "leave them to it". I also stayed-up all night, checking on them each hour.

It's now 62 days and Monday is the start of week 10. Their weights are 436 and 382 grammes for the females and 300 grammes for the male. He is still not showing much in the way of instinct and purpose about what he does, like the two females. We would ideally wish to release them together, but if he is not ready then we may have to hold the two females back until he is ready. We will see what happens in the next few weeks.

Friday 27th: Apart from one night, the Hedgies have been spending all their time this week outside in the garden. Mel has widened the area within the garden that is secure and they roam at will, eat and sleep a bit then roam again. Apart from one day, when they lost weight due to the weather turning cold, they have all regained that lost weight and more!Their weights as of yesterday are 518, 442 & 364 grammes respectively.

August 2010 - Looking more like adult Hedgehogs

Monday 16th: This is the start of the 9th week and its been 56 days since the birth of these amazing animals - they look more and more like mini versions of adult Hedgehogs, particularly the two females. Besides being bulky and heavy, (the Hoglets pile on the weight each day), their bodies are now fully covered in quills and their fur has developed a brownish tinge.

The Hoglets are eating only dried food in enormous quantities and drinking water. A Hedgehogs natural instinct has kicked into play as they sleep most of the day and only become active at dusk - meaning late nights for us! As the Hoglets have got larger, they require a greater area to roam at night. This has necessitated in Melanie turning our back garden into one giant enclosed area.

Here the Hoglets can forage amongst the flower beds and rockery for insects and alike. The two females have taken to nest-building amongst the flower beds and tend to spend some of the night inside, while the male still prefers to rest in the shelter we have provided.

At the moment, their weights are 358, 328 & 234 grammes, the latter being the male and because of that we bring them inside the house around 2am for their safety. When the Hoglets top 400 grammes, we will be more confident about having them stay out all night by themselves!

August 2010 - Hoglets and Hedgehog!

Sunday 8th: Well, what a difference a week makes! We're now at the end of the 6th week, all the Hoglets are now into the 3-figure bracket for their weight! The two females weigh 202 and 222 grammes with the male lagging behind on 110 grammes. It's a strange scenario; what the male lacks in weight, he more than makes up for with bodily development. His eyes are fully open, ears are developed, whiskers and snout well grown and bodily hair on his body just like his siblings. The only things holding him back is his body size and his weight. We think that because he's always charging about, he doesn't sleep as much as the other two, so he's continually burning-off calories and loosing body mass! The females are very much on the road to youthful Hedgehog status. They eat, have a little mooch about and then slink-off to sleep. We try and have all three outside as much as possible now and they do seem to be better Hedgehogs for it! Though they are nowhere near the weights needed to release them, so that they have a chance of surviving hibernation and the forthcoming winter. And that will present another problem: where to release them? Do we provide them with shelter and food to start off with? These and more questions are what we have to tackle in the near future. But for now, the Hoglets progress is steady.

STOP PRESS!

In the early hours of Monday morning.....1:50am to be precise, Mel encountered an adult Hedgehog in the garden! I too saw it too just before it scampered off. My bed was calling me, so I too scamperd off soon after. Mel decided that she would stay out a little longer and sure enough, it came back! Not only that but it made it's way to the back door, climbing up a couple of tall steps and then tried several times to clamber over the taller door-step presumably with the intention of getting into the kitchen. After failing to do this, the Hedgehog walked past Melanie (who was watching only a few feet away) across the patio and under the gate through to the front of the house and away!

August 2010 - Hoglets out & about!

Sunday 1st: Melanie finished the pen for the Hoglets, that she began making on Saturday. Though they have because accustomed to roaming all over the garden, (under supervision), they have a secure area for when they have a nap! We are taking them outside more and more while we have this warm weather as they benefit from the smells, sounds and feel of the outside. Although this is only a small taster of what the future holds for them should they become independent enough to 'go it alone'! We still house them indoors for safety and warmth at night. When outside, they will all split-up and explore by themselves and at times it requires two pairs of eyes to keep tabs on them as they are into everything! Above are photos of the 3 Hoglets: top is 'Pinky', female and weighing 122 grammes, next is 'Grumpy', female and weighing 100 grammes and finally is the male, Little-lad, weighing 66 grammes.

Each of the Hoglets has developed their own personality: the little male who is still 2 weeks behind the others in development will only feed on kittens-milk with tiny fragments of kittens food mixed in. Still wobbly on his legs but roams far and wide in the garden even though his eyes are still not fully open. Half the size of his siblings, he still looks for human contact in the shape of Mel. The Hoglet we call 'Grumpy' is by far the most advanced in terms of awareness and the ways of Hedgehogs. Of the three, she looks very much like an adult Hedgehog, though not in bulk! She prefers to be on her own and snuffles the ground in search of new tastes and smells. She will often snort, puff and head-butt anything that comes near her, including myself and Mel! We can only explain this as 'the change', moving from Hoglet to Hedgehog. Today though she was very preoccupied with my arm and spent some time licking it and anointing herself without even a snort! The third, also a female is at present the heaviest at 122 grammes but appears not to have acquired that sense of 'self' that Hedgehogs develop. She is the most inquisitive of the three and is into anything and everything. All are now 5 weeks old and though still under weight, they are healthy and active.