Hedgehogs can be a great addition to your backyard garden because they feast on bugs and pets that may consume your plants and inhibit their growth. However, their presence may not always be ideal and there are times when relocating them to another part of your property or completely away makes sense.
This article outlines the best way to move a hedgehog by uncovering the tips and tricks to ensure safety throughout the moving process. We also discuss the best time to move and potential signs that the hedgehog may be in trouble.
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Best Way to Move A Hedgehog
The best way to move a hedgehog is to wear gloves and lift it together with the hedgehog house during the daytime when it is likely asleep. Move the hedgehog house gently to prevent waking up sleeping inhabitants. Hedgehogs that visit your property during the daytime can be picked up into cardboard box or shoebox while wearing gloves and kept warm until arrival at the local rescue center.
Moving hedgehogs can be a piece of work particularly if you want them to enjoy minimal disturbance. The specific techniques to employ could depend on your long-term goals. For instance, the desires of a gardener that wants to move hedgehogs to another part of his garden can be different from another that wants the hedgehogs completely relocated from his property.
How To Move A Hedgehog To Another Part of Your Property
Moving a hedgehog to another part of your property may be necessary because the current location could interfere with your gardening efforts or the hedgehog’s safety may be threatened by pets such as cats and dogs.
Ideally, you’ve already created a hedgehog house that serves as the spiky little guy’s resting place especially during the daytime when they try to catch some sleep after staying active all night. The step-by-step instructions are outlined below.
- Pick a spot on your land for the relocation and make it as close to the hedgehog’s former location as possible
- Create a new hedgehog highway by making a hole at the base of the boundary fence to allow easy roaming for food, water, and mates.
- Wear thick gloves to mask your scent
- Move the hedgehog house around dusk while the inhabitants are asleep and if the hedgehogs are abruptly woken up, gallivanting around on your property can be smooth with little disturbance from the bright daylights.
How To Relocate A Hedgehog In Trouble To A Local Rescue Center
Hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures that spend the whole day sleeping and become active at night. If a hedgehog comes out during the daytime, that could be a sign of trouble. Obvious clues of distress include looking lost or scared.
The following steps are recommended after spotting the daytime visitors.
- Wear gardening gloves to protect the hands from the hedgehog’s quills
- Scoop up the hedgehog gently with your hands
- Place the hedgehog in a secure card box or shoebox
- Offer wet or dry cat food and water if the hedgehog looks hungry or underweight
- Offer some warmth by placing a towel wrapped with a warm water bottle
- Transport the hedgehog to the local rescue center
What is The Best Period To Move A Hedgehog?
The best period to move hedgehogs is the spring or summer when temperatures are friendly. Avoid moving hedgehogs during winter when they’re likely to be hibernating because the disturbance could wake them up and force a quick expenditure of their fat reserves.
This could inhibit their ability to survive through the rest of the winter because the probability of hibernating again is high and they need all the fat reserves they can get to survive through the precarious period. (Source)
I Have A Hedgehog in My Garden What Do I Do?
Hedgehogs can be a valuable addition to your garden and should be made to feel comfortable once spotted. The only exception is when they are found roaming during the daytime which could be evidence that they need help.
Simply scoop up the hedgehog into a cardboard box for transport to the nearest rescue center where access to veterinary treatment for health problems is available. The hedgehog can be released back into the wild once good health is restored.
However, hedgehogs spotted foraging for food or looking for mates should be welcomed into your garden. Here are a few ways to transform your garden into a hedgehog paradise.
Offer Food and Water
Offering food to hedgehogs in your garden can be a smart way to make them feel comfortable. Cat biscuits and wet poultry-based kibble are a firm favorite but avoid trying to feed them directly. Instead, leave the food in shallow bowls in the garden at dusk just before they wake up from their daytime sleep.
Also, leave a shallow dish of clean water beside the food to provide hydration for the hedgehogs when thirsty. Avoid offering milk to wild hedgehogs because they’re lactose intolerant and dairy products do more harm than good.
Create a Hedgehog Highway
You may provide enough food and water but hedgehogs still need the freedom to forage for natural foods they’re used to in the wild and this is why creating a highway for easy movements could be a great idea.
Hedgehog highways also allow them to find members of the opposite sex for mating to enhance their numbers. You can create a highway by cutting a small 5×5-inch hole in the bottom of the garden fence after speaking to your neighbors to make them aware of your intentions.
This should allow hedgehogs to roam freely at night which also serves as a source of physical activity to promote good health.
Build A Hedgehog House
A hedgehog house provides shelter for sleeping, nesting, and hibernation during the winter when the freezing temperatures force them into a state of torpor to conserve energy. While these mammals enjoy resting under leaf piles, tree barks, rabbit holes, and garden sheds, none can be as comfortable as specialized hedgehog houses.
A hedgehog house can protect them from getting wet during rainy days and nights while offering a quiet refuge for wild hedgehogs to enjoy some sleep together with hoglets after giving birth.
Create a Miniature Wild Habitat
Hedgehogs love feeding on insects and pests which is why allowing a miniature natural habitat in a small section of your property can be wildly attractive. These insects may serve as much-needed supplemental food for the hedgehogs on your land.
Allowing a section of your property to feature overgrown weeds with piles of leaves and grass can mimic the conditions in the woods. Insects like butterflies, beetles, and bees could be attracted into the new “wild habitat” together with frogs and other animals.
How To Create A Hedgehog-Safe Garden
Are you looking to attract hedgehogs into your property or want to create a safe haven for those already visiting your garden? Here are the best ways to create a hedgehog-safe environment to ensure the current visitors do not stop coming.
Discourage Dogs
Dogs may be a nuisance to hedgehogs on your property especially those that love to chase smaller creatures. Even if your dog does not physically harm the garden hedgehogs, it could startle them and cause a lot of upset.
We recommend putting your dog on a leash prior to being allowed into the garden or finding ways to alert the hedgehog of the dog’s presence such as making noises. Besides, hedgehogs love quiet nesting places and constant loud barks from your dog could be stressful.
No Pesticides
Avoid spraying your backyard garden with pesticides because they may kill the existing insect population and rob the garden hedgehogs of a major source of nutrition. Pesticides can also cause respiratory problems for hedgehogs when inhaled directly.
Besides, the pesticide residue may end up in the hedgehog’s digestive system after consuming dead insects killed with toxic chemicals.
No Bonfires
Avoid creating bonfires unless you need them because hedgehogs may end up hiding underneath the wood and could get burnt when you accidentally light the bonfire later.
No Nets
The Hedgehog’s spikes could easily get stuck in unused garden nets lying around on your property. This can be a severe source of discomfort for the hedgehogs. All nets should be removed from your garden to eliminate the risk of such accidents.
Use Power Tools Cautiously
Power tools like lawnmowers could accidentally kill or injure hedgehogs hiding in thick piles of grass or undergrowths in your garden. Verify that no hedgehogs are hidden before switching on power tools for use on your property.
Level Your Garden Pond Route
Garden ponds could be a good source of hydration for hedgehogs on your property. Besides, swimming in ponds calms their nerves and serves as a reliable source of physical activity for calorie burning and boredom prevention.
Level the route to your garden pond to provide easy access to increase the probability of getting wild hedgehogs to stay on your land for extended periods.
No Noisy Activities Near The Hedgehog House
Hedgehogs prefer the most serene atmosphere especially during the daytime when the previous night’s exhaustion from physical activity is slept off. Avoid extreme noises from power tools when possible and keep your dogs indoors to minimize the impact of their loud barks.
When Do Hedgehogs Hibernate?
Hedgehogs hibernate during winter when access to food becomes scarce due to the extreme cold which forces them into a state of inactivity to conserve nutrients in their fat stores.
Is It Safe To Relocate Hedgehogs?
Hedgehogs can be relocated to a new part of your property safely as long as it is done quietly and the new spot has access to food and water. Moving the hedgehog quietly during the daytime is the best way to increase the chances of success.
Where Is Best To Release A Hedgehog?
It is best to release hedgehogs as close to their former habitat as possible since they’re familiar with local forage and fauna as well as weather and other existing conditions.
Do Hedgehogs Return to The Same Place?
Hedgehogs are creatures of routine and typically return to the same place to eat, sleep, and look for water even if they’re not exactly territorial like other animals. They also like to visit the same places at roughly the same times each night.
Should I Move A Hedgehog From The Road?
Hedgehogs should be allowed to stay in their natural habitat unless they look to be in some form of distress. Allow them to stay on the road and as long as they avoid trying to cross it, they should be fine.
Can A Hedgehog Survive In The Wild?
Hedgehogs can survive in the wild as long as there is an availability of insects, bugs, and other food sources and water. This is why rescued hedgehogs are typically released back into the wild after rehabilitation.
What To Do If You Disturb A Hedgehog
Replace the nesting material cautiously and quickly after accidentally disturbing a hedgehog nest and avoid touching any hoglets found. The hedgehog will likely get spooked and move the nesting to a new area on your property but at least they’ll be safe.
Conclusion: Best Way To Move A Hedgehog
Hedgehogs can be moved by scooping them up with thickly gloved hands into secure cardboard boxes for transport to the local rescue center. They may also be moved to another part of your property if the current location is inconvenient for some reason.
Hedgehogs should be provided food, water, and warmth en route to the rescue center. Taking the rescued hedgehog to a vet can be a solid option in the absence of a local rescue center nearby.