Care of our Wildlife over the winter period.
HEDGEHOGS.
The hedgehog is bigger than most insectivores and consequently can find itself in trouble if the food is not available, especially during the colder months of the year when more food is needed to provide the calories to keep the body warm and mobile. It’s a catch 22 situation: Just when the hedgehog needs more food there is less available. The insects have either died out or have gone into hiding until the spring. Even the earthworms have gone deep into the soil where only the mole’s deep tunneling and the badger’s tremendous digging powers can get at them.
A hedgehog, which is asleep, can be seen dreaming and moving just like any other sleeping mammal but in hibernation its metabolism almost reaches a stand still. It appears to be dead; its feet, ears and skin feel cold to the touch but, as you touch it, unconscious reflexes make its spines stand up and tuck its head into an impenetrable ball. Any sound will evoke the same response and yet the hedgehog’s centre of nerve activity, the brain, is virtually closed down. Its heartbeat will have dropped from a frantic 190 a minute to a barely detectable 20 per minute. It hardly breathes at all, perhaps taking one breath every few minutes, and its body temperature, normally 35°C, drops to 10°C, a fall which would kill most other mammals.
When a hedgehog is hibernating it is essential that its temperature does not fall below 1°C or it will suffer frostbite or may even freeze solid. It is obviously unaware of the outside temperature but if the weather turns very cold, the hedgehog’s body brings into play brown fat reserves, which are supercharged fuel boosts. This quickly produced heat is then pumped through the bloodstream, warming the muscles, causing them to shiver and produce even more heat until after three or four hours the hedgehog’s temperature will have risen by 25°C and its pulse rate to 320 beats per minute. It will then awake, realise that there is insufficient insulation in its present nest and move elsewhere to build another one.
It is not usually until November, December or January that larger hedgehogs finally settle down to hibernation, when they must realise that the greatest threats they face are floods, the cold or predators which can kill them while they are inactive.
It has been estimated that a hedgehog needs to weigh 600 grams to survive the rigors of hibernation. Many youngsters are born late in the year and have no hope of making the weight before the onset of winter. From the end of September onwards any small hedgehog you come across should be weighed. Any bordering on 600 grams can be fattened up on tinned dog food and released before the end of October, if it makes the required weight.
This is where your local Wildlife Rehabilitator can help, see www.irishwildlfiematters.ie .
Throughout the autumn and early winter months a hedgehog builds up fat reserves until they are the equivalent of 30 per cent of its whole weight. You can help by putting out dog or cat food, even a tasty bowl of mealworms would be a feast and fresh water each evening, although if the weather turns very cold the hedgehog may go into hibernation.
Hedgehogs awaken fairly regularly during the hibernation period but seldom leave the nest unless their body thermostat has warned them that it is too cold; then they will not bother to add extra insulation but will go elsewhere to build a fresh nest.
However, in the spring, as the weather warms and their fat reserves run low the hedgehog starts to wake from hibernation. At this time the hedgehog will be very thirsty and will have lost one third of its bodyweight so it must eat if possible, just in case the weather turns cold again and it temporarily opts for more hibernation.
If the nest is badly constructed the hedgehog may change sites in very cold weather and build a fresh nest elsewhere. This will also happen if the nest is flooded. The hedgehog will also make the occasional nightly foray to feed. So don’t worry if you see one out occasionally in the evening. Any hedgehog found in a definite nest should be left well alone, no matter what the prevailing weather conditions. To wake a hedgehog up uses much of its fat reserves, which may prevent it being able to wake after a further period of hibernation. Leave them alone if they are not injured or out in the open, you can however leave some food nearby to help if the Hog wakes.
If a hedgehog is found sleeping out in the open, away from the nest, it is not hibernating and is probably suffering from hypothermia and in need of attention. Take it indoors – an outbuilding is not warm enough – place it on a warm hot water bottle wrapped in a towel and wait for it to stir. If it doesn’t it may have died, but it’s worth checking. A local wildlife rescue centre, with the direction of a sympathetic vet, can give medical assistance. (Irish Wildlife Matters website has a list of Vets who treat Wildlife free of charge)
Most hedgehogs, particularly in the Autumn and Winter, are affected by parasites (worms) in their lungs. These can cause breathing problems and in cases of severe infestation can prove fatal. Speak to your Vet for further advice if the breathing sounds raspy or laboured.
Feeding your Hedgehogs.
The hedgehog is carnivorous and, in the wild, lives on a diet of beetles, earthworms and other invertebrates. Human beings are the only mammals on the planet to drink milk after we have been weaned so DO NOT GIVE WILDLIFE MILK OR BREAD for the following reasons:
1) Milk is very bad for the teeth; bread and milk is especially bad, as it is too soft for proper dental care.
2) Many animals, including us, cats and dogs, are intolerant of the lactose in milk, which in our wildlife can lead to diarrhoea, dehydration and death.
3) Milk is iron deficient so in excess can cause dietary imbalance.
4) Milk will readily sour if left for any length of time.
5) Milk that has been skimmed or semi-skimmed has had beneficial fat-soluble vitamins removed.
6) Milk is an ideal medium for the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the stomach and intestines causing diarrhea and other tummy and potential skin problems.
7) Bread will swell in the stomach making the animal or bird feel full but without being nutritionally complete.
8) Bread is full of sugar and salt, which can cause dietary upsets in mammals and birds.
When you are trying to survive a cold winter the last thing you need is to get ill!
Tinned and dry cat or dog foods are far more efficient at building up body fat reserves for a long cold winter.
How can we help our garden hedgehogs?
1) By providing a compost heap or overgrown area of garden for sleeping in.
2) By providing tinned and dry dog or cat food as a dietary supplement.
3) Before burning any leaf litter or garden waste please check CAREFULLY that a hedgehog has not moved in for the winter. Compost heaps are a lovely warm snug bed for the cold months.
Conclusions Milk, especially with bread, is of no use as a dietary supplement for hedgehogs and is potentially harmful. Feed dog and cat food but an extra cautionary note DO NOT feed fish flavour, as Hogs are intolerant of fish protein.
Provide a warm safe sleeping place and DO NOT wake the Hog to check on him/her during the winter. Keep dogs and cats away.
Making a Hedgehog Home
Visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society for more hints and tips and for details on how to make your own Hedgehog Hotel
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
Bev Truss DipCAPBT (COAPE) RVN APDTI010 CFRI0033
Certified International Wildlife Rehabilitator
www.petproblems.net info@petproblems.net for more help and advice.
