#Baby if you give it to me how to#

Make sure there's enough room in the box for the hedgehog to move away from the bottle if it gets too hot.

Keep them warm - if a hedgehog gets too cold, they're less likely to recover, so place a warm, towel-wrapped hot water bottle in the box as soon as possible.

Hedgehogs from the same litter can be kept in the same box if it's big enough.

Don't handle the hedgehog any more than you need to, because contact with humans will be stressful for them.

You might also find that throwing a towel over the hedgehog causes it to curl up, making it easier to catch.

Gently pick it up and place it into a secure high-sided cardboard box, lined with a towel.

You can also handle them using a folded towel.

Make sure you wear thick gloves, as hedgehogs can carry diseases like ringworm or salmonella bacteria, which can be passed to humans.

If it's safe to catch and handle the hedgehog:

Don't feed them bread, as it's low in nutrients.

Never give cow's milk to hedgehogs, as it can give them diarrhoea.Soak biscuits in water for very young hoglets that weigh less than 300g, as they can't eat dry food.Good quality, specialist hedgehog foods - these can be bought from wildlife food suppliers.Tinned dog or cat food - cat biscuits or crushed dog biscuits, make good hedgehog foods.You can try offering food to a young hedgehog, but make sure you feed them something suitable: However, if the hedgehog is sick or injured or seen out during the day during cold weather, follow our advice. They'll be foraging for food overnight, so if you can, keep providing food in the garden, as this will help them to put on even more weight before hibernation. If the hedgehog weighs over 500g and is only seen out at night, it should be healthy enough to hibernate as normal in the wild.

#Baby if you give it to me how to#

We recommend following the BHPS advice for autumn juvenile hedgehogs, which describes how to help them over the winter.

If the young hedgehog weighs between 300g-500g, after mid-October, they probably won't have enough weight to see them through the winter, so may need more help.

Monitor its weight, and if it's not gaining weight or you're still seeing it when the weather gets colder, please contact a rehabilitator.

If the young hedgehog weighs between 300g-500g, is only seen at night, and it's before mid-October with mild weather, you can provide food in the garden.

If the hoglet weighs less than 300g, it will need specialist care to survive the winter.

The best way to help the young hedgehog will depend on how much it weighs: Often, they'll have to forage for longer to find enough food so they might be seen out during the day. Hedgehogs born this late in the year might not have enough fat reserves to survive the long winter hibernation without some help. This isn't long before hibernation starts. Usually, hoglets are born in the summer but mothers can sometimes have a second litter born as late as September or October. Helping young hedgehogs from October to February If the young hedgehog doesn't eat the food or it doesn't leave the area, please contact your nearest wildlife rehabilitator. If you're concerned, you can try offering them food and fresh water. If they're larger than apple-sized (about 300g), not in immediate danger, sick or injured then monitor the young hedgehog from a distance.

Young hedgehogs that weigh over 300g should be weaned as they're almost ready to be independent of their parents. Here's what to do if you find an adult hedgehog out during the day. If any of these apply, please collect them in a box and contact your local wildlife centre or a vet. In the daytime during a stretch of very cold weather (regular ground frost or below freezing for several days).Squeaking with eyes shut, without an adult nearby.

Weighing less than 300 grams - that's roughly the size of an apple - and without an adult hedgehog nearby.

In immediate danger - such as on a road.

Intervene straight away if you find a baby hedgehog: However, there are a few things you can do to check if the hoglet does need help. If you find an uninjured baby hedgehog (also known as a hoglet) and you think they need rescuing, watch them from a distance first.