The little hedgehog lady 🦔 Emily explores the garden after her hibernation 🤗

So far this year only little Emily comes to feed, the old hedgehogs are probably still asleep because the temperatures are still quite cool.

🦔 HEDGEHOG IN THE GARDEN
Anyone in Europe who has an European hedgehog in the garden can offer additional food. Due to the decline in insects, even within native gardens, there is not always enough native food for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are happy about an extra portion of food and water, depending on weather conditions during the period from April to November.

☝️ NO SPECIAL HEDGEHOG FOOD
Please do not feed special hedgehog food. It usually contains grain, nuts, fruits, etc. Such ingredients are absolutely unsuitable as hedgehog food. Because hedgehogs cannot digest them. Hedgehogs are carnivores / insect eaters. Therefore, they need food that is rich in protein and fat.

👍 SUITABLE FOOD FOR HEDGEHOG
► Wet or dry cat food with a high meat content (min 60-70%), without grain, without sugar and without sauce
► Boiled or scrambled eggs without spices and; best without oil
► Cooked chicken or steamed ground beef without spices
► insects e.g. mealworms, or zophobas
► Always put a bowl of water in addition (no milk!)

Wet cat food, if it is accepted, is always the first choice and has to be preferred to dry cat food. Mealworms or zophobas should be fed as rare treats only. Hedgehogs have a small jaw. So you should feed small-sized dry food for kitten.

🏠 THE HEDGEHOG FEEDING STATION
I have set up a hedgehog feeding station in my native garden, where I feed additional food for hedgehogs. The hedgehog feeding station has many advantages. It serves hedgehogs as a shelter from predators such as fox, badger, marten and eagle owl. In addition, offered food remains dry when it rains. A good feeding station has two entrances and two exits. So hedgehogs can avoid each other and always have an escape route. Each entrance and exit should have a labyrinth in order to prevent cats and raccoons from entering. Otherwise, they may eat the hedgehog's food.

The entrance openings of the feeding station and the openings to the feeding area should be at least 10 x 10 cm. Hedgehogs should have a floor space of at least 40 x 40 cm inside the feeding area. If there are rats in your garden, you can also attach rat-flaps to the feeding station’s entrance. My self-made feeding station has a wooden floor. Because I have noticed that dry cat food, falling on damp ground, starts to mold very quickly. In addition, cleaning is better and faster if you lay some newspaper on the floor.

🏠 THE HEDGEHOG SLEEPING HOUSE
Anyone who has a hedgehog in the garden can offer a sleeping house. Hedgehogs are often very picky concerning their sleeping place. They prefer native sleeping places under thick hedges. However, using a sleeping house seems to be very popular during autumn and winter. A hedgehog sleeping house has many advantages. It serves hedgehogs as a shelter from predators (fox, badger, marten and eagle owl) and protects them from rain and cold. Hedgehogs also use it for their hibernation, that they keep annually from the beginning of October until April, depending on weather conditions. A good sleeping house consists of two rooms, the labyrinth entrance and the sleeping room. Both with an entrance opening of at least 10 x 10 cm. That makes it more difficult for cats and raccoons to enter. So hedgehogs can sleep safely and untroubled. The labyrinth entrance serves as a vestibule also. Hedgehogs should have a floor space of at least 30 x 30 cm in the bedroom.

You can help hedgehogs by filling the bedroom with little dry leaves, moss or straw, if you like to. But they are quite able to build a nest on their own. Please do not use hay or newspaper to fill the sleeping house! It molds very quickly and hedgehogs may get sick.

If there are rats in your garden, you may also attach a rat-flap to the sleeping house’s entrance.

My self-made sleeping house includes a wooden floor. But it can also be done without a floor. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. Using a sleeping house that includes a floor, you should place some holes to the floor. So urine can run off.

The sleeping house should be cleaned once a year. I clean it in summer, while hedgehogs prefer to spend their nights under a hedge.

The hedgehog house should be set up in a sheltered and shady place. Ideally under or at a hedge. Hence, only little sun is shining on it during the day, and it does not get too warm inside.

To best protect the entrance of the sleeping house from rain, it should be positioned towards the southern or eastern side.

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