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Hedgehog knowledge
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Did you know...? Some hedgehog facts
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The species of hedgehogs in the UK is called Erinaceus Europaeus (meaning 'the European Hedgehog'). This is one of 17 hedgehog species across the world. They are not rodents, but insectivores (insect eaters) with sharp, pointed teeth. The common understanding that hedgehogs eat mostly slugs and snails is wrong: they struggle to chew the slimy, soft body of slugs and snails. Their teeth are made to crack open beetles, woodlice, and other insects.
Hedgehogs don't fight for their territory, but they might defend a food source in a garden from other hedgehogs. If you are feeding hedgehogs in your garden, you should not put all the food in one place. Spread it out and hide it in long grass or bushes. The males also might fight in the mating season, if they are trying to court the same female hedgehog. |
They are strictly nocturnal - active at dawn, dusk and during the night. If they are out in the day they are usually in trouble (besides foraging mums or those who take a cooling break from their maternity nests). 
They are not territorial in the sense that they mark and defend their territory. However, they have a mental map of the area where they live; they know where they can find food and water, and they know where they can hide and build their nests. Therefore, it is important not to move a hedgehog from once place to the other! |
Adult hedgehogs have 5,000-7,000 spines, which are modified hairs. Each spine is attached to its own muscle and can move independently of others. These small muscles are then attached to some large muscle layers around the hedgehog, which they can use to curl up. They travel 1-3 km at night, to find food or mate, visiting 20-30 gardens in a suburban context. This is why it is so important for garden owners to make a few holes in their fences out ground level, to provide access for hedgehogs at a safe distance from the street. Hedgehogs have strong, long legs. They can run as fast as we walk. The front legs are muscular digging tools to uncover earth worms and insects in the ground. They also can swim, but if they fall into a pond or canal, they often can't get out, get exhausted and drown. Make sure to have an exit ramp if you have a garden pond. |
Mating and hoglets
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Hedgehogs reach sexual maturity at 8 to 10 months, so they only have babies in the year after they were born. A litter usually consists of four to six hoglets, some mothers just have one - or in rare cases up to 10.
The gestation period is a bit more than a month. The hoglets are usually born in May and June, but nowadays they are often born until the end of August or even into September. With more pressure on hedgehog mothers - hot summers, less insects, habitat loss - they sometimes lose their first litter and then mate again in summer. Autumn juveniles are often in trouble. They need to be 600g or more for safe hibernation, and they often don't reach that. There is no pair bonding between hedgehogs. After mating, the male takes off and does not help with nest building, food provisions or protection. Hedgehog mothers do it all on their own. |
At birth, hoglets are helpless and only weight 8-25 grams. Eyes and ears open at around two weeks, at three weeks their first teeth are growing. Then the development quickens. From four weeks of age, their mum takes them foraging, and at six to eight weeks, they leave the nest for good.
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What hedgehogs eat in the wild
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Hedgehog mostly eat insects: beetles, caterpillars, earwigs and woodlice. They also like earth worms and sometimes baby frogs, bird eggs, or a small mammal like a mouse.
Hence, the idea that hedgehogs will clear our gardens from slug and snails is a myth! Their teeth are not made for eating soft and slimy beasts, and they don't even like them. The exception is during the winter months: if a hedgehog wakes up from hibernation, slugs and snails may be the only food available. This is not good for hedgehogs though, as they can give them internal parasites. |
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