Your frequently asked questions about hedgehogs, answered!
Whether you've found a hedgehog you're worried about, spotted one in your garden, want to know what to feed hedgehogs or are looking for ways to help, we've answered some of the questions we're asked most often.
If you've found a hedgehog and are unsure whether it needs help, please start with our When to Rescue guide.
Section one: Caring for and helping hedgehogs
Why is a hedgehog out during the day?
Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so a hedgehog active during daylight hours may need help. Please contact your local hedgehog rescue as soon as possible for advice.
There are some exceptions, particularly adult females during the breeding season, so daytime activity doesn't automatically mean a hedgehog needs rescuing. However, a hedgehog that is out during the day and appears weak, injured, unsteady, cold or covered in flies should be assessed urgently.
Our When to Rescue guide explains what signs to look for and what to do if you are concerned.
What do hedgehogs eat and what can I feed them?
Wild hedgehogs naturally eat insects, worms and other invertebrates. In gardens, you can supplement their natural diet with suitable meaty cat or kitten biscuits, and fresh water.
Our motto is keep it simple and nutritious. Cat or kitten biscuits alongside a shallow dish of fresh water are an excellent option. Wet cat or dog food can also be offered.
Hedgehog-specific foods are available, but these are not regulated in the same way as cat and dog food, so check the ingredients carefully. We recommend looking for food that is high in protein, low in wheat and low in sugar.
Please never feed hedgehogs milk or bread. We also advise against mealworms, sunflower hearts and peanuts, which can contribute to health problems.
For more detailed information, including answers to common feeding questions, see our Feeding Wild Hedgehogs guide.
How do I stop cats stealing the hedgehog food?
A feeding station can help prevent cats and other animals from accessing food intended for hedgehogs.
You can make a simple feeding station using an upturned plastic crate or stacker box, with a roughly 13cm x 13cm entrance. Bricks can be positioned inside and outside the entrance to create a zig-zag route that hedgehogs can navigate but larger animals struggle with.
Alternatively, our Feeding Wild Hedgehogs guide includes more information about feeding stations and how to make your own.
How can I help hedgehogs in my garden?
The best way to help hedgehogs is to provide access to food, water, shelter and safe routes between gardens.
Simple things you can do include:
Leave out a shallow dish of fresh water.
Provide suitable cat or kitten food.
Leave areas of natural vegetation and leaf litter for shelter.
Create a gap or "hedgehog highway" between neighbouring gardens.
Provide a safe hedgehog house or natural nesting areas.
Move bonfires on the day of lighting to ensure no hedgehogs or wildlife is residing within it.
Check long grass, borders and compost heaps y carefully before disturbing or using strimmer’s or garden machinery.
Avoid pesticides, poisons and slug pellets wherever possible.
Make sure ponds have a safe way for hedgehogs to climb out.
Our Wildlife Gardening and Hedgehog Homes guides have further practical advice.
I found a baby hedgehog – what should I do?
A baby hedgehog, or hoglet, found alone may need urgent specialist help, particularly if it is cold, squeaking, injured, covered in flies or wandering away from its nest.
Do not give a hoglet milk or attempt to hand-rear it yourself. Baby hedgehogs have very specific nutritional and medical requirements.
If you've found a baby hedgehog and you're unsure what to do, contact a hedgehog rescue for advice as soon as possible.
Our When to Rescue guide explains the signs that a hedgehog may need intervention. If you are concerned about a particular hoglet, please contact us so that we can triage the situation and give you tailored advice.
What should I do if I find a hedgehog?
If you find a hedgehog that is injured, bleeding, limping, trapped, entangled, covered in flies, weak or otherwise appears unwell, it needs professional assessment.
Our When to Rescue guide explains the signs to look for.
If you find a hedgehog outside our opening hours and it needs help, the guide also explains how to keep it safe while you arrange veterinary assistance.
If you are unsure, please contact us. We triage enquiries and can advise you based on the individual situation.
Section two: hedgehog hibernation
When do hedgehogs hibernate?
Hedgehogs usually hibernate during the colder months, but there is no fixed date when hibernation starts.
Hibernation is influenced by temperature, weather, day length, food availability and the individual hedgehog. Here in Cornwall, our relatively mild winters mean that hibernation can begin later and may be shorter than in other parts of the UK.
Our recent experience suggests that some smaller hedgehogs in Cornwall can cope well through winter without intervention when supportive food is provided.
If you're concerned about a hedgehog, don't rely on its weight alone. We do not recommend weighing wild hedgehogs visiting your garden because this causes unnecessary stress and isn't a reliable indicator of health in Cornwall, behaviour and body condition are the most important factors.
If you're worried about a particular hedgehog, please contact us for advice.
When do hedgehogs come out of hibernation?
Hedgehogs generally begin emerging from hibernation as temperatures rise in spring, but there is no single date when all hedgehogs wake up.
The timing varies according to the weather, location and individual hedgehog. Cornwall's milder climate can mean that hedgehogs emerge earlier or have shorter periods of hibernation.
After hibernation, hedgehogs need to find food and water to rebuild their energy reserves. Providing suitable cat or kitten food and fresh water can help visiting hedgehogs.
See our Feeding Wild Hedgehogs guide for more information.
Is my hedgehog visitor too small to hibernate?
Size or weight alone does not tell us whether a wild hedgehog needs rescuing.
Here in Cornwall, our winters are relatively mild and hibernation periods are often short. Our recent experience shows that many smaller hedgehogs can cope without intervention when supportive food is provided.
We generally only intervene when a hedgehog appears unwell or is active during the daytime.
Admitting a healthy wild hedgehog can be highly stressful and may trigger health problems that would not have occurred if it had remained in the wild.
Please don't weigh a wild hedgehog simply to decide whether it is large enough to hibernate. If you are concerned about a hedgehog, contact us for advice.
Can I overwinter or foster a hedgehog?
In line with scientific evidence and general current guidance, we do not recommend overwintering healthy wild hedgehogs at home. Healthy hedgehogs are capable of hibernating in the wild, and unnecessary captivity can itself create welfare risks.
Hedgehogs are complex wild animals requiring specialist care. Autumn juveniles can carry significant internal parasite burdens, and stress from handling and captivity can worsen existing conditions.
For these reasons, if a hedgehog genuinely needs intervention, getting it to an experienced rescue as soon as possible gives it the best chance of recovery.
If you are not local to us, please contact your nearest hedgehog rescue to ask about their policies and available support.
Prickles & Paws does not currently operate a foster care programme.
Section three: hedgehog facts
How long do hedgehogs live?
Wild hedgehogs can live for several years, although many do not survive to old age.
Hedgehogs face numerous threats, including roads, habitat loss, fragmented habitats, disease, and changes in the availability of food and shelter.
Creating a hedgehog-friendly garden, providing safe routes between gardens and reducing hazards can all help give hedgehogs a better chance of survival.
At Prickles & Paws, we care for sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs and, wherever possible, rehabilitate them before returning them to the wild.
Are hedgehogs endangered in the UK?
UK hedgehog populations have declined significantly, and hedgehogs face a number of serious threats. They are now classified as vulnerable to extinction in the UK.
Loss and fragmentation of habitat, roads, changes in land management and reduced availability of food and shelter can all affect hedgehog populations.
There are many practical ways individuals can help. Making gardens hedgehog-friendly, creating hedgehog highways, providing food and water and supporting organisations that rescue and conserve hedgehogs can all make a difference.
See our Wildlife Gardening guide for practical ways to help.
What does hedgehog poo look like?
Hedgehog poo is usually small, dark brown or black and sausage-shaped, and it may contain visible shiny remains of insects such as beetles.
Finding hedgehog poo in your garden can be a good indication that a hedgehog is visiting.
If you have hedgehogs visiting, you can make your garden safer and more welcoming by providing fresh water, suitable food, natural shelter and safe routes into neighbouring gardens.
See our Wildlife Gardening guide for more ways to make your garden hedgehog-friendly.
Section four: about hedgehog rescue
Can I adopt a hedgehog?
Our hedgehog patients are wild European hedgehogs and cannot be kept as pets.
European hedgehogs are protected under UK law. African pygmy hedgehogs are sometimes kept as exotic pets, but they are a completely different species from our native hedgehogs.
You can, however, sponsor one of our hedgehog patients and help fund their rehabilitation and return to the wild.
Can I have a hedgehog for my garden?
We don't normally place a particular hedgehog in someone's garden simply because they would like one.
Wherever possible, we return rehabilitated hedgehogs to the location where they were found. This means they already know the local area, including nest sites and water sources. They may well also have immunity to diseases in that area.
If returning a hedgehog to its original location isn't appropriate or the site is unsafe, we use one of our approved release sites.
We have a network of release sites across Cornwall. If you have suitable land and would like to find out more, visit our Release Sites page.
Can I visit the Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Hogspital?
Our Hogspital is not open to the general public.
Our patients are wild animals recovering from illness or injury, and keeping human contact, noise and disturbance to a minimum gives them the best chance of rehabilitation.
You can still follow some of our patients and their journeys through our social media channels Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. We also able to offer virtual tours of the rescue and wildlife garden via Zoom or Teams - email hello@pricklesandpaws.org to enquire.
How can I help or support a hedgehog rescue near me?
There are lots of ways to support a hedgehog rescue, including donating, sponsoring a hedgehog, volunteering, fundraising or helping hedgehogs in your own garden.
At Prickles & Paws, public support is vital to our work. We don't receive government funding and rely on community support to continue rescuing and rehabilitating hedgehogs.
Your donation helps provide care, food, veterinary treatment, medication and a safe environment for hedgehogs in our rescue. Even a small donation can make a real difference.
You can:
Join Prickle Planet, our monthly giving programme
Fundraise for the rescue
Buy us hedgehog food and other care items from our Amazon Wish List
Visit our Ways to Donate page to find the option that's right for you.
Found a hedgehog you're worried about?
Not sure whether a hedgehog needs help?
Before picking up or moving a hedgehog, please check our When to Rescue guide or contact us for advice.
Our team can help you decide whether intervention is necessary and what to do next.
About Prickles & Paws Hedgehog Rescue
Prickles & Paws is a UK hedgehog rescue caring for sick, injured, orphaned and vulnerable hedgehogs. We provide specialist care and rehabilitation, with the aim of returning healthy hedgehogs to the wild wherever possible.
Our work is made possible by our supporters, volunteers and the wider community. If you'd like to help us continue rescuing and rehabilitating hedgehogs, visit our Ways to Donate page.