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We get many telephone calls asking us for advice in dealing with wildlife and so we have set up this page to try and help visitors to this site. It may be that the answer to your question is here and this may save you the time and trouble of contacting a sanctuary or wildlife centre for help.
Hedgehogs
I have a hedgehog visiting my garden and would like to put out food for it - what should I feed it? Although you may be tempted to put out a saucer of bread and milk, you mustn’t do this. Hedgehogs cannot digest bread and, like most adult animals, milk upsets their stomachs. Instead put out a dish of dog or cat food – not the fish based varieties - minced meat, chopped liver or scrambled eggs. Dog biscuits, bran and peanuts can be used to supplement the diet and provide roughage. It is also important to ensure that a fresh supply of water is always available, especially during dry periods. I have heard that hedgehogs get lots of fleas and I am worried about my children and my pets if I see them in my garden. Although hedgehogs are renowned for having fleas, these fleas are host specific, which means they only live on the hedgehog and do not transfer to dogs, cats or humans. Nor can they live in your carpet and furniture like other fleas. If you do find a hedgehog which is infested with fleas, please do not be tempted to use domestic pet flea powder on it, as most flea powders can kill hedgehogs. If the hedgehog is heavily infested and you think it may be affecting his health then you should lightly dust him with Johnsons RID-MITE or a similar powder suitable for use on cage birds. I have found a hedgehog in my garden during the day. Hedgehogs
are almost totally nocturnal and should only be seen from dusk onwards.
If you find a hedgehog out and about during daylight hours, then almost
certainly something is wrong!
Sick hedgehogs can be found at any time of the year, even during winter
when they should be safely asleep.
If
you do find a hedgehog and you suspect something is wrong, using a pair of
gardening or rubber gloves pick it up very carefully and put it in a small
cardboard box.
If you think the hedgehog is sick or is a very young abandoned baby it
will need warmth, so place a warm hot water bottle, wrapped in a towel or
blanket, in the bottom of the box, then cover the hedgehog with a cloth or hay
or straw (if you have some) and take it as quickly as you can to a rescue centre,
where it will be given any treatment it needs and will be looked after until it
can be released back to the wild
Foxes
I have found a fox cub (cubs) which appears to be lost or abandoned, what should I do Vixens stay with their cubs for about 2 weeks, while they are young and helpless, and the dog fox brings home food for her. However, after this time, the vixen must go and hunt for food herself and must leave the cubs alone. If you find lone fox cubs, the mother has probably gone foraging for food and will return eventually, so avoid approaching them. An “abandoned” fox cub will in fact be reared by its aunts if its mother is killed and should be left alone, provided it is well hidden and out of immediate danger. (Not on open roads, in busy parks etc) However, you should observe the
cub (cubs) from a safe distance to see if it is being cared for, if you are
convinced it is not, then you should phone a sanctuary who
will rear the cubs, but release them back into the wild. |
