Because of the warm weather, it appears hedgehogs are not hibernating as they should be. As the BBC so scientifically put it, they are "forgetting to hibernate". Normally they sleep through the winter but hedgehog hospitals have seen an increase in the number they are getting this winter.
The problem is that because it is the winter there isn't enough food for the hedgehogs which should be hibernating so they are becoming underweight very quickly.
I know there are a few people here that work in wildlife hospitals, and even those who don't, have you seen an increase in the number of hedgehogs out this year?
Cant say i've seen any but we do have an abundance of Slugs and Snails for them to eat down here!
I haven’t seen any more than usual around this area.
David
Over Winter I've had 12 hedgehogs to care for (I'm a hedgehog carer for The Hedgehog Helpline). Despite the cold weather none of them have gone into full hibernation. 3 have had the odd few days where they have slept through before awakening again but not one of them has slept for a full week.
Now they are all up and about, ready to go. I'll be releasing the first of them this week.
Several huge bonuses to them being awake all Winter are they're all well fed, a good size, fit and healthy
Why do you think that even with the cold weather they have not fully hibernated? It must be a real bonus for them going into summer in such good shape though.
Several reasons combined I think. Hedgehogs don't hibernate because of the cold, they hibernate because of a lack of food. With me providing daily food they don't have to worry about that. Plus the mild/cold/mild/cold weather pattern won't help. A prolonged period of cold weather is usually what makes them go into hibernation but because we've only really had the odd few days of cold even those in hibernation will keep waking up for something to eat.
If the hog is suffering from certain parasites they can also prevent them going into hibernation. Coccidia can make hedgehogs hyperactive just before it becomes fatal unfortunately. One of the worst things you come across as a carer. hedgehogs brought into you seemingly fine, up and about as you would expect but the real reason they are so active is they are infected by this parasite. The only way to detect it properly is through a microscope although the hedgehogs droppings are a good indicator too.
The other reason some hedgehogs don't hibernate is because they know they aren't heavy enough, like they know if they go to sleep for too long they'll lose too much weight and die. That reason doesn't really apply to the hedgehogs in my care but Autumn juveniles tend to stay up and about most of the Winter. It was finding a juvenile hedgehog in my garden the year before last, one week before Xmas, which got me into being a hedgehog carer in the first place.
Very interesting, thanks for the response!
Once the parasite has been detected is there anything you can do about it?
There are treatments to help with most of the internal, microscopic parasites although they aren't meant for animals like hedgehogs, they're really for larger animals like sheep and pigs. The wormer hedgehog carers like me use on hedgehogs that are brought in is actually for sheep! And the treatment for Coccidia is actually prescribed for horses and cattle! Which is why successfully treating a sick hedgehog is so touch and go, no matter how long you've been a carer for. It really can be a "kill or cure" with all these medicines. Which is why I use homeopathy on the hedgehogs so much. I've found they respond really well to those treatments and I'm gradually building up a vast amount of knowledge on the individual remedies and what they work best on.
Of all the internal parasites Coccidia has to be the worst and most difficult to treat, in my opinion, but only because the symptoms present themselves usually at too late a stage for a carer to do anything about
