Here’s what you need to do

Jump to: Out in the day · Sick or injured · Picked up by a dog · Disturbed nest · Trapped in netting · Drains and holes

A hedgehog out in the day is NOT OK

• Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so they don’t usually come out in the day.
• The main reason for coming out in daylight is to find heat. The hedgehog is cold and probably suffering from the beginnings of hypothermia, which is why they lie in the sun.
• Please don’t ignore them. They need urgent help.
• The only exception is a nesting or nursing female. A nesting mum may pop out of the nest during the day to find food or nesting material, but she will be moving quickly and with purpose, knowing exactly where she is going, and she may have nesting material in her mouth.
• Even then, it is still worth checking with a rescue to make sure she isn’t in need.

I’ve found a sick or injured hedgehog

1. Using gloves or a towel, carefully pick up the hedgehog and put it in a high-sided box (they are good climbers).
2. Put in a towel or blanket for the hedgehog to lie on and another to hide under.
3. Add a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, or an empty drinks bottle filled with hot tap water and wrapped up, so the hedgehog can warm up. Make sure there is room for it to move away from the heat.
4. Secure the hedgehog straight away, as they can be gone by the time you come back. If possible, bring the box into a quiet area of the house.
5. Please do not feed the hedgehog. Just offer a shallow bowl of water.
6. Do not try to syringe water into the hedgehog. This must be done by a trained person, as water can get into their lungs.
7. Phone a rescue straight away. Please don’t wait, or put the box in a shed while you take the dog out. The hedgehog needs urgent attention.

My dog has picked up a hedgehog

• The hedgehog will need checking over at a rescue, even if it looks fine.
• Your dog’s teeth may have punctured the hedgehog’s skin, and without treatment these wounds will become infected.
• These wounds are not always easy to see, so please always get the hedgehog checked.

I’ve disturbed a hedgehog nest in my garden

• Please do not touch the hoglets.
• Cover the nest back over and watch from a distance to see if mum returns.
• If you have touched any of the hoglets, mum may reject or even kill them because of your scent. Please ring a rescue immediately for advice.
• If you are at all worried, ring a rescue.

I’ve found a hedgehog trapped in netting

• We see a lot of hedgehogs that have become tangled in garden netting or football goal nets, or have fallen down drains or uncovered holes.
• Free the hedgehog from as much of the netting as you can, then, using gloves or a towel, place it in a high-sided box with a towel to lie on and one to hide in, and contact a rescue.
• Please do not just free and release the hedgehog. Hedgehogs can suffer post-constriction injuries that appear later, so they need to be monitored after being trapped.

Hedgehogs trapped in drains or holes

• We don’t always know how long a hedgehog has been trapped, so it’s important it is checked at a rescue for injuries and dehydration.
• Secure the hedgehog (using gloves or a towel) in a high-sided box with a towel to lie on and one to hide in, and call a rescue. Please don’t wait, as the hedgehog could have painful injuries that you can’t see.
• A hedgehog that has been down a drain may be wet and cold. Add a covered hot water bottle, or an empty drinks bottle filled with hot tap water, so it can warm up, making sure it can move away from the heat.

Also see our page on fly strike, which needs treating within hours.