AS we are now entering autumn and winter with the leaves changing colour and falling to the ground, spare a thought for our prickly friends. This is a crucial time for our hedgehogs, writes Sue Gear.

Hedgehogs are still out and about at the moment as it has not turned really cold yet. But at this time of year they will be getting ready for hibernation. Preparing a home to hibernate over the winter, they will use all the leaves that have blown off the trees to make a snug nest. Our gardens make ideal habitats for hedgehogs, so try and keep a corner of your garden wild — don’t sweep up all the leaves, leave some for our prickly friends. It is also the time of year when we start clearing up our gardens so just be aware that wildlife maybe nesting in old log piles, compost heaps and pampas grass. If you are planning to burn rubbish or pampas grass please check before lighting it, many hedgehogs die as a result of nesting in unwanted rubbish. The best thing to do if you are planning to burn anything or even have a bonfire on fireworks night is to move the pile the day you plan to burn it, this way you will not kill any visiting wildlife.

Last year on November 6 I had a huge female hedgehog arrive with the most awful burn on her back where she had been nesting in pile of wood that had been prepared for Guy Fawkes night. We almost put her to sleep as it was so bad, but she was very strong and a really good weight so we decided to give her a chance. She came home with me and had daily painkillers and the wound was dressed daily. I called her ‘Hairy Mary’ as she had really long hair underneath her.

Luckily, if I can call it lucky, the huge wound was on her back so it was very easy to keep applying the cream daily, if the wound had been to her belly I would not have been able to keep it dressed. Hairy Mary stayed with me until the spring and was released back home. By this time you could hardly notice the scar.

Female hedgehogs may have had their second litter as late as October and will have raised their babies so will now be trying to regain condition and body weight before they hibernate.

Autumn juveniles are the real worry at this time of year. These are the babies from really late litters and these hoglets will never have time to gain enough weight to survive the winter and many will perish. This is where you can help.

Please keep an eye open for small hedgehogs out in the day or night. This applies only to small ones — large ones out and about at night will be fine. They may not even hibernate until January, it just depends on the weather and temperature.

To further complicate things, large or small hedgehogs out in the day at any time of the year are probably in trouble, even if they look fine. So grab some gardening gloves, pick them up, pop them in a cardboard box with an old towel. It would also be good to put in a hot water bottle or, if you don’t have one, an empty milk or water bottle filled with very warm water wrapped in a towel and placed beside casualties, not underneath as they must be able to move away from it if they want. Warmth is a life saver and many of these hoglets are really cold and wet when found. You can offer them some meaty cat food and water, never bread and milk as this can give them an upset tummy and cause diarrhoea, dehydration and even death.

As soon as you have your causality safe give me, Sue, a call on 07817127754 or take it to your local vets. They will hopefully find your nearest BHPS (British Hedgehog Preservation Society) carer.

The autumn juveniles will have to be kept warm and fed throughout the winter until they are nice and big ready to be released in the spring.

Hedgehogs need to be 600 grams or over to have enough fat reserves to survive a cold winter. I hope this will be helpful and together we may save some of our prickly friends this winter.

Sue Gear

Born to be Wild, Bude