📷 Eyesshare photography

Every day now is filled with phone calls from finders of out-in-the-day hedgehogs. And they are all saying the same thing: "We brought him in, put him in a box and gave him food, he was starving." They don't realise, but these sweet kind people have just sealed this hedgehog's fate. Please NEVER feed a daytime wildlife casualty. I know, it's so hard not to. When we see a suffering animal we feel a strong, innate impulse to help, and a desire to provide immediate tangible comfort; equating food with survival and care. Feeding feels like a direct, immediate and nurturing action to alleviate suffering. Yet it is the most catastrophically harmful thing you could ever do. Especially hedgehogs out in the day, who will be hypothermic. It takes a lot of energy to digest food, energy these compromised animals just don't have spare. Every last bit of their energy is being used to maintain vital bodily functions - to keep the heart beating, to oxygenate the organs. Forcing energy away from these critical functions for something as non-critical as digesting food will be a death sentence. It won't be immediate, it may take hours, or a couple of days, but eventually, no matter what the experienced rescue you later take them to tries, the animal is already on the unstoppable journey into shock, organ failure and death. It's tragic for the casualty and heartbreaking for the rescues. So please help in the right way. An out-in-the-day hedgehog needs *contact* warmth, a safe indoor space away from flies, and cover to reduce their stress (please see advice below). They are not going to die of starvation in the couple of hours between you finding them, and getting them to a rescue.😊 And please remember - any website that gives you DIY information on caring for or feeding injured or orphaned wildlife is, by default, wrong. The ONLY right action is to get them to a good rescue (never a vet) where their complex needs can be met. Even if you have seen this vital information before and understand it, feeding wildlife casualties is a powerful compulsion because it directly activates human instincts of empathy and compassion, often overriding the scientific advice against it. So please remember this warning and spread it as far as you can. Helping a wildlife casualty get to the expert treatment they need is an incredibly kind, altruistic act of great humanity. Just remember to provide them with what they need, not what you need.🥰

Pumpkins: Halloween is one night. Tonight. If you have to waste a food item (and I strongly suggest you don't), please put it out for that one night, then safely dispose of it. Please DO NOT put it out for the wildlife. Once you've handled it, cut it, left it out in the open, unrefrigerated, it will not be hygienic or safe for anyone to eat. Pumpkins are a low-acid vegetable, so once they are cut and left at room temperature, pathogens will rapidly grow on the flesh, producing mould spores. Our precious wildlife do not have any magical properties that protect them against food poisoning. Additionally, this time of year there are baby hedgehogs around, born too late to find natural food, desperate to eat anything to stop the pain of starvation. Pumpkin has a laxative affect so it would be particularly cruel to leave it out for starving wildlife to eat in desperation, causing them to lose precious fluids that may make the difference between life and death. So no matter what you read elsewhere, please DO NOT put your discarded decoration out for the birds or any other wildlife. Please DO NOT compost them either, as a composting pumpkin can produce highly toxic tremorgenic mycotoxins, which will be deadly if the compost bin is not properly secured and is accessible to wildlife (or pets). Many hedgehogs, seeking the warmth of a compost bin, die this way every year. Once you've used the pumpkin as decoration it's waste, fit only for the bin. Please help get this vital message spread far and wide, to save precious lives and prevent suffering.

Halloween artificial cobweb material: It may be a bit of fake fun for you, but it's a very real and terrifying death for them. And it's not only birds. Last year I had my first call of the season of a hedgehog trapped in this horrific fake 'cobweb', made especially for gullible halloweeners to spread over their greenery, trapping all unsuspecting birds, insects and mammals, including hedgehogs. The fine synthetic fibers are difficult for animals to see and can quickly wrap around their legs, spines, and neck, leading to severe injuries. When a hedgehog struggles to free herself the web tightens, cutting off circulation and causing deep wounds. These constriction injuries often lead to permanent damage or death. Unfortunately the call was from Manchester, so all I could do was talk them through getting the poor creature to a rescue. Clearly she had been trapped there for at least one night, and her struggles had pulled the strong nylon strands so tightly that one of her toes had been amputated. Can you imagine the pain and the sheer terror? And then seeing dawn approach, while hanging there, tightly bound and helpless. Aside from being stressed, dehydrated, starving and exhausted to the point of near death, she also had horrific bite/peck wounds to her face, where she had been held there, helpless, unable to curl and defend herself, while a predator tried to eat her alive. If you have used this deadly cruel trap to 'decorate' your garden, please take it down now. Please don't be conned by the greedy makers and sellers of this rubbish into hurting defenceless animals.

A smile to start your weekend.😍 Hedgehogs have survived, unchanged, for 15 million years. 15 million years! Just think - our humble little garden visitors once walked with woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers. They survived so well because they are resourceful, adaptable, courageous and problem-solving. Just look at how this clever boy solves the problem of the feeder being bricked up. You wouldn't expect that level of intelligence from a humble little hedgehog, would you?😊 The fact our hedgehogs are on the brink of extinction now, despite surviving persecution, drought, famine, and the ice age, is a serious indicator of how just how profoundly endangered our fragile ecosystem has become. Please do what you can to help these gentle, clever little animals. While hedgehogs who are healthy and well nourished will have hibernated now, those who are sickly or underweight are still around, desperately searching for a kind garden that provides. Please leave out a dish of fresh clean water each evening, by your back and front door. A dish of dry kitten food kept safe inside a feeder would be a life saver.(Please see hedgehogcabin.info/making-a-… for how to make one). Remember to leave the leaves where they fall, and keep the edges of your garden and at least one corner uncut and undisturbed all winter, to allow natural food to safely live and grow.

If your visiting hedgehogs have disappeared into hibernation - well done! 🥰 Hedgehogs will only attempt to enter the hibernation process if they are healthy and have enough brown fat to see them though winter. Thanks to you and your kind provisions of safe food and clean water they have reached that happy state. Hedgehogs occasionally rise from hibernation for a top up, so please keep providing food and clean water all through the winter. Covering the biscuits with a saucer will keep dry cat food fresh for around 3 days, before it starts losing its crunch, aroma, and nutritional quality. Here's dear sweet Anya, who rose from her hibernation last night for a top-up snack, before going back to bed. She has been in hibernation since 1st September. The babies she gave birth to here in June dispersed when they were old enough, but sweet Anya decided the maternity wing of the winter cabin makes a nice home, thanks very much, and has stayed.😁 Anya's history: teapawt.net/HedgehogCabin/status/2…

I don't live in the middle of the New Forest. This is a tiny triangle of woods at the end of my road. But the water I put out there every night is the only water available for miles. Despite some recent rain, the ponds, rivers and streams are all still dry from the drought. So these poor deer, along with badgers, foxes, squirrels, hedgehogs, and all manner of birds are forced to travel miles each night to get to this water. It's a lifesaver for them. Please be a lifesaver for your local wildlife. A dish of water in the back and front - even if you don't have a garden - may mean the difference between life and death to some poor struggling animal. Please keep it full, and keep it clean, every night. Please don't give up, it may take a while for the wildlife to find you. Every single hedgehog through these hospital doors this year has been suffering from dehydration. It's heartbreaking, hearing these dear sweet animals gasp their last breath, knowing that if someone, somewhere, only turned on their tap and put out some water this precious life would have been saved. Our wildlife are dying of thirst. In this green and pleasant land. Weather and conditions have changed, and we need to change too, and help out those less fortunate than ourselves. It's such a small effort, for such a huge reward.❤️‍🩹