Ealing Hedgehog Friends (2025)

28/06/2025

HEDGEHOGS ARE DYING IN THE HEAT WAVE.

PLEASE PUT WATER OUT FOR HEDGEHOGS.

Use a shallow dish (such as a plant saucer or similar) and top it off every evening.

No milk, no bread, no mealworms, no peanuts.

Even if you don't see hedgehogs in your garden, they likely visit at night if they can get through your fence (we have rescued hedgehogs all over Ealing; they do live here!).

FOOD IS ALSO HARD TO COME BY IN THE HOT WEATHER

The ground is rock hard, so hedgehogs use a lot of energy when digging for food. Earth worms and beetles are well hidden away.

You could offer wet cat or dog food.

Wet food is better in hot weather, as it has some moister in it already. Or use dry cat nibbles. No need to buy special hedgehog food.

19/06/2025

HOT WEATHER ALERT!
it's going to be 30 degrees over the next few days!
Please spare a thought for wildlife and especially hedgehogs.
If you know you have hedgehogs visiting your garden or allotment, here is how you can help:
Put some water out for them, in a SHALLOW BOWL (can be as easy as a plant-saucer, make sure to keep it topped up)

Offer them some food (wet dog or cat food, or cat nibbles). Ideally, you put them in a hedgehog feeding station (there is info in this group how to build one).
NEVER milk or bread - these are hedgehog killers!
Mealworms are not good for hogs (weakens their bones).

In hot and dry weather, the ground dries out. Hedgehogs starve because they can't dig for earthworms and ground beetles. And they get very thirsty.
If you see a hedgehog out in the day, its always a sign something is wrong, please contact us at [email protected]
Thank you 🦔

19/06/2025

ALL THESE HOGLETS WERE ORPHANED BY HUMAN IMPACT.

Please help! And talk to your friends and neighbours about Hedgehog Safety.

So far Ealing Hedgehog Friends dealt with:

* Hedgehog-mum killed by strimmer (check before you mow!)
* Hedgehog-mum killed by a car (obviously not sticking to 20miles speed limit in a neighbourhood road)
* Hedgehog-mum locked away from her babies by a neighbour who closed a hole in the fence that served as a hedgehog highway.
* Nest destroyed by gardening work, mother did not return
* Nest disturbed by dog in park, mother did not return

Some of the babies are now dead. Some are at Wildlife Aid for initial care.

HELP US HELP HEDGEHOGS:
* If you see a hoglet on its own, smaller than a large mango, it should still be with its mum.
* If you see a hedgehog out during the day, it very likely needs help fast. It will be sick or injured, and then die of heat stroke or maggots

Please secure it, or send us exact location with What3words, or pin of google map. There is lots of info on how to rescue a hedgehog or hoglet on the website of Ealing Hedgehog Friends.
In the very rare case that you found a foraging mum out in the day (she will move fast, with a purpose, and look strong and healthy), we will release immediately.

TO GET HELP FROM US:
[email protected]

TO HELP US SAVE MORE HOGLETS:
paypal.me/ealinghedgehogfriend

15/06/2025

Urgent help needed.

We have had a report of a hedgehog out in the day near the Hanwell bottom lock (number 97 on the Meadow side) which will probably need help. One of our volunteers has been down and can't find it. They have left a shoe box on the lock to put it in. If you are down by the canal in the next couple of days and see the hedgehog please put it in the shoe box and take it home. Then urgently contact us on our email helpline [email protected] and one of our volunteers will come and pick it up. By doing this you could be saving the hedgehogs's life.

10/06/2025

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: to help with info-flier distribution

Sadly, we had three rescues in the last ten days that involved hedgehogs with cutting wounds that might have come from garden tools or litter. One of the hogs has sadly passed away, the other two are still at wildlife hospitals fighting for their lives.

This got some of our volunteers going - and they created a specific flier, which they will put through mailboxes, and place in park cafes and local businesses. Thanks, Janet, Ann and Jess for initiating this.

WE NEED HELP DISTRIBUTING OUR FLIERS

We will start with this communication in the Pitshanger area (home to many hedgehogs!). Later, we will custom-design the fliers to other areas where we found injured hedgehogs in the past. We will also create a "stop littering" flier to raise more awareness that litter can kill hedgehogs!

If you like to help us with this project, please get in touch, the best way is sending an email to [email protected].

WE ALSO NEED HELP WITH PRINTING COSTS

If you have no time but a bit of extra cash - please help us with the printing costs for this and other educational tools. A little can help a lot! Many thanks (for bank link please email us), if you can, use paypal:
paypal.me/Ealinghedgehogfriend

08/06/2025

UPDATE: sadly, the wildlife vet has informed us that this hedgehog has died of its wounds, very likely caused by a strimmer. At least he died with some pain relief. So again we ask: PLEASE CHECK FOR SLEEPING HEDGEHOGS BEFORE SWITCHING ON YOUR STRIMMER

BEWARE STRIMMERS! This hedgehog was rescued from Pitshanger Park this afternoon, missing toes from its back leg, so dragging the leg behind him and out in the day. We have taken him to a wildlife vet for treatment, who says it's likely a strimmer injury. They are flooded with strimmer injuries at this time of year, including one hedgehog with his nose cut off. PLEASE CHECK LONG GRASS BEFORE YOU USE A STRIMMER! There could easily be a sleeping hedgehog under the long grass.
Also:
IF YOU SEE A HEDGEHOG OUT IN THE DAY ACT FAST! it's a sign they need help. Can you see what looks like rice grains on this hog's head? They are FLY EGGS which will hatch into maggots which in turn attack the hedgehog. Injured hedgehogs out in the day are sitting targets for flies, so the sooner you contact us the better. PLEASE DON'T DELAY! Email [email protected]. Thank you to Kate, who did just this, so this hedgehog is now receiving treatment.

06/06/2025

HEDGEHOG OUT IN THE DAY: NEEDS HELP.
DON'T DELAY.
________________________

The hedgehog below looked "normal" when walking around in a garden during day hours.

But it had a broken leg and an abscess wound, which was full of puss and about 70 maggots. Maggots kill hedgehogs.

The finder watched it a few days, as "it seemed to be O.K.". But it was not. You can clearly see the utterly swollen leg sticking out of the rolled-up hedgehog.
Wild animals will hide their injuries, so that predators don't consider them weak and easy prey.

IF YOU SEE A HEDGEHOG OUT DURING THE DAY:
_____________________________________
Try to secure it (in a box with breathing holes and a soft towel or some newspaper). Wear gloves or use a towel when handling the hedgehog. It will need no food at this point. Then quickly get in touch with us:

[email protected]

Only exceptions: Foraging mums. But they walk fast and with a purpose, likely collecting nesting materials or foods. Never sunbathing, never resting in the open. If we take one in by accident, we will immediately put it back. But 95% of hogs out in the day need your help fast!

01/06/2025

UPDATE: HE'S BEEN FOUND! AND IS SAFE

Calling all users of Cleveland Park! We have been told about a hedgehog out this morning in Cleveland Park, which is a sign that it needs help. We have searched in the middle of the park but havent foound it yet. If you are in the park and see a hedgehog out in daylight PLEASE EMAIL OUR HELP LINE [email protected] as soon as possible, noting its position (What3Words is perfect for this)
Thanks, and please remember - a hedgehog out in the day isn't sunbathing, it needs help!

31/05/2025

At Ealing Hedgehog Friends, we always work as a team.
Here is an example - Brent the hedgehog.
_______________________________________

Brent was handed in to a vet by a member of the public, and the vet was a bit iffy about what to do with it. Thankfully, our supporter Caroline Allen heard of it, and informed the vet about our rescue.

After that, we had six volunteers gathering as a team to help poor little Brent: Dorothy Goodall went to pick him up, and fostered him. Gertie Walsh went over to refresh both Dorothy and Francesca Fraser on providing fluid injections, important re-hydration work, which they continued doing, both late at night and first thing in the morning.

Then Elettra Marziani drove Brent to Pumpkin's Wildlife hospital the next morning. At all times, our experienced Lydia Howarth was on stand-by for additional medical advice, and Mary O'Neill kept everybody aligned as the dedicated member of our hedgehog coordinator team.

Sadly, the hedgehog passed away at Pumpkin's - but you know what: We did all we could for little Brent, we gave him love and care - and now we certainly don't quit. The direct outcome: We have two more volunteers who are solid with fluid injections.

This is to the unsung heroes of hedgehog rescue work. You can't get famous with it, but it is certainly an important and heartfelt job. Thanks, team.

If you like to support our work in the future: paypal.me/Ealinghedgehogfriend

25/05/2025

IMPORTANT if there are any
VETS, VET NURSES, VET RECEPTIONISTS
in this group. Please read this:

Ealing Hedgehog Friends will launch a broad communication campaign to vet surgeries soon, but this is quite urgent. We had several cases of hedgehogs in need being just "dropped off" at a vet's surgery by members of the public.

If this happens to your practice, we hope the following is helpful to you.

* If a hedgehog is handed in to your practice by a member of The public and you are unsure what to do, please:
Get in touch with Ealing Hedgehog Friends ([email protected]). We can take the hog off you, provide some info, or put you in touch with a Wildlife Hospital. Tiggywinkles is brilliant, but they do not return recovered hedgehogs to be released where they were found in Ealing.

* Ask the finder of the hedgehog some questions (exact time and location where the hog was found; if out in the day, for how long have they observed it; what might have caused the injury, was there a disturbed nest; has the finder given any food (if so, what?) or have they used any products on the hedgehog?

* First aid for hedgehogs: Warmth, quiet, fluids.
Providing food is secondary, and the fact that they eat is not a good indicator for being well (wild animals hide their weaknesses). We are able to provide fluid charts for subcutaneous fluid injection for re-hydration.

* Flystrike in hedgehogs is common, even if there is no wound. Fly eggs are often in the belly hair and under the arms/legs, and then not visible if the hedgehog rolls up. Removal is urgent though, as fly eggs can turn into maggots within a day in hot weather. Flea sprays for pets cannot be used on hedgehogs.

* Put the hedgehog on a scale: if it is smaller than about 120g (younger than about 3.5 weeks), it needs toileting and hand feeding.

* If it is smaller than about 250-300g it should still be with mum, and there may be other hoglets around. We can organise a search party to find them.

* A female with teats will be a mum, and there will be hoglets out there in need. Again, our organisation can go and look for the nest and the hoglets, but we need as much info about the location where the hedgehog was found as possible.

Thank you very much.

24/05/2025

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Boston Manor Park Nature Festival between 12 noon and 4pm.

17/05/2025

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Boston Manor Nature Festival next Saturday (24th) from 12 noon until 4pm.

Ealing Hedgehog Friends

28/06/2025

19/06/2025

19/06/2025

15/06/2025

10/06/2025

08/06/2025

06/06/2025

01/06/2025

31/05/2025

25/05/2025

24/05/2025

17/05/2025

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