Watch out for these little fellas in the prickly heat!

Thursday 02 July 2015

We've been warned to stay safe in the sun this week as temperatures soar but it's some local wildlife that are really struggling in this heat.

A Jersey charity is having to deal with a lot of dehydrated and starving hedgehogs and are urging people to keep an eye out for any that look like they are out sunbathing.

It's common to see hedgehogs rolled up in a ball but Dru Burdon who runs the Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group says if you see them lying flat out during the day then they are in trouble.

Dru said: "If you see a hedgehog walking in the daylight or if it’s flat out in the sun, whatever size it is then there’s something wrong and you should give me a ring. But if it’s walking with purpose and not hurt and has got bedding in its mouth, it may be a mum so don’t worry too much about her.

“When it’s dry they can’t dig for their natural food, they can’t access the creatures in the soil so that’s why they are starving."

Dru says hedgehogs can eat cat and dog food and preferably the kind that comes as a dry biscuit and is urging people to leave bowls of water out in their garden for them so that they can get a good drink too.

She's also urging people to leave doing their garden tidy ups for another month or so after having to care for a lot of hedgehogs and their hoglets who have become victims of 'nest disturbance'.

She said they've had to have a lot more put down than they've been able to save in the last few weeks and is now caring for about five with some sort of head injuries caused by strummers.

She said: "If you've got piles of leaves and you find a nest, leave it alone and do your tidy up again in a month's time."

Hedgehogs are busy having hoglets throughout the summer and into the early Autumn and have been known to have them as late as the end of October.

If you see a hedgehog in need of a helping hand give Dru a call on 734340.