Having fed them, cured them of their coughs and told stories about them in these forums, it seemed a pity to abandon them over the winter.

We have bought a Hedgehog Hotel. It is a solid wooden structure, waterproofed, squishproofed, fireproofed, bombproofed and windproofed. We have filled it with hay and dried leaves and set it down next to their food supply.

We now confidently expect the sound of hedgehog snores over the winter, followed by hh equivalents of 'yes, yes, there, no there you moron, oohhhh yyyyeeessssssss.....hmmmm' followed rapidly by the patter of tiny hh feet next spring.

Thanks for that Steve.

My, what beautiful imagery!

Hopefully all goes well though, Steve!

O, best of luck, Steve. We bought THREE last winter - not one was used. Our garden is such a wilderness that the hoggies seem to find plenty of places with no help from us, thank you very much, such as under the shed or the "compost heap" (eupehmistic term for pile of wood and old carpet and organic matter from the dogs' run .... don't ask...). This year we have a cat house with a vast amount of room underneath and my guess is that half the local hoggie population will make a beeline for that.

I am REALLY hoping i don't have to overwinter any this year - hoggies active and messy living in cat carriers is just no fun at all.

Liz

Absolutely typical of the young these days. No sense of gratitude, modern hoggies.

I bet they never had to flog from hedge to hedge with the soles of their feet encased in old newspaper, like 'proper' hoggies used to. No hotels in comfy gardens with soft humans to provide for their every whim.

Pampered, or what?

The damn thing cost nearly £40.00. They better use it or it is short rations for them next year.

What's happened to your spider? Are you setting up a spider hotel too?

Love the imagery!

Maybe you could take some pictures of the hoggies?

Our entire house is a spider hotel

I will try. They come for tea at dusk, which happens at this time of year when I am teaching. I do not see them - just know they are still around from the amount of food they are guzzling. I am putting out more at the moment because I read that they have to double their body weight in the last few weeks before hibernation.

I won't be able to photograph them inside the hotel because the entrance is small and the whole structure is solid. Also I have pointed it away from the house and into the undergrowth so that light from the house will not disturb them if they colonise their hotel.

That apart, I shall see what I can do

Steve

You could teach them to play the piano, pattering their tiny feet in harmonic unison, then start up your own travelling circus of musical hedgehogs.

Perhaps if they became skilled enough they can become deputies in my New Business Venture. Vacuming the floor would require a specially adapted device - perhaps AP and YAP could come up with something.

Cooking pizzas would be a doddly. According to a website I read, "Hedgehogs will eat anything", so some heavy training would be in order there.

Babysitting the kids would be a doddle. Find my any child that wouldn't be thrilled to be babysat by a cute, cuddly animal. Might need spike covers, though

All right. I'll shut up.

Steve

Is this 'the enthusiastic singer that dabbles in other stuff'?

No, that's a hedgehog!

I thought you knew about these things?!

I do dabble in lots of things, but hedgehog husbandry isn't one of them. So I'll be interested to hear how your venture goes.

Mind you, first thing in the morning, there is quite a strong resemblance!

really cute piccie Amber

Wot? Me, first thing in the morning? Nah!!!

thats such a cool idea,(hedgehog hotel) and the thought of ikkle dinky hhs it very sweet, awwww

Wow Steve, you bought a hotel! I didn't know you could buy those kind of things!


Might have to consider buying a mini one for Bob!

EDIT: Mini One is a car!

Car Expert

I liked this picture so much I set it as the background for our desktop. I asked David "Do you like the hedgehog?" and he said "What hedgehog?" "That one there, on the desktop." I replied. "Oh" he said "I thought it was a wet rat."

Well, you know how rich we piano teachers are

Amber: oh dear!

I think it's really cute

It IS really cute, isn't it.

I have to say, in David's defence, that we used to have a pair of pet ratties. They were soooooo sweet and affectionate and intelligent. And every so often I would bath them, and their fur does clump up a bit like the hedgehogs spikes look. But only a bit like that, not a lot.

Oh, thinking about my ratties, I do miss them. It took ages for Jason to persuade me to get them, because my initial reaction was "Rats. You must be joking." But they are wonderful creatures - well Rattus Domesticus is anyway. I can't really speak for the wild variants!

I'd post a nice rattie photo on here, but some people are phobic about them and I would hate to upset or scare anyone.



Amber
x

Yes, you don't want to give anyone a scare when they're relaxing in the Cafe!

I actually think most rodents are cute, and I've been told rats can be friendly, affectionate and intelligent. The wild ones I'm not at all keen on though!

I better be a teacher then, so I can get one for Bob!

Car Expert

Will you take bookings for pet ratties too for when their owners go on holiday?

hehehe

I just looked again. Isn't this hotel on fire?

Steve

Quick, find a better one!



Phew, that was close!

Car Expert

Hmm. Much better.

My hoggies are sorted but their relatives demand the penthouse suite in yours

Oh no, I ned to find some space!

Car Expert

Remember, a business that does not expand dies instead. Buy up the surrounding properties.

OK, I'll keep that in mind!

Car Expert

Hedgehogs are fab! The idea of a hotel for them is exceeding cute. Does it come complete with hedgehog lift, bar, gym and swimming pool?

I'm not sure about the idea of rat-sitting, but I have a reciprocal hamster-care arrangement with a friend (which works perfectly unless we're on holiday at the same time!). One occasion could have been fun, as we had a barbecue when we were looking after her hamster, and another friend's four-year-old son was delighted with first friend's pet, even more so when he discovered he could feed it salad through the bars of its cage. Just in time we stopped him feeding the hamster cucumber. Why the near miss? The only cucumber in circulation was in the (by now empty) Pimms jugs, so cucumber slices were somewhat alcoholic.

<wanders off, imagining Cuddles having had too much to drink, swinging from the roof of his cage saying "you're my best friend you are">.

Update on hotel occupancy status:

I filled the hotel with dried leaves and soft hay. I know the hotes has been investigated because some of the hay has been kicked into the hoggies food, so it looks as though occupancy for winter hibernation might be happening.

Steve

Glad to hear you might have tenants already! Did your spider ever come back?

No, but I do not know how quickly they grow, so it might be the big one living in the corner of the ceiling.

Steve

So it's moved house!!

Further update on hedgehog hotel occupancy status.

I have taken to placing hoggies food inside the hotel. Hoggies have taken to eating the lot and then kicking the dish outside, as if to say, "Come on, bozo. It's empty".

I am used to seeing hoggies only at dusk. At midday today, I went into the garden to throw out some newspapers and disturbed one on its way into the hotel. It froze, half in and half out. Hysterical sight.

I whizzed in to get the camera to take a phoro for eveybody, but hoggies bottom had disappeared by the time I found it.

I will keep you all updated, but it looks as though the hotel has tennants.

Steve

How much are they paying for accomodation?

they're entertaining us- that's priceless!

They are costing me a fortune

Update on Hedgehog Hotel situation:

I have continued feeding hoggies over the winter, putting their food bowl inside the hotel. The food woud be eaten about once a fortnight. A couple of weeks ago, I started finding the embty bowl shoved outsided the hotel.

"Talk about hinting", I thought to myself.

The bowl shoving episodes have been increasing in frequency. Today, I noticed a large pile of dried leaves and other material outside the front door, so I reached in and felt around - lots of material that is not the hay I originally put inside.

I had a really good rootle around and it was not long before I stabbed myself on sleeping hoggy.

I don't know how long the hotel has been tenanted - hoggies are supposed to start emerging from hibernation later this month, so I suppose an early riser might have come foraging for food then decided on an extra few weeks lie-in.

Whatever, the hotel is now a home. Better order fresh supplies of hoggy food

Steve

Awwww hedgiee....

Awww I love head chogs!

We had one in our garden the other day!