'arry 2022

[Sean Regan]

I've moved the second camera (again).

All it was picking up was 'arry on his way down to the bottom of the garden and sometimes on his way back a couple of hours later.
So I decided to put it on the side of the tea-house.

It's covering this area which is a bit out of sight a bit unkempt but might interest a hedgehog.

It took a bit of fettling as I needed a power supply for it. There's two double sockets that side of the building but none in reach for the camera cable. So I had to install another socket near the top of the wall, behind the TV, connected by a spur from one of the double sockets below it.

 

[Sean Regan]

Intruder!

It wasn't picked up by the patio camera, so obviously didn't stay long.

 

[Sean Regan]

Although 'arry is in and out of his feeding station, several times between around 9.00 p.m. and 5.00 a.m. He doesn't neglect his "garden patrolling duties."
Here he is last night amongst the bluebells at 10.27 p.m. at the very bottom of the garden. On the video, you see he goes right into the far corner, "checking for stuff."

 

[Sean Regan]

Another photo of 'arry, from last night. This time he triggered the PIR on the tea-house, so not an infra-red photo.
The accompanying video showed how fit he looks, with the light shining off his spikes. He's there every night searching the bottom of the garden, for bugs amongst the bamboo roots, betweeen visits to his feed station for his "chicken dinner."

 

[Sean Regan]

'arry must have fancied an early breakfast as he was in his feeding station for a bit of chicken (and a poo) around 9.00 p.m. whilst it was still light. He's on his way back out here.

But he didn't stay long and soon made his way back to his house, (sharp left at the top of the steps).

Getting up the steps is a bit of a struggle for him. But hr must do it every night, usually a few times.

Just about made it!

I took these photos through the glass of our French windows.

 

[Sean Regan]

He always eats all his food, though sometimes he makes a few trips to do it.

When I was chopping up his sachet of "Sheba Chicken in Terrine" last night.

I noticed there was a small lump of hard chicken a bit smaller than the size of a 5p piece.

"I thought, I'll leave it in, he'll probably eat it."

No he didn't. He took it out of his bowl and put it by the side and ate the rest.

 

[Sean Regan]

This morning I was clearing up after 'arry and the birds.

I frequently give the area on the patio where are the birds' ground feeder and 'arry's feeding station, a good sweep and a wash down with a hose.

I wash down and scrub the base tray of 'arrys feed station over the drain below the kitchen window every day, so he has a nice clean station when I put his food in during the evening.
The drain is outside the tall fence with the door between the corner of the house and the corner of the garage, so 'arry can't get out and nothing can get in. But this morning I noticed there was some hedgehog poo next to this drain. Which suggests we had a visitor.
Possibly this was a male and maybe then 'arry is actually Arabella?
Hopefully, I might find out when I swop over the summer and winter houses in September. It's not that important to make a point of disturbing him or her before then.

 

[Sean Regan]

I've watched some videos on You-Tube on how to remove ticks from hedgehogs with a special tool. One had over forty ticks on it. But it was a wild one that came into this man's garden.

The tools come in three different sizes.
So I've orded some, they are only three quid. I'm not sure whether to check him out. But he doesn't go anywhere so couldn't have picked any up from other hedgehogs and he rarely scratches himself in the nightly videos I take. I'm loathe to disturb him unnecessarily, so I might leave it to when I take him out and swop over his houses in September.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

and maybe then 'arry is actually Arabella?

Not 'arriet ?
I once lived in a little dead end with a retaining wall with a fence along the top of it. One day such terrible noises were coming from the other side of the fence I climbed up and looked over, two hedgehogs at it.
Do you hear 'arry? they can make a lot of noise, I have came across one at dusk in woods and it was really loud. I reckon that's where they get the 'hog' part of their name, it is very pig like. We get wild boar around here, escaped, I was quite pleased when it was a hedgehog.

 

[Sean Regan]

Hopefully the sex of 'arry will be determined when I take him/her out of his summer box and replace it with his winter home in September.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

You could make a YouTube video, 'Sexing a hedgehog' Bet that would get as many hits as the tea house

 

[Sean Regan]

You could make a YouTube video, 'Sexing a hedgehog' Bet that would get as many hits as the tea house

Actually, there's several You-Tube videos about it already available.
That's where I learned how you can tell (if the hedgehog cooperates).

 

[Sean Regan]

Having watched a few videos of hedgehog tick removal on YouTube. I thought I'd better check 'arry out.
It's a right pain to get at his house because of the cat-proof fence I'd installed and the Stella cherry tree. I had to take him out in his house as I couldn't reach down far enough to pick him up.

Anyway, this is as close as I could get to him for an "examination."

As he's only been handled a couple of times in his life, he's not used to human contact so was completely uncooperative.


He remained tightly curled up, but unrolled just enough to see what I was doing a few times. I checked through his spines but found no ticks, but it was impossible to check his underside where if he had any they are where they are most likely to be.

He's quite heavy and strong, I didn't try, but there would be no way I could uncurl him.

I'm pretty sure he won't have any ticks as he doesn't come in contact with other hedgehogs or long grass. But I thought it worth trying to check.

I put him in the big polystyrene box , whilst I took the opportunity to clean out his house, there was quite a bit of dried earth in the bottom, that he will have dragged in over the last few months when the ground has been wet, as he's in and out all night.
So this dust might be the reason he scratches now and again.

He's back in his house with all fresh clean hay and I'm none the wiser as to whether he's male or female.

 

[Sean Regan]

Thinking back when I wanted to give 'arry an examination, when I picjed him up in his house and whisked him away to the shed, when I opened the lid of his house i'm sure he gave me a look that sad, "This isn't Kansas and my name isn't Dorothy."

 

[Sean Regan]

I noticed on one of the cameras the other night that 'arry was picking up tiny bits of dried grass from the edge of the lawn and disappearing with them towards his house. So it looked like he was preparing for winter.
I put a small pile of hay on his patio last night and he moved it into his house overnight.

Hard to see but here he's pushing it in.

Now this gives me a problem. It seems a bit early, he didn't hibernate last year until the middle of September.
I have his winter house ready which has more insulation and will have plenty of fresh hay for him.
But when do I change them over?

He's still eating his dinners and has put on quite a bit of weight.

I'm thinking of changing his name to "Porky."