Hedgehog Cabin

I operate a small hospital for sick, injured and orphaned wild hedgehogs.
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Ambassador: @DrAmirKhanGP

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

When you see a hedgehog out in the day time please remember he's been sick for a long time before taking this last desperate step.
He's dying.
IT'S AN EMERGENCY.
Take him indoors in the warmth and ring a rescue IMMEDIATELY.
Find your nearest rescue here: https://t.co/4aVuxNdtSI

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@twitcher66 Aw, good for you! Thank you for being a lifesaver. ❤️ 🤗

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

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.❤️‍🩹

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Aw, that’s so lovely, and so kind of you to provide.🤗❤️
I know how thoughtful you are Alison, and that you provide fresh clean ground level water for the nocturnal animals too, but it’s sad that lots of people who do provide water for the birds in the day, forget about the night animals who need water just as much.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@emmap72002 Crows are incredibly clever animals. I love watching them.😁

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Oh good for you, thank you for providing life-saving water. It made me chuckle though, as foxes do love stealing dishes.
I always imagine they think if they take them home, they will magically fill up there, as they’ve seen them do every night.😁
Heavy straight sided earthenware are best, as the shiny surface makes it hard for them to get a grip.
Or you can simply use a peg:

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

It's fox cub season right now, and I know they cause havoc in your gardens, but please be patient with them.
They are just little babies learning about the big wild world, and how to survive in it.
Like all youngsters, they learn by experimenting.
Please roll up all netting to a foot above ground, to keep them, and any hedgehogs safe.
Putting out something they can carry away, back to the den to eat, is the best way to keep them away from the hedgehog's food. A raw egg in its shell, or a dog's Bonio biscuit, for example.
And if they are stealing your dishes, here's a simple fix:

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@TizzyLissh Oh how kind of you to say, thank you. 🤗

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@LizzieCornish12 😘❤️

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@MissJane_M_ Oh gosh no, I couldn’t carry it. I take 15 litres of water over every evening, and 40 litres on Sundays when I empty and scrub the big tub. Water is extremely heavy.
But luckily, I have a mobility scooter, my little water chariot.😁

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Yes, it’s been a very dry year even before the summer drought. And 2025 was an exceptionally dry year too. It had the driest spring ever recorded in history, and the first time I’ve ever seen my local pond completely dried out, in all the 25 years I’ve lived here.
Good for you, thank you for being a lifesaver. 🤗

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@dog_gem It is so sad, and tragic that no one with the resources to amend this is stepping in. Local councils could easily get their fire stations to fill the ponds that are dried out.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@MerkabahCat Yes, it literally is the difference between life and death for these animals.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@UnderYourTree ❤️

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@celticmaid4 https://t.co/MOJEeP47zD

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

A study funded by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Yes, you read that right.
Animals hunted and killed for fun and entertainment in the same title as wildlife conservation.
This charity champions a concept they call “conservation through wise use”
Their idea that managing land for hunting, terrorising, torturing and killing animals for fun and entertainment can actively fund biodiversity.
Much like the organisations that allow rich people to go out and shoot and kill a drugged elephant on Safari, argue this saves elephant habitat.
Scotland is famous for its grouse moors.
Shoots employ gamekeepers to lay traps all over the grouse moors to trap and kill all the animals that might dare to stay alive by catching and eating the natural food that the ‘sportsmen’ want to shoot and kill.
These traps kill all animals, including hedgehogs.
Understandably, killing a protected red listed species so that you can go out shooting and killing other species is frowned upon.
So wouldn’t it be great if a study found the hedgehogs have actually become extinct in Scotland, so that the grouse shooters and their gamekeepers wouldn’t have to worry about what their traps kill anymore?
Just saying.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

A study funded by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Yes, you read that right.
Animals hunted and killed for fun and entertainment in the same title as wildlife conservation.
This charity champions a concept they call “conservation through wise use”
Their idea that managing land for hunting, terrorising, torturing and killing animals for fun and entertainment can actively fund biodiversity.
Much like the organisations that allow rich people to go out and shoot and kill a drugged elephant on Safari, argue this saves elephant habitat.
Scotland is famous for its grouse moors.
Shoots employ gamekeepers to lay traps all over the grouse moors to trap and kill all the animals that might dare to stay alive by catching and eating the natural food that the ‘sportsmen’ want to shoot and kill.
These traps kill all animals, including hedgehogs.
Understandably, killing a protected red listed species so that you can go out shooting and killing other species is frowned upon.
So wouldn’t it be great if a study found the hedgehogs have actually become extinct in Scotland, so that the grouse shooters and their gamekeepers wouldn’t have to worry about what their traps kill anymore?
Just saying.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Please don't leave eggs for hedgehogs.
Raw egg yolks spoil incredibly fast when left outdoors, becoming a breeding ground for harmful bacteria like Salmonella.
Hedgehogs have sensitive digestive systems; eating spoiled or bacteria-laden egg yolk can cause severe illness, dehydration, or death.
Plus, egg yolks will cause a a nutritional imbalance.
What they need from us is a source of safe *balanced* nutrition in correct ratios.
So the ONLY safe food to give hedgehogs is cat or dog food.
It's complete, safe, regulated, balanced nutrition.
Any type or flavour is great, as long as meat is the first listed ingredient - that's important.
Dry kitten food is perfect.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@ElaineE70965 @Be_Profess_NL Yes, sadly so.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@charmgluon @Be_Profess_NL Oh gosh yes, I can't believe that people actually do that! Apart from being home to next year's pollinators and important insects, leaves are free natural fertiliser.
Why would you burn that, or throw it away?

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

@lucyxxauroraxo @Be_Profess_NL This is AI slop.
Even if it wasn't, you have it the wrong way round.
This shows one man undoing and destroying what nature took hundreds of years to create.
This is destruction of our fragile ecosystem, step by selfish step.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

No, I agree, it's not. Both Whiskas Dry and Go Cat (and most supermarket own brand dry cat food) are classed only as 'adequate' by UK pet food regs, and utterly inadequate by veterinary nutritionists and feline welfare advocates.
Regulatory bodies permit manufacturers to use heavily processed, heat-damaged ingredients, provided they add a synthetic vitamin and mineral premix back into the food at the end of manufacturing.
So it's just cheap worthless cereal with synthetic additives.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

I was invited as the guest speaker on BBC Radio Surrey live this morning, discussing this, and all things hedgehog.❤️
The host was the lovely Sarah Gorrell, and her programme is on until 2pm.
You can go to https://t.co/1VTPoQM91Y
now, and scroll back to 10.12am, which is my spot.
Or go to the BBC Radio catch up, anytime: https://t.co/pfL9tJNBsn to hear this morning's show.🥰