Help for small hedgehogs

“Meckis” only really perk up in the evening

Many hedgehogs are currently living at the animal shelter. Claudia Herka is dependent on donations. Help therefore under BGLD. Raiffeisenbank, IBAN: AT78 3300 0000 0103 4974. thank you very much!(Bild: Michael Fraller)

They are cute and normally only out and about when it is dark: Hedgehogs. If they are out and about during the day, they need help. 

Hedgehogs are normally crepuscular or nocturnal, which means they only come out of hiding when it gets dark. If a hedgehog is running around during the day, this may be a sign that it needs help.

Especially when it comes to young animals, you should not just look on and be happy to see the cute insectivore, but actually take action.

The little hedgehog was out and about alone on the country lane in 32 degree temperatures. Now he can grow up with lots of other hedgehog kids at the Parndorf animal shelter.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

This means: If you come across a small hedgehog in broad daylight, please pack it up and take it to a wildlife center. Vet Claudia Herka, who runs the animal shelter in Parndorf, is currently welcoming many small and large hedgehogs. "If you find a baby hedgehog during the day in summer, please also check whether there are any siblings nearby," asks the vet.

"If the mother doesn't come back to the nest, the young will leave at some point. You often find four to six young," she says.

If a small hedgehog is out and about during the day, please always check to see if there are any siblings nearby and pack them up.

Dr. Claudia Herka

If this is the case, simply collect them all and take them to a wildlife center! There the little ones will be nursed up and can be released back into the wild when they are big enough.

Heat: Offer hedgehogs and other animals water!
Especially now, when it is so hot, you can help hedgehogs - and other animals - with little effort. A bowl of water in the garden is a blessing if it hasn't rained for a long time! "You should make sure that the bowl is not so deep that the hedgehog could fall in and drown," says Herka. So that insects can also drink, please place a stone or stick in the water. The animals will thank you!