Mammal · Nocturnal
Hedgehogs: rescue, first aid and care
The first 60 seconds
- Leave it if
- It is out after dark, moving purposefully, and looks round and healthy.
- Help now if
- Any hedgehog out in daylight — wandering, wobbling, “sunbathing” or lying still.
Do this
- Pick it up gently
- Box it
- Warm it, carefully
Never: give cow’s milk. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and it causes fatal diarrhoea.
Britain’s favourite garden visitor is in steep decline. Knowing the handful of signs that mean a hedgehog is in trouble — and the two foods that kill them — is the most useful wildlife knowledge you can have.
Rescues across the UK take hedgehogs
- Handle?
- Yes, with gloves
- Busiest months
- Sep – Nov
- Key weight
- 450–500g before winter
- Lifespan
- 2–5 years
Jump to a section
The one thing to remember
A hedgehog out in daylight is in trouble. Healthy ones are asleep.
Step one
Does it need help?
Look before you touch. Intervening when an animal is fine is one of the most common mistakes — and it can cost the animal its life.
Leave it be if…
- It is out after dark, moving purposefully, and looks round and healthy.
- You have found a nest of hoglets with the mother present — cover it back over and keep pets away.
- It is curled up in a leaf pile or under a shed in winter: that is hibernation. Replace the cover gently.
Step in if…
- Any hedgehog out in daylight — wandering, wobbling, “sunbathing” or lying still.
- Fly eggs (tiny white clusters) or maggots anywhere on it. This is an emergency; hours matter.
- In late autumn or winter, any hedgehog under about 450–500g — it cannot survive hibernation.
- Caught in netting, stuck in a drain or cattle grid, or injured by a strimmer or mower.
- Hoglets out of the nest and squeaking, or with no sign of the mother for a few hours.
Step two
First aid, step by step
What to do in the first ten minutes, in order. If anything here feels unsafe, stop, step back and phone a rescue for advice instead.
- 01
Pick it up gently
Use thick gardening gloves or a folded towel. Scoop from underneath — it will curl up, which is fine.
- 02
Box it
A high-sided cardboard box lined with newspaper or an old towel. Hedgehogs climb, so the sides need to be tall or the box covered with air gaps.
- 03
Warm it, carefully
A hot-water bottle, or a plastic bottle of warm (not boiling) water, wrapped in a towel at one end of the box. It must be able to move away from the heat. A cold hedgehog cannot digest food.
- 04
Check for flies
Look around the eyes, ears, mouth and back end. If you see eggs or maggots, ring a rescue straight away and say so — it changes their priority.
- 05
Weigh it if you can
Kitchen scales are fine. The weight tells a rescue almost everything about how urgent this is.
- 06
Ring a rescue
Hedgehog rescues are the most common type in the UK. Use the finder, and describe the weight, any injuries and where you found it.
Important
What never to do
- Never give cow’s milk. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and it causes fatal diarrhoea.
- No bread, no mealworms, no peanuts. Mealworms in particular cause bone disease.
- Do not give food or water to a cold hedgehog — warm it first.
- Do not try to release a hedgehog that was out in daylight until it has been checked.
Food and water
Should I give it food or water?
Once it is warm, you can offer a shallow dish of plain water and meaty cat or dog food (chicken in jelly is ideal) or specialist hedgehog biscuits. Nothing else.
Seasonal guide
Through the year
When rescues see the most hedgehogs — and what is driving it.
Busiest in September, October and November.
- January: Some
- February: Some
- March: Some
- April: Busy
- May: Busy
- June: Busy
- July: Busy
- August: Busy
- September: Peak
- October: Peak
- November: Peak
- December: Busy
- Mar – AprWaking from hibernation, hungry and underweight.
- Jun – SepHoglet season. Strimmer and drowning injuries peak.
- Oct – Dec“Autumn juveniles” too small to hibernate. Bonfire nights.
Background
Hedgehog facts
Up to 2km a night
A hedgehog travels a mile or more foraging. Fenced-in gardens are one of the main reasons numbers have fallen.
Around 5,000 spines
Each spine is a modified hair. They roll into a ball, which protects them from most things except cars.
Insect specialists
Beetles, caterpillars and worms. Slug pellets poison them twice over — directly and through their food.
A species in trouble
Rural populations in Britain have fallen by between a third and three-quarters since 2000.
Prevention
Help them where you live
- Cut a 13cm × 13cm “hedgehog highway” gap at the bottom of your fence and tell your neighbours.
- Check long grass before strimming and bonfire piles before lighting them.
- Put a ramp or a stone in ponds so anything that falls in can climb out.
- Leave a wild corner with leaves and logs, and skip slug pellets.
- Put out water and meaty cat food in dry spells and in autumn.
The law. Hedgehogs are protected from being killed or taken by certain methods under Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Taking in a sick hedgehog to get it help is entirely legal.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Can I keep the hedgehog overnight and take it to a rescue in the morning?
It’s a small hedgehog in November. Should I just feed it in the garden?
The hedgehog is making a wheezing or clicking sound.
Is it a hedgehog or a rat in my garden at night?
Ready to call?
Find a hedgehog rescue near you
Ranked by who has confirmed space, then distance. Free, no sign-up.
General first-aid guidance compiled from UK rescue organisations, not veterinary advice. Where this and a vet disagree, the vet is right.
