Wednesday 17 December 2014

Little Spike

This is not a very good image, but it was taken from a CCTV clip of 'Little Spike' the young Hedgie when he visited on Monday night. He's right at the back of the photo, behind his food bowl. You can see he's almost ready to curl up or run for home as he's so unsure of the spot light - tee, hee, this is one little chap that doesn't stand on his hind legs and do a little tap dance for the audience :)
What looks a little bit like another hedgie in the foreground slightly to the right of his food bowl is actually the lid that Len carefully covers the bowl with, with a little stone on top to stop any other wildlife from tucking in. Spike just flips it off with his snout - wise little guy that he is.

As you can see, there's always a dish of fresh water, plus Spike even has his own gazebo (aka an old garden coffee table) to protect him from the elements as he dines.

Bless his little cotton socks.  Oh - and he already dined this evening (Tuesday) as well 'cos he left his messy food flickin' bits behind :)

We're blessed that he comes to eat but also worried about how he'll cope with very cold weather as he really did ought to be tucked up snoozing right now. I still think we might be out in the snow at some point with a sieve to hand trying to scoop him up for our local wildlife sanctuary - help! Right now he's feisty and so fast we don't have a chance of rescuing him - silly little sausage :(

Di
x

17 comments:

  1. silly little sausage eh? That's a cute nickname, and a cute little hedgie! TFS the pic!

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  2. silly little sausage indeed... yes Di that's the way it goes sometimes they are like that ... trust he will survive this winter and will wake up to the changing seasons before it is too late..maybe a full tummy he doesn't realise ??
    Oh and why i have popped over is cos your ultra cute LOTV card came today thank you so very much dear friend ..and guess whose else came ... Mrs A's thought that so funny cos you are such good friend you eve had to arrive downunder at the same time!!
    Every blessing, Shaz in Oz.x

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  3. Hello Di

    Spike is so adorable, I think he should be an honorrary member of Pixie's snippets as he diligently guards our Playground.

    luv
    irene

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  4. Aww love little hedgies :-) x

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  5. Aaaah! Spike is sooo sweet!!
    xx

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  6. Aww, wish we had one visiting our garden ... plenty of slugs to keep a family of hedgehogs well fed here. I do hope Spike survives the winter ... it might be mild but it's bound to get colder over January. According to a source I've been reading a temperature drop to below 8C will have him snuggling up for his winter snooze. Thanks for sharing this lovely photo. Hugs, Elizabeth xx

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  7. We have just made a home for any hedgehogs that find their way into our garden to help them survive the winter l see you have plenty of food and drink for yours Di hope he stays around xx

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  8. Awww how sweet - but he should be curled up hibinating - thats global warming for you x Susan x

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  9. As a hedgehog rehabilitator I was pleased to see you put food out, but any hog under 650gms will die if left out now. He must be caught to stand a chance of survival. There are lots of autumn juveniles being picked up at the moment, the mortality rate for these is very high as they cannot live without the food required to store the fat for hibernation and it is too cold for them to be wandering around. Do you have a hibernation box close by? If so, the he could choose to stay in your garden, but please try and catch him, put him in a high sided box, crate or bucket, cover with a towel and call 01584 890801, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), who have a list of carers who know exactly what to do with littlies. Thank you. Jan

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  10. Jan, everything you say is stuff we already know. We've rescued three hedgies over recent times. However, this little chap is appearing in the middle of the night at unpredictable intervals (he doesn't necessarily visit evertnight) and we can't stay up all night on the off chance that he will appear. Obviously we don't have the means to trap a hedgehog. So we're a bit stuck. You don't have any contact details in your profile so I can't email you directly.

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  11. Jan, one thing you may have missed in my blog post. The still image was taken from a CCTV clip which was taken during the middle of the night. It looks so bright because we have outside PIR operated spotlights. So, we aren't actually standing there looking out of the window at Little Spike in real time and leaving him to his own devices.

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  12. Spike looks quite well-nourished at this point. How kind of ya'll to set up his little dining area so cleverly. He'll probably take his winter nap when he's ready. TFS & Merry Christmas. Hope the eye is all healed up by now. Hugs

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  13. What a little cute. We do not have hedgies here so it is a treat to meet him!

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  14. Thank you girls, Jan's comment did sting a bit as we're doing everything we possibly can to save Little Spike. Plus, she didn't have the openness to email me or even have an email where I can contact her. No doubt she means well but it just wasn't helpful, given what we've learned over the years - sigh :(

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  15. I think you are doing well with Spike and I'm sure it isn't that simple to catch a hedgehog if they don't want to be caught! Lovely pictures of him too. x

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  16. Well at least he is not a rat! Me spikes are all up in protest as I knows yer doing everything you can to help and protect little spike. Hugs mrs A.

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  17. What a little cutie! I love his private gazebo! I hope he hibernates soon as it's time he was tucked away for the winter. xx

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