Hanky-panky and a bit of rough stuff (1 Viewer)

We are fortunate to have a hedgehog visit our garden most evenings during their active season. I put out a few dried mealworms and a dish of water for him/her. Occasionally we may get two hedgehogs and on a very few occasions over the years we have had three.

Last night, when I looked out of the backdoor window I saw that the food had been eaten (I put on a light over the patio) and further round on the patio were two hedgehogs. I’ve seen this behaviour several times before at this time of year; one of the hogs, presumably a female, was standing still whilst the other, presumably a male, kept eagerly walking around her, grunting and trying to get in position for a little sexual congress. However, she was not having any and each time he tried to climb aboard she rapidly moved around so that she was facing him. They were both doing a lot of noisy grunting.

This went on for over an hour with both hedgehogs leaving a trail of of saliva (I hope) and a few faeces combining to leave a series of mucky circles of footprints across the patio. I watched for quite a while thinking he will soon run out of steam or she will surrender to his advances or make a run for it. Then, from the shadows of the wheelie bins, appeared another hog. I think he was our usual hog looking for the food. As soon as he realised what was taking place he froze, like a voyeur he just watched the proceedings.

Suddenly, the randy male became still and looked over towards the interloper. He suddenly rushed over to confront him, there was a standoff, and then Randy charged at him, butting him amidships and lifting up his nose in a bid to tip him onto his back. The victim rolled into a ball while Randy kept on butting him until the realisation dawned on him that the female was still there so he returned to her and continued his amorous advances.

The victim slowly unfurled and quietly crept back behind the wheelie bins and hopefully, to safety. Meanwhile Randy continued his circling of the female, first one way, then a quick attempt at mounting her (always sharply rebuffed) and then resuming the circling in the opposite direction.

Goodness knows how long this went on for, they were well at it before I first saw them and they continued for well over an hour. Eventually I went off to bed, next morning our largish patio was covered in mucky circles where they had continued to perform their dirty dancing routine. It was so bad I had to hose down and scrub the patio to try and clean the mess. I hope that if they return tonight, they can quickly reach some sort of mutual agreement to either get it on or call it off.

Dave

great story, well written, thanks.
i can't beat it but it did remind me of similar a few years back in Oz, echidnas doing the same in my shed. very noisy and frantic, the once hardpacked, oiled earth floor was ripped to shreds in places and the corner of a rack undermined such that various boxes and jars of nails, screws, oils etc. fell to the floor in a broken, mixed mess that then got further churned into the dirt!

d.steeley said:

... I put out a few dried mealworms ...

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Seems mealworms aren't good for Hedgehogs - something about the wrong balance of nutrients in them. Apparently best not given to them.

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/what-to-feed-hedgehogs-the-danger-of-too-many-mealworms/

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/i-feed-hedgehogs-mealworms/

Nutcracker said:

Seems mealworms aren't good for Hedgehogs - something about the wrong balance of nutrients in them. Apparently best not given to them.

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/what-to-feed-hedgehogs-the-danger-of-too-many-mealworms/

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/i-feed-hedgehogs-mealworms/

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I've heard the same thing about birds, often from people who should know better. If it ain't science - and much charity stuff isn't - it's best ignored (perhaps check up on any sponsorship tie-up with whoever makes whatever they do recommend, too ). Don't give them bread and milk though.

John

Hi all, and thanks for the comments. I probably exaggerated a little about the amount of mealworms I put out for the hedgehogs; I usually put out about a dessert spoonful into a terracotta saucer alongside a dish of fresh water. I've tried specific hedgehog food (small hard pellets) which were completely ignored, even when no mealworms are put out. I would hesitate to put out anything that a cat would eat as we get plenty of them about and I certainly do not want to encourage more of them. If anyone has a suggestion that meets the criteria that:

• Hedgehogs will eat it
• Cats will not be attracted into the garden by it.

I would certainly give it a try.

Cheers

Dave

PS: All quiet over the last couple of nights

d.steeley said:

If anyone has a suggestion that meets the criteria that:

• Hedgehogs will eat it
• Cats will not be attracted into the garden by it.

I would certainly give it a try.

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slugs and snails, (and possibly puppy dog tails)
i thought about this more. perhaps a dish of beer would lower the resistance and ensure a more immediate, if fumbling, conclusion to the procreation to your benefit. it would certainly also serve to attract gastropod molluscs to provide a live sustenance for replacement of expended energy, also the post-prandial and post-sexual intercourse snooze would allow you further unbroken sleep.

Hi Jape one of the reasons I put the few mealworms into a dish is because I use to scatter a few on the slabs and on damp nights several slugs would emerge and to have nibble at them. The hedgehog would appear, eat the remaining few mealworms and scuttle off taking absolutely no notice of the slugs.

Cheers

Dave

d.steeley said:

The hedgehog would appear, eat the remaining few mealworms and scuttle off taking absolutely no notice of the slugs.

Cheers

Dave

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so would i, given the choice. maybe just the beer then.

ps i have eaten mealworm, they're ok. slugs i leave for blackbirds and SAS types. and before you ask, it was on a bet with one if those types. i managed worm, mealworm, maggot and won a bottle of scotch. not that it has anything to do with your post. my own hedgehog here was happy with slugs and did also eat cheese crumbs dropped accidentally. mature cheddar.

here he/she is at 5.00 today, first time this year i have seen since hibernation but i am sure they have been about

They are grand creatures aren't they jape. We rarely see ours in daylight but sometimes I guess there are just not enough dark hours in a day, especially at the moment.

Cheers

Dave