Online questionnaire on hedgehog litter sizes and dates of birth
If you see baby hedgehogs (hoglets) or a mother hedgehog with her young, or if you find orphaned hedgehogs or they are brought into your rescue centre either with or without their mother, please fill in this questionnaire. You will be contributing to the biggest European collection of data on dates of birth and litter sizes in hedgehogs.
This information is vital to enable us to learn more about hedgehog biology and behaviour, and may help us detect the effects of climate change on hedgehog reproduction. Any increase in our knowledge will support hedgehog conservation and protection.
Never disturb a hedgehog nest to obtain information as this might make the mother eat or abandon her young.
Age determination
The appearance of the baby hedgehogs (hoglets) will help you determine their age. See the table below to help you complete the questionnaire. Weights may vary considerably from those given in the table, depending on litter size and nutritional condition. So please give the weight of the smallest and the biggest of the babies and estimate their age primarily from skin colour/spines/fur/eyes/ears/teeth.
Age |
Skin colour |
Spines |
Fur |
Eyes Ears |
Teeth |
Weight (g) |
At birth |
pink |
white |
none |
shut |
none |
12 - 25 |
1 week |
pink |
a few dark |
none |
shut |
none |
30 - 50 |
2 weeks |
grey |
dark |
bit of fuzz |
opening |
none |
60 - 80 |
3 weeks |
grey |
dark |
visible fur |
open |
erupting |
100 - 130 |
4 weeks |
grey |
dark |
thick fur |
open |
fully erupted |
140 - 180 |
Questionnaire
Please fill in a separate form for each hedgehog family!
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