Printlogo     Printable version
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!

1. How many hoglets in the litter?

(including dead ones)

    (number)
2. If possible, as well as estimating their age, please give the highest and lowest weight in the litter.
  Were the babies »very young«?

(one week or younger?)

 Age:
 Weight in grammes:
smallest  biggest 
  OR »older»?

(older than 1 week, younger than 3 weeks)
  OR »young feeding on their own«?

(older than 3 weeks, younger than 5 weeks)
3. When were the baby hedgehogs (hoglets) found/first seen? // (day/month/year)
4. Where were they seen/found? postcode/town:
 
Comments on circumstances of where and how they were found and their general state of health etc:
Your address:

(All data are analysed anonymously, we only need the address to prove in spot-checks that the forms are genuine)
  Surname:*
 First name:*
  Street, No:*
 Post Code, Town:*
 
  Phone:
 Fax:
  e-Mail:*

*) obligatory fields

   

nach oben

Copyright 1996-2010 Pro Igel e.V.
-->