UNTIL the recent cold snap, many hedgehogs were still out and about but sadly this is not necessarily a good thing as their food is in very short supply.

Many of the recent arrivals were also poorly, and suffering a heavy burden of roundworm or lungworm, which can prove fatal if untreated.

The cold weather has sent many of the more than 140 patients to sleep, which is more of a natural response in winter.

Hibernation means more than just going to sleep. The hedgehog’s metabolism becomes very slow. Body temperature drops from the normal 35 degrees Celsius to 10 Celsius or less, heart rate falls from about 190 per minute to a faint 20 per minute, and they will breathe only once every few minutes.

During milder periods, they may wake up for a day or two, but this will reduce their reserves of fat further.

Most hogs, if they have survived, will come out of hibernation in mid March to early April and will need to find food to replenish their reserves and get ready to find a mate.

HHH has a map of all our rescues and releases. You can see some of our data maps on our website at bit.ly/1QKUAob and this will be updated to show the most recent records, which we will share with our friends at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

Some populations become isolated and die out, and some gaps are due to loss of suitable habitat and food supplies.

Hedgehogs will also actively avoid areas of high badger population, as they compete for the same food sources, and, in times of shortage, the hedgehogs become the badgers’ food.

This is natural and has always been the case, but man’s encroachment on habitat, pesticides and traffic have all combined to threaten our hedgehogs.