Hedgehogs in autumn and winter: When do they need help and when not?
How cute! Suddenly a hedgehog scampers through the garden or huffs and puffs at the door. But that doesn't necessarily mean the animal needs help. Hedgehogs are among the specially protected animals under the Federal Nature Conservation Act – even this autumn and winter.
Hedgehogs are becoming increasingly rare: The number of Western European hedgehogs, also known as European hedgehogs, has declined significantly in recent years. The species has been classified as "near threatened" on the Red List since 2024. According to the conservation organization WWF, the "destruction of rural habitats through the intensification of agriculture, roads and urban development, as well as fatal accidents" are the main reasons for the steady decline in the hedgehog population.
Within ten years, the number of hedgehogs in Germany and other European countries has declined by 16 to 33 percent. In Bavaria, the decline has even reached 50 percent.
Sometimes it's not so easy to tell if a hedgehog is in distress and needs help. The "Pro Hedgehog" association offers the following guidance.
- orphaned hedgehog babies (closed eyes and ears, outside the nest during the day)
- injured hedgehogs
- Malnourished hedgehogs (Malnourished hedgehogs are sausage-shaped, have sunken flanks and a distinct indentation behind the head. Healthy, well-fed hedgehogs are pear-shaped: narrow at the front and thick at the back.)
- Sick hedgehogs (They usually walk or lie around during the day, are apathetic, thin and have sunken eyes.)
- Young hedgehogs weighing less than 500 grams at the beginning of November
- Hedgehogs that are still active after the onset of winter (that is, during continuous frost and/or snow, also usually out during the day)
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To determine if a hedgehog is actually sick, carefully pick it up with gloves or a cloth and turn it onto its back: If the hedgehog does not curl up into a round ball and its belly feels noticeably cold, the animal needs help.
Anyone who finds a hedgehog in need of help should definitely seek advice from experts. Expert tips and the number of a helpline can be found, for example, on the website of the Pro Hedgehog Association . Veterinarians, the local animal welfare organization, or the veterinary office often also know where a hedgehog rescue center is located nearby.
A veterinarian or other expert isn't always immediately available. For initial steps and first aid, the Pro Hedgehog Association recommends the following:
- Note the location and weight of the hedgehog.
- Examine hedgehogs for injuries.
- Remove fly eggs, maggots, fleas and ticks from the animal.
- To warm up a hypothermic hedgehog: Carefully place the hedgehog on a hand-warm hot water bottle and wrap both in a towel.
- Feeding: A suitable food includes a mixture of cat food, commercially available hedgehog dry food, and unseasoned scrambled eggs. Fruit, however, is not suitable. Offer only water to drink, never milk! Hedgehogs cannot digest lactose. Milk causes them diarrhea and can be fatal.
- Setting up an enclosure with a sleeping house: The enclosure must be at least two square meters in size and have side walls approximately 50 centimeters high, made of wood or hardboard. A cardboard box lined with paper serves as the sleeping house. Hedgehog-friendly garden: Welcome!
With a few simple considerations and actions, anyone can improve living conditions for hedgehogs in their own garden. This starts with the design, where the focus is primarily on native plants. It is also important to garden without pesticides and to create shelter opportunities, for example, by providing cavities in woodpiles or under garden sheds.
In autumn, it is advisable to cover a pile of dry leaves with branches and a plastic sheet, weighing down the corners with stones. The larger the pile of leaves, the better the thermal insulation in the winter quarters.
“Winter quarters that are destroyed through excessive thoroughness put our hedgehogs in dire straits. The renewed search for an alternative sleeping place costs the animals a lot of energy and can be fatal,” said a spokeswoman from the Bund Naturschutz (Friends of the Earth Germany).
Compost heaps are also popular hedgehog sleeping places. Therefore, turn the heap carefully and not between November and March. Mouse and rat traps should be set at least 50 centimeters high. Leaf blowers can also be dangerous for hedgehogs – because they suck up small creatures (hedgehog food) or even young hedgehogs.
Warning: Hungry hedgehogs like to rummage through yellow recycling bags and get trapped in them. Therefore, put garbage bags out on the street or hang them on the fence only in the morning if possible.
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We updated this text on November 11, 2025.
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