The privilege of a direct encounter with the hedgehog is reserved for night owls. Gardeners who work hard during the day to create a hedgehog-friendly garden must look out for their excrement as proof of the longed-for guests dressed in spikes. Read this guide to learn how to reliably identify hedgehog droppings and distinguish them from other scats.

Hedgehog droppings are significantly smaller than dog droppings

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. What does hedgehog droppings look like?
  3. What should hedgehog droppings look like?
  4. distinguish hedgehog droppings
  5. Hedgehog solution dangerous?
  6. Remove hedgehog droppings
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. the essentials in brief

    • Hedgehog droppings are shiny black-brown and up to 6cm long
    • If the hedgehog is healthy, the hedgehog droppings will not smell too intense
    • Diseases and parasites such as salmonella or leptospira can be transmitted through hedgehog droppings and skin fungal infections can be caused

    What does hedgehog droppings look like?

    Everyone is familiar with the appearance of the hedgehog. From childhood on, the cute spiny animals arouse great feelings, which even hard-boiled adults cannot ignore. Direct encounters with the shy, nocturnal animals are a rarity. An important indication of the presence of hedgehogs in the garden is their legacies. The question arises as to the appearance of hedgehog droppings in order to rule out disappointing misjudgments. This is what hedgehog solution looks like:

    • length: 3 to 6 cm
    • thickness: 8 to 12mm
    • color: glossy black to dark brown
    • shape: rolled with pointed ends

    If you take a closer look, you can sometimes see the remains of insects that have been eaten in the excrement sausages. In particular, indigestible chitin segments from beetles can be found in the solution. Fruit pits only get into the excrement when the insectivores have rummaged through ripe fruit for juicy maggots. As a rule, hedgehogs disdain vegetarian food.

    Here you can watch the hedgehog defecate:

    youtube

    What should hedgehog droppings look like?

    On the one hand, excrement is a meaningful indication of the respective animal species. On the other hand, animal legacies serve as an important indication of the state of health, especially if you cannot look at the animal. Have you identified hedgehog droppings by appearance and want to be sure it's a healthy animal? The following table compares the properties of healthy and sick hedgehog droppings:

    Hedgehog droppings comparison healthy ill
    color shiny black to dark brown green to light green
    shape cylindrical misshapen, undefined
    consistency mostly solid soft, slimy
    odor noticeable but not uncomfortable stinks like hell

    If the appearance of hedgehog droppings indicates a sick animal, please contact a hedgehog sanctuary or a veterinarian. The experienced experts are grateful for any information about a hedgehog in need of help and will advise you on how to proceed. Please do not catch a hedgehog on suspicion. All hedgehogs are protected and may not be disturbed or removed from their living environment without good reason.

    digression

    Milk causes diarrhea

    There are numerous myths and legends surrounding the diet of hedgehogs. It belongs to the land of fables that hedgehogs carry fruit on their prickly backs. The animals are neither vegetarian nor do they stockpile. A common misconception tempts animal lovers to set out bowls of milk. However, this well-intentioned gesture results in massive agony for thirsty spiked balls, because hedgehogs are lactose-intolerant. If the animals drink milk, they suffer from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The better thirst quencher is fresh water, which is served to the cute garden dwellers in flat bowls.

    distinguish hedgehog droppings

    In the near-natural garden, small wild animals give each other the handle. Rigorous avoidance of pesticides, varied garden design with mixed hedges, piles of leaves, wild perennials and dry stone walls magically attract wild animals. In order to distinguish welcome hedgehogs from unwanted guests, such as martens and rats, their excrement provides important information. The following table lists typical distinguishing features:

    distinguishing features hedgehog droppings rat feces marten excrement dormouse droppings
    size 3-6 cm long 1-2 cm long 8-10 cm long 1-2 cm long
    shape cylindrical, tapering tapered spindle shape Pencil-thick, twisted tip bean shaped
    color black to dark brown, glossy dark brown black to grey dark brown
    odor hardly perceptible, no stench after ammonia unpleasant stench weak, not penetrating
    consistency fixed soft, sticky visible remains of food wet from urine

    The distinguishing features mentioned apply to excrement from healthy animals. If the droppings are slimy, soft, light green to green and smelly, all attempts at identification based on visual clues will come to nothing. If appearance is no clue, microbiologists shed light on the matter. Special laboratories for faeces analyzes use the samples sent in to determine which animal it is.

    tips

    Pictures from the world clear the last doubts about an accurate identification of hedgehog droppings. The online editorial team of the Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management in Freiburg publishes detailed photos at “wildlife.uni-freiburg.de. On the website of the Austrian hedgehog sanctuary "igelinnot.at" you can see meaningful pictures of what hedgehog droppings look like from sick animals.

    Is hedgehog droppings dangerous?

    Hedgehogs and their droppings can carry parasites

    As wild animals, hedgehogs naturally carry parasites and bacteria with them, without necessarily being sick themselves. This includes external parasites, such as fleas, and internal parasites alike. These pathogens can also be passed on to humans and pets via the faeces. Salmonella or leptospira, for example, make no difference which organism they are currently infecting. Furthermore, unpleasant skin fungal infections lurk if you come into direct contact with the excrement.

    As a result, prudent hygiene is the top priority when dealing with hedgehogs and their legacies. Always wear gloves, wash hands with soap and disinfect equipment that has come into contact with hedgehog droppings. Do not dispose of the excrement on the compost, because pathogens could spread in the garden via this path.

    Remove hedgehog droppings

    Where hedgehogs honor themselves, excrement is evidence of their presence. The prickly visitors are welcome, their legacies are not. For hygienic and aesthetic reasons, hedgehog droppings should be removed as soon as possible. First and foremost, there is a risk that germs, parasites and other health-threatening impurities are in it. After all, hedgehogs are wild animals that are not given any medical care. Read here how to remove hedgehog droppings from paved and unpaved surfaces:

    Clean attached surfaces

    Hedgehogs often do their business on terraces, garden paths and paved areas if there is a feeding station there. Meticulous cleanliness is all the more important because there are sometimes several hedgehogs cavorting there. How to remove hedgehog droppings from solid ground:

    1. Take a cat litter scoop
    2. apply to the front of the excrement
    3. slide under the solution and lift
    4. If necessary, press on the shovel with a wooden board or brush
    5. Pour feces into an organic or paper bag and dispose of with household waste

    As an alternative to the cat litter scoop, you can remove hedgehog droppings using excrement tongs. The special tongs consist of two gripping arms with which you can remove animal excrement of all kinds from paved surfaces. The poop sausages collected from a hedgehog can be thrown straight from the pick-up device into a bag and disposed of with the residual waste.

    Remove from unpaved surfaces

    At night, hedgehogs scurry enthusiastically across green spaces and beds in search of tasty prey. The prickly hunters not only leave small holes in the lawn, but also their droppings. What is easy to do on solid ground with a shovel or manure tongs requires a modified approach on grass, meadows or earth. How to do it:

    1. Put on disposable gloves
    2. pick up excrement
    3. Pull off the glove and tie the feces in a knot
    4. dispose of in household waste

    Finally, pour water over the cleaned area and clean your hands with a disinfectant.

    frequently asked Questions

    Our dog eats hedgehog droppings - what to do?

    Hedgehog droppings pose a health risk for dogs because they can contain parasites and pathogens. Furthermore, it indicates a profound behavioral disorder when a dog tampers with hedgehog droppings or other excrement. The first step is to consistently remove hedgehog droppings before you let your dog into the garden. In the second step, please consult a veterinarian you trust to get to the bottom of the unnatural behavior and, if necessary, carry out behavioral therapy or anti-faecal eating training.

    How do I recognize hedgehog droppings straight away?

    Two visual features leave no doubt that it is hedgehog droppings in the garden, on the lawn or on the patio. Healthy hedgehog droppings are dark brown to black. Furthermore, the legacies have the shape of small sausages with a maximum length of 6 centimeters. Just hold a match next to it for comparison.

    How can I tell if it's hedgehog droppings or rat droppings?

    The shape and size of excrement provide important clues as to whether you are dealing with hedgehog droppings or rat droppings. Hedgehogs leave sausages that are 3 to 6 centimeters long, mostly cylindrical and tapering to a point. Rat droppings, on the other hand, are round to oval and significantly smaller at 1 to 2 centimeters. Another indicator is the location. Rat droppings are usually scattered along a wall or wall. Hedgehogs prefer green areas, beds, paved paths or terraces for going to the toilet.

    Should I add dewormers to hedgehog feed to reduce the risk of fecal infection for my family?

    An amateur treatment of parasites on healthy, free-living hedgehogs can have fatal consequences for the animals. In fact, most hedgehogs live in a natural balance with internal parasites. If, on the other hand, there are health problems in combination with slimy, green excrement, veterinarians first carry out a stool analysis and only then decide whether to deworm the animal. Administering a drug to wild hedgehogs on suspicion often does more harm than good. Furthermore, in the wild, hedgehogs will quickly catch new parasites anyway.

    Actually, we like hedgehogs. However, a brazen prickly guy defiles our seat every night. Can we evict the hedgehog?

    Hedgehogs are among the protected wild animals. Among other things, it is forbidden to capture a hedgehog for resettlement. Please make sure in advance that the "culprit" is actually a hedgehog. Hedgehog droppings are 3-5 centimeters long, sausage-shaped and dark brown to black. So that the uninvited guest stays away from your seat, you should from now on feed your dog or cat in the house, because the feeding bowls magically attract hungry hedgehogs. A 50 centimeter high fence is also helpful to keep visitors out at night.

    tips

    Fresh hedgehog droppings in the wintry garden indicate an animal in need. Hedgehogs that are awakened in the middle of hibernation or woke up too early are threatened with starvation. In this exceptional case, feeding is not only allowed, but essential for survival. Set up a cat-safe feeding spot until it's no longer freezing and natural food sources open up.

Category:

Animals in the garden