This is the time of year when juvenile hedgehogs come onto our radar – these are hedgehogs that are old enough to be away from their mothers but too small to hibernate successfully.

This is something that they will need to do in only a few weeks’ time, and our ‘summer that hasn’t been a summer’ may well have had an additional impact on their health and hardiness.

Advising on whether to leave these young hedgehogs out in the wild, and feeding them if they visit the same place every evening, or rescuing them and over-wintering them indoors, is complex.

There are many factors to consider: if they are left outside they will be vulnerable to health issues, especially respiratory ones, and they may not be able to consume enough calories to put on weight; but if they are brought inside the stress of captivity may well cause suffering.

If we have a spell of settled weather over the next few weeks, the rule of thumb should be to leave a juvenile hedgehog alone unless it is obviously injured or unwell.

A sick hedgehog may appear to be wobbly, have slimy poo and could start to appear during the day.

Hedgehogs are nocturnal and in the autumn and winter months if they are seen out in day-light hours, either active or curled up, they probably need to be rescued.

(Note: in the summer months a female hedgehog can be seen out in the daytime without this being a cause for concern because she will be gathering nesting materials or finding food for her litter of babies).

If you consider a hedgehog needs to be rescued, there are some basic first aid guidelines to follow that will give the sick animal the best chance of survival.

Place the hedgehog in a high-sided box and provide a folded towel or fleece for it to hide under.

Bring it indoors and provide a heat source at one end of the box, so that the hedgehog can move away from the heat once it’s warmed up. The best heat source to use is an electric blanket because it can be left on a low setting permanently, whereas a hot water bottle will lose heat after a few hours.

Put the box somewhere quiet and offer the hedgehog meaty (not fishy) dog or cat food and fresh water (not milk).

This will keep the hedgehog stable until you can assess its needs: if it is clearly injured then it will need to go to a veterinary surgery for treatment that will be provided free of charge; but if it is simply lethargic and off its food, please call the MSPCA and arrange to bring it in to us for rehabilitation.

Back to the healthy juvenile hedgehogs that may, or may not, be putting on sufficient weight to survive the winter. As a general guideline, if a hedgehog weights less than 250g after the end of September, it is likely to be in need of help and should be rescued immediately.

From the end of October hedgehogs weighing under 450g should be rescued. However, if a hedgehog is close to that weight and in good condition, providing some supplementary food may be all the help it needs if it’s a regular visitor.

If you accidentally disturb a hibernating hedgehog in its nest, put the nesting materials back and leave it alone to wake up naturally – a process that can take 12 hours or more. It will probably move to a new site in your garden, and providing food and water nearby would be helpful.

Leaving a ‘messy leaves’ area in your garden will encourage a hedgehog to stay in your vicinity, as will creating a log pile - both provide excellent shelter.

And whilst on the subject of hedgehogs in gardens, please remember that although these amazing little creatures can swim they can easily drown in ponds and water troughs.

Please provide a ramp in the water for them to use in case they fall in – a simple construction made of chicken wire will suffice. And if your garden is enclosed by a fence, ensure there is a hedgehog-sized hole in it so that a visiting hedgehog doesn’t become trapped.