Hedgehog Bottom

Huge thanks to all our supporters for voting and Ark Wildlife for the Hedgehog Champions vote. Our prize arrived this morning, bags and bags of food for the prickles.

The timing was immaculate as we used our remaining stocks last night and were reduced to 4 boxes of Whiskas donated by the local Rainbows. I was about to raid the shelves of local supermarkets until we could get to the warehouse at the weekend.

Well after a week of really horrid outcomes, hogs dropping like flies before we could do much, this week has been a little better. Sadly Twizzle was put to sleep on Monday. He had spent a couple of days at the vet and was just getting worse so he's out of his misery now.

The hog with the garden fork wound that went right the way through is now healed, eating well and putting on weight. Luckily the tine missed any vital organs so she's good to go. Should be going home for feeding up at the weekend.

Son of Stumpy who arrived with atrocious breathing, spent several days in the ICU and has been on antibiotics non stop since day 1 is now breathing normally. His nose it still a little snotty but the heaving chest trying to get air has stopped and he sleeps peacefully. Hopefully another week or so and he will be able to go home.

Two other arrivals this year with lungworm and roundworm have finished their meds and are looking good to go and the remaining overwinters should be out of here very soon.

That will leave us with the female with balance issues due to an inner ear infection and a several adults with leg problems. It's been a very quiet week which is a little worrying.

YOUR MISSION this weekend is to ensure you VOTE HOG as Britain's National Species - once you have, please share and ask others to do the same. Hedgehogs are in serious decline and we need all the help we can get to highlight their plight, the publicity gained from winning this poll would help. Thank you.

Another hopeless one just in. Awful strimmer wound to the top of his head. It happened some days ago and the skin from the forehead to the tip of his nose and ear to ear is necrotic, badly infected and stinking. There isn't enough skin left to be able to operate so another euthanse case I'm afraid.

Mixed day today. 3 hogs released and here endeth the good news..

The girl stabbed with a garden fork and recovered has now started to show lungworm symptoms so won't be going anywhere after all.

Two hogs in. One died within an hour of arriving, massive tumour on her bottom jaw.

Second one is very flat, skin twice the size of his body and riddled with roundworm. Currently in the ICU and not looking good.

sad posts x

Another little one in this morning with an awful open fracture of a rear leg. Luckily fairly recent so hopefully no major infection. Amputation case.

Aww hope he is ok

Two more in about an hour ago, withing 5 minutes of each other. One from Stratfield Saye pumping out pale green mucous. Sample reveals a very heavy load of roundworm. She's very small and thin but is now medicated on a heat pad.

Second one from Thatcham, boy, wobbly, a few tiny ticks and a bit of ringworm but something else going on as they don't wobble from a mild skin condition. Medicated and we wait for output.

there are just so many poor hoggies. welldone to these rescues they all do such a fab job

Just spent half an hour on the phone talking a lady in France through raising two roughly 10 day old hoglets. Luckily she's got a farm and has raised animals in the past so has a lot of the equipment and supplies needed. Dread to think how it would have gone if she'd had nothing.

Followed by a call from the finder of the female skewered by a garden fork who is coming to pick her up today, all healed and ready to go.

One out, one in.

A boy that was trapped in netting a few weeks back has gone home and a tiny boy was found in the middle of a front lawn this morning. Can't see any major problems at the moment but he's had fluids and is now asleep on a heat pad.

It's possible he was turfed out of his nest by somebody gardening.

Woken up this morning by the phone ringing. Hedgehog trapped in a classroom for the entire school holidays. Bournemouth.

Put phone down, immediately rang again.

Two week old hoglet found in a garden. Woking.

Put phone down, immediately rang again.

Sick hog found collapsed on a lawn. Ecchinswell. Now that one is mine but closer to my vet so sent straight there.

Phone just rang again. 2-3 week old baby found on a lawn in Ramsbury. On its way here.

Busy busy for Gill x

Hedgehog Bottom
The 2-3 week old baby has just arrived and is actually under 10 days. Eyes firmly shut and freezing cold. Blood coming out of one nostril so this may not be good but we'll try.

It's a little boy that's probably been without food for 2 days, another baby was found dead.

FEEDING BABIES AND JUVENILES

Babies and Juveniles
Hoglets should be fed with a milk substitute such as Esbilac which contains all the fats, vitamins and minerals they need. Under no circumstances should you give them cow's milk. Goat's milk with Goat's colostrum may be used for a short period of time if nothing else is available.

You will need:

a sterile syringe, 1ml, 5ml or 10ml
a short piece of rubber tubing such as a cannula, also sterile
a warmer to keep the feed at body temperature
Refer to the list below for amounts and frequencies. Make up only enough feed for one sitting and warm it to body temperature. Test it on the back of your arm as you would for a baby. I use a bottle warmer with a dish in the top to keep the food at the right temperature throughout feeding but others use food warmers with tea lights.

Place the baby on a towel on your lap. Keep it the right way up, on it's feet. DO NOT put the baby on its back as it may inhale the feed and drown.

Put the tip of the syringe, or rubber tube if it's a very young hoglet, under the lip and gently squeeze out a drop. Some hoglets will instantly attack the syringe and gobble the lot down, others take a while to get the idea. Feed slowly, do not be tempted to press the plunger hard.

Once the feed is complete, the youngest hoglets will need to be toiletted. If you haven't seen them passing urine or faeces by themselves then you MUST do it for them. A cotton bud dipped in almond oil then gently but quickly tickled around the genital area should do the trick.

If you cannot get the baby to eat or toilet please take it to an experienced person immediately. There is no time to hang around, they need to be seen urgently. Do not feel you have failed. Some youngsters can be very problematic for many reasons and even the experts lose them. At the very least you can be shown how to do things properly so that you have more confidence.

Birth to three days old
At birth the hoglets are blind, deaf, pink, bald and weigh around 7-25 grams
At one hour, white spines start to push through the outer skin
At 36 hours a second coat of dark brown spines begin to emerge. The hoglet starts to jump if disturbed
Feed 1-2 ml of milk substitute every 2 hours. DO NOT GIVE ANY MILK CONTAINING LACTOSE

Three days to one week
Do not leave more than 6 hours between feeds
Feed 1-2ml of milk substitute every 3 hours last feed around midnight to 2am

One to two weeks old

One week - still blind and deaf, white spines longer than brown ones. Whiskers emerge
11 days old - start to curl
Feed 2-3ml of milk substitute every 3 hours

Two to three weeks old

Two weeks - More second coat spines. Fine hairs like stubble on snout
Eyes and ears begin to open
Third coat of larger and stronger spines start to emerge
Feed 3-5mls of milk every 3-4 hours

Three weeks old
Few white spines left, almost replaced by third stage spines
First incisor teeth start to appear
Dense covering of short brown hair
Feed 5-6mls every 3-4 hours and leave a small, shallow dish of feed to encourage baby to lap

Four weeks old

No longer has the rounded puppy appearance to the snout
skin completely covered by fur
Should weigh between 84-130 grams
Start to give solid food as the milk teeth should have erupted. It's often a good idea to wean the baby by intially liquidising some puppy meat and mixing it in with the milk substitute

Five to six weeks old

Phase out hand feeds and give small dish of milk substitute and liquid food mixed together
Hills Prescription A/D or Royal Canin Recovery RS are ideal first food choices and are normally well accepted by hoglets

Six to eight weeks old

Give tinned puppy food
Make sure a very shallow dish of fresh water is available at all times
Shallow is very important as a hoglet can drown in very little

Eight weeks old

Give dog or cat food
Should now weigh 350 grams
Please be aware that hoglets are not straight forward to care for. Many things can go wrong along the way and even with the support of a good vet, it's extremely easy to lose the little ones.

No matter how much you believe you can raise them, I would beg you to seek expert advice. If you go to a good carer they will normally assess the hoglets and then agree a care regime with you. It does not automatically mean you will have to give the animals up. It may be they will be given straight back along with a care sheet, or possibly kept at the rescue for a few days and then returned to you if that's what you want.

Sorry about the fuzzies, still trying to get the camera settings right as well as not drop a wriggling hoglet.

Arrived today, very cold and blood coming from one nostril. Now warm but still trying to clear his nose. Around 11 days old, eyes still shut but can curl.

Awww just love those little back feeties.

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My darling I think you are wonderful and that doesn't nearly cover it. Thank you for the updates and I am sending you and the little hoggies lots and lots of love.

Hugs

JO xx

Two babies in on the same day. The one on the left about 11 days old, the one on the right approx 48 hours old.

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Thought people might like to see this which will give them a btter idea of what constitutes a 'baby' hedgehog.

Hint: If it's the size of your fist or weighs around 1kg it is not a baby hedgehog no matter how much you tell the rescue it is.

The one on the left is around 11 days old, the one on the right 36-48 hours old. Both are a nightmare to feed so if you find anything like this do not attempt to look after them yourself without expert help. Put them ON heat and get them to somebody who knows what they are doing immediately.

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The 2 day old hoglet.

Now some of you will be saying ahh cute. You are not the one trying to feed the little devil.

If the feed isn't exactly the right temperature they clamp their mouths shut.

When you try to pick them up they turn into a mexican jumping bean and sproing around all over the place.

They're not mad on what you're giving them to eat as it's not mum food, they will dribble more of it out than they swallow.

When they do swallow they get hiccups and all sorts of other weird noises that make you think you've half drowned them and they've now got inhalation pneumonia.

Your stress levels go through the roof, you take out shares in Milton fluid, stink of off baby feed and after existing on 4 hours sleep look like the offspring of Godzilla.

Cute? If you say so.

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