Spikey Critters Hedgehog Care Blog

I'm really sorry to say that having checked the new hoggie a short time ago he has sadly passed away :'(

Such a shame, yet again a beautiful big hoggie that had survived hibernation and has now lost his life due to a road traffic accident ... what a waste :-(

RIP little hoggie ♥

As you can tell Nieve loves her food .... she is a big girl but can still curl up into a very tight ball ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Nieve had a short hibernation inside the Hospital but has pretty well been awake throught her stay with us.

All the best Nieve and stay out of trouble ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Here is little Nieve that came in on Tuesday weighing just 284g ... this morning she weighed 351g She clearly enjoys her food and is making good progress

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Here is Nieve, the little girl that very nearly got run over by a car! She came in on Tuesday weighing just 284g ... this morning she weighed 351g She is doing very well.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

HEDGEHOG AWARENESS INFO ..... PLEASE SHARE

Mo & Jess were very lucky little critters.

Fortunately for them ........ although they appeared to be perfectly fine and healthy, their finder knew that something was wrong as she had previously heard that hedgehogs should not be seen out during the day. She immediately scooped them up and put them in a high sided box and then called the BHPS for help and they put her in touch with Spikey Critters Hedgehog Care.

Because she acted so quickly in getting them the help they needed they both went on to make a full recovery. If she had waited a day or two as many people do, not realising the importance of getting them help urgently, the story may well have ended very differently ..... on examining a faecal sample for Mo & Jess it became immediately apparent that they had contracted lungworm, most likely from their Mum who had picked the parasite up from eating infected slugs etc.

So ..... the moral of this story is ..... just because a hedgehog that is seen out during the day, running around, sunbathing and looking perfectly fit and healthy to you ..... doesn’t mean this is necessarily the case and the sooner you can get it the help it needs the better it’s chances are of survival ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I would just like to say a quick Thank You to all the pupils, parents and teachers at Ashby Manor House School for all the goodies that were delivered for the hoggies yesterday .... we really appreciate it.

Also Thank You very much to Amanda for purchasing/donating items to us from our Amazon Wish List ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Well finally a big whoohoo from Spikey Gardens ..... we had our first wild hoggie visitor last night - it was Jamie :-D

Some of you may remember Jamie who came in around March time last year, in a very sorry state weighing just 460g .... which for an adult was roughly half the size she should have been. She made a full recovery after her treatment and was released here and stuck around ..... it was lovely to see her again ..... she has lost a lot of weight though since the last time I saw her in September .... she was 1150g and last night weighed just 800g .... hopefully there will be a few more old friends coming along soon now ♥

HEDGEHOG AWARENESS - PLEASE SHARE

I know I have mentioned about not feeding Hedgehogs bread & milk on many occasions and I am sorry for repeating myself, but we really need to get this message across.

You can help Hedgehogs by feeding them tinned cat/dog food (meaty flavours only and nothing in gravy please) or kitten/cat/hedgehog biscuits. Please always remember to put out a shallow bowl of fresh drinking water for them too ..... even when we have rain.

You have all been great at sharing these important messages in the past for me when I have asked for your help so hopefully you will all share again to reach as many people as we possibly can.

Thank You ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Here are the latest pictures of Titch .... well she isn't a Titch anymore

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Titch is currently in a soft release pen and will be going back home on Monday.

Snuffle Snuffle will also be going home on Monday but I'm afraid he didn't want his photograph taken again.

Stay safe Titch and Snuffle Snuffle ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

All the best for your release on Monday ..... stay safe and we hope you have a long and happy life and lots of little ones.

Kenny will also be going back home sometime this week .... all the best Kenny and as always stay safe ♥



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Kenny is such a lovely boy and much bigger than he was when he arrived ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Kenny checking out what I am doing with the camera .... he hasn't really got a big nose

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

OK .... I'm going to make a run for it whilst she's not looking, lol

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Another photo of soft release pen. The bothersome brothers will go out together this time to give each other confidence..

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Thank you very much to everyone who has already voted for us in the Ark Wildlife Hedgehog Food giveaway ..... I really appreciate your support ♥ If you haven't already voted there is still time .... each vote = 1 kilo of free food for the hoggies :-)

It's a beautiful day here and I hope it is the same where you are too .... I will be getting out in the garden soon and then preparing to reunite Snuffle Snuffle and Titch with their finder for release and also rehoming Nieve .... all will be going back to the wild tonight ♥

I finally managed to catch up with my second wild visitor last night and it was Grace .... one that I released here last year, she wandered off for a few weeks and made a nest in my neighbours garden (helping herself to some of their shrubs in the process) and then came back here before hibernating ... it was lovely to see her and know that she had successfully made it through through the winter :-)

please remember the hedgehogs in this hot weather

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just popped outside a little while ago to check the garden and was immediately greeted with the huffing sound of a pair of hoggies having a romantic liaison ;-)

The female was definitely Grace - I couldn't quite tell who the male was but it might have been Humphrey ..... so at least 3 hoggies awake here

HEDGEHOG AWARENESS INFO - PLEASE SHARE

As I mention on the poster please never feed whole of halved peanuts they can get stuck in the roof of the hedgehog's mouth and cause serious problems.

Please also never give hedgehogs bread and/or milk it will make them very ill and they could even die ..... help spread the word by sharing on your walls ... it could help to save a hedgehog's life ♥

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just on my way to take Davina back to her Dad for release tonight ..... stay safe Davina .... I hope you meet some lovely boy hoggies and have lots of beautiful babies .... she doesn't live too far from me actually, so will probably meet up with some of my little boys ♥

Well Kenny went back home to his finders, Jenny & David, for release last night .... hopefully he will stick around for them ..... they have seen another hoggie in the garden recently so lets hope it is a female :-)

Take care Kenny and have a long and happy life in the wild ♥