Hedgehugs Hedgehog Rescue

LATEST NEWS FROM HOG CENTRAL
Hercules ha s been moved into the house and put on wormer and hand feeds --she is so tiny we dont want her to lose any more weight .John is just eating his pepperoni pizza as PAULINE cleaned out a load of wormy bedding --poor little mite she must have some tummy ache-- But she has taken a really good feed and is now snuggled down again all clean --lets hope w ecan evict a fewworms overnight and we might start to see an improvement .Meanwhile two of our oldest hogs have made hibernation nests and one has actually gone to sleep --we did check and yes she is alive just slowly winding down --even tarkers has made a pathetic attempt at anest with his one sheet of daily mirror-- time to get the gloves and socks out folks summers gone --and winter drawers on

TUESDAY TALKING
Hard to think about hedgehogs when you are fondling new wool at WOOL N STUFF in wakefield which is rapidly becoming our second home -- where w e have been drooling over yarns and hedgehog embroidery kits. Meanwhile little hercules is doing ok but only taking fluids but she is gaining weight --and the rest apart from billy and dot are starting the wind down to hibernation .Is it us or does it seem to have become autumnal very fast this year--We are also getting calls about people spotting little hogs and taking them in to overwinter --a hog needs to be a MINIMUM OF 600 GM to hibernate and w e like em a bit heavier and they have to get all that weight on in the next few weeks or so--so the clock starts to tick for the autumn juveniles .On the christmas front seems hedgehogs have been replaced by owls and foxes on the decoration themes so cant see us picking up any bargains but we do still have some of the lovely hanging decs left and will have them at the
fundraiser -- we will also have boxes and feeders for sale if anyone wants to pre order -- they are £ 45 and very roomy !! even comet fits in one .

BILLY BOUNCES BACK
ITS good to se e him putting all his new found energy to good use as he is shredding paper into paper mache and making a good old nest with it --wont tell you wot he is using to glue it all together but you get the picture .Think he will be spending his second rescue winter here -- and w e will review in the spring --could be ahog who can never survive even in a safe garden. His two ladyfriends are glad to be rid of him and got their heads down for the winter snooze --poor lad he really is BILLY NO MATES but w e love him scabby nose and all !!

REBECCA SPOTTED
Lisa has seen rebecca out tonight looking fit and well --what a relief lets hope she is stocking up ready for hibernation and has a prime spot in the garden all fixed up-- thats rebecca --not lisa !!

NOVEMBER FUNDRAISER
lots of nice things arriving for the big do in november --celia has done some beautiful hand made cards and calenders and today a box of hogs and reindeer shapes arrived plus some gorgeous slate fridge magnets from hayley .if anyone would like to contribute a tombola prize of the wine or chocolate variety we would be very grateful --and we promise they will actually make it to the fundraiser --it all helpsto make HONEST JOHNS TOMBOLA A SUCCESS --any magnums of champagne will be auctioned --!! am not joking either w e had some donated last year along with some amazing luxury beauty hampers -- .We have abit of a craft theme this year with some lovely handmade items so please save some xmas shopping till the sale and w ealso have anew game -- PERCY PRICKLES kindly donated by WEST BRETTON RESCUE -- AND W ELOVE IT -- THERE is also talk of aWHERES HOGRID XMAS SPECIAL but w ehavent got any further with that one .We ARE NOT DOING ABRIC A BRAC SALE as we no longer have any where to store the items --so please dont send us any --as w ejust dont have any storage places since louise died and w erelied on her so much to help out with this fundraiser .-The DATE IS SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER AT OUTWOOD MEMORIAL HALL 11-- 1 -- please come along and help us raise funds to ge t us through the winter --if w ehave any hogs still awake we will bring some with us !!!zzzzzzzzzz

HERCULES UPDATE
Our little waif from last week is finally shedding her worms and has hit the fantastic weight of 182 gm in one week --she is also starting to eat a bit of meat and biscuit -- and the tank was wrecked this morning --all good signs -- we still have her on heat a s she is so tiny but she must be a tough little beggar .Billy WHIZZ has finished his antibiotics and is looking much better --we just want him to ge this head down for the winter now --

FRIDAY SURPRISES
Not sure who got the biggest shock today -- the builders who moved the cabin -- the mum and babies underneath it or us when w epicked the box up--with the dustiest muckiest little nest w e have ever seen made out of bulidersrubble /clay /bits of plastic /general muck/ shredded polythene -- the babies could have been in trouble with all that stringy stuff but mum had to be moved --so w ehave her.We have settled her in the darkest corner of the garage with a smuch of the safe nesting material as we could salvage --and w eare now holding our breath to see what she does .She looks like anolder hog and the babies are three fat roly poly puddings but at only around a week old so its a tense time Thankfully the builders were good enough to ge tmum and nest to the local vets and with minimal handling of the nest so wecan only hope she settles with them or it will be feeding time here again .If you disturb a nest it s vital not to handle the babies--or if you really have to you must wear gloves--we cant stress this enough .We haventnamed mum yet -- she has agood bowl of supper by the nest area and the garage is dark and quiet ,Quite what chance such a late litter would have had out in the wild is anyones guess but they are out there folks so we are all on little hog watch --its an early autumn and the little hogs will be struggling

SATURDAY UPDATE
MUM seems to have settled with the roly poly triplets lots of grunting and slurping noises coming from the cage -- so its as good a s it can be keeping garage as dark and quiet a s we can and lets hope it works it is such a worry when they come in like this but the hoglets will do far better if we give mum a chance to de stress and ge t on with it .As she is an older hog w e are very hopeful she will be ok and wont intervene tempting though it is to take anothe r look at those incredible fat little babies--they ar elike littel sumo wrestlers so food pickings mus t hav e been good on the building site -- thank you lads !!!Mybe we should call the litter the littter the porkies !! but the roly polys seems to be sticking

UPDATE ON THE ROLY POLY FAMILY
Mum has decided she feels safe enough to come out of the nest at night and eat everything in the hutch and drink every drop of water --she is also slowly replacing all the original bedding withfresh newspaper -- we havent seen the babies yet but assume all is ok --no bad smells coming from the nest box-so far so good The warm weekend has also made our sleepy hogs wake up and so wendy has had trashed cages all weekend -- to deal with ---- plus a rather extraordinary selection of disposable gloves in varying sizes from small to HAGRID SIZE --no names mentioned but pauline asked john to pick them up from arco and we think he just went in and shouted gloves and took out wot jumped into his hands -- ah well if HARGIRD OR THUMBELINA want a job at the rescue a tleast we have gloves to fit them -- wot a numpty !!!

THE NOT SO SOFT AND GENTLE MRS ROLY POLY
We decided today to do a quick check on the roly poly family so carefully opened the nest door and were met by a charging boedicea like mum who was having none of it --so we beat a hasty retreat --as there was no bad smell and she is clearly in charge !!She is coming out to feed and poo so the nest must be clean --so we will leave her to it and wait until she chooses to introduce the family to us -- which will be afew days yet and w ecant wait to see them --.Meanwhile LITTLE HERCULES-- has hit the over 200gms mark so we are thrilled by that --she will be with us all winter but she is looking good .Little billy whizz isnt too good a s his leg/foot is swollen again -- we have seen a condition called bumblefoot beforein other animals and birds but never in hedgehogs but this is what it looks like --anyone out there got any ideas if hogs can get it --please message if you have a sit s anew one on us

ALL QUIET IN THE DARKEST RECESSES OF THE GARAGE
Still no sign of roly poly mum but judging by the amount of food she is scoffing she aint starving .Today she has slung out the rest of the clay and builders rubble and had a general tidy up of the nest --still no sound of the triplets but no bad smell either so all is good .All is not so good with wendy who is on two sticks this week and unable to bend -- it s not often she is quiet but it has taken the edge off her ,We often get asked how w edo this and todays answer is we really dont know !!!-- its a question of not giving in to your illnesses and not let them beat you but it is hard sometimes -- we just hope wendy is well enough for the trip to the yarn festival -- on sunday -- not quite a trip to heaven but near enough --maybe we will have to crawl there --but WE WILL GET THERE !!!.lITTLE HERCULES GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH ==yes I know awful joke but she really does -- she had a lucky escape and it was all down to wendys prompt action that she made it -- time is often of the essence with these little ones -I cant see her being the biggest hog in the world she reminds us of rebecca and w e all know how feisty she turned out to be. Fab new keyrings have arrived today --will try an d get apic on to show everyone -- and the reindeer socks !!!

BILLY BUMBLEFOOT
Seems hogs can get this awful infection and it can take up to a month of the strongest antibiotics to treat and then with no guarantee that is wont re -occur.This sparked an intense debate here today as we simply couldnt agree on what to do --as wehave said billy ha s had more than nine lives and this is yet another major set back for him and is ,We dont measure in cost but he has had a fortune spent on him in ayear plus hours of care and worry and yet here w e are a year later still facing what seems like unsurmountable problems .As we couldnt agree w e have deferred the decision --yet again on him -- the vet i s standing by with more medicines for us and w e really are in a quandry what to do There are no guidelines in any book for this sort of situation and our rule is that two out of three of us have to agree on a case and today we just went round in circles .Our regular vet is away and it could be we have to let her make the final decision --either way we will agonise if wehave done the right thing -- you just cant win sometimes .

REASONS FOR BEING EXCITED
1--our roly poly mum and baes are doing great and w egot chance to see em today
2-BILLY has a stay of execution yet again
3-HERCULES is doing amazingly well
4 -A PARCEL of xmas wrap arrived today and got us all giddy
5- we are doing glittery decopatch hedgehogs and reindeers to sell
6- Kim had her coffee day and made£ 134 and the cakes were aamazing -- well done to all who supported the mcmillan coffee morning --and helped eat the cakes
7--KIM IS BAKING FOR OUR FUNDRAISER !!
8--THE FLUORESCENT squidgy hogs arrived
9-- it doesnt take much to ge tus excited
10 --ON SUNDAY WE ARE ALL GOING TO THE YARNDALE SHOW IN SKIPTON AND WE CANT WAIT /CANT WAIT -- ONLY ONE MORE SLEEP TO GO GIRLS --wallets at the ready !!!

ROLY POLY FAMILY
Today w e did our first check on the family -- they have been with us a week so we opened the door and they were just there so we had a good chance to check em over-- they are adorable and fit and fat and feisty so no worries with them .We were a bit concerned that mum had been a bit sluggish but she is probably just worn out and seemed fine --we still havent disturbed the nest which seems to be kept very clean and we had the babies out for barely a minute --so it sl ooking really good for them .News on BILLY WHIZZ w e have paid for more antibiotics and this really is the last chance IN the spring w e will be looking for a sensitive new home for him meanwhile he allowed us to aloe vera his feet and nose and seems generally happy -- so we are still plodding on .The antibiotics alone have cost over £ 50 this past month so w e may as well give him a go and a t least his LITTLE feet arent as red and swollen a s they were and he is eating well and being generally nosey --so he lives to fight another day !!

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Roly poly babies ♥️

THE PADDILING OF TINY FEET
SEEMS there has been abit of roly poly activity in the cage overnight --mum has now moved position to the inner doorway to stop the babies venturing into the outer area --last night we mashed meat up very ffinely and today it has definitley been paddled in !!! so looking good --not spotted them out yet and mum is still calling the shots with them but hopefully we will see them feeding very soon --cant wait --they are gorgeous and it s lovely to have a successful rescue like this it gives us a real boost Billy looking ok today -- and putting up with his jabs bless him -- and dot getting cross cos she can smell baby milk -- and its sdriving her nuts --

BILLYS DRUG S BILL
We have just had an extremely generous donation which has paid billys medication bill and more besides so a HUGE THANK YOU TO PETER for his continuing support -- it s wonderful how many of you help us out like this and it give such a boost .Sometimes its a bag of cat food /shredded paper /towels /a cheque or money through the door and often we check our emails and a donation ha sbeen made --we cant do it without you all -- our really heartfelt thanks to all who help us out I am sure billy will be grateful when he gets his next stabbing tomorrow --!!!

ROLY PLOY UPDATE
Mum moving further and further out of the nest either to get away from the triplets or give em more room --had alook tonight and saw two little grey spindly legs and abottom before they tucked into the bedding --so sweet we are so pleased it is looking so positive -- given em some soaked iams tonight just in case they wander out when mum aint looking

THE DAY AFTER THE DAY
Today we would have much rather have sat and played with our wool from yesterday but the hogs had done a right good job of making a mess as usual --please let the weather get cooler and the little monkeys will go to sleep. Hercules has hit the 300 + mark which is fantastic --she needs a second course of wormer next week and weaning off the milky mush now .The roly poly babes have still not been spotted and mum is still on guard-- we cant wait to see em .The weather is very dry just now so please keep putting water out it is still needed by the hogs especially .

IN MEMORY OF LOUISE HAMILTON
Since louises death in june this year the rescue has received donations in he r memory totalling £350 from colleagues at W M D C and the funeral collection .Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed in memory of such an amazing woman .This is the time of year when LOUISE would have been taking in autumn babies and helping to organise our main fundraiser in november --she was so actively involved in all we do. To say we miss her is an understatement and the rescue has been directly affected by her tragic death in so many ways .We are keeping going but it hasnt been easy --she has left such a huge gap in our lives.-she was agreat friend and tireless supporter -- and would have been so touched by all the donations that have come in -- THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED --PAULINE AND WENDY AND THE HOGS

ROLY POLYS
We sneaked in and had a sniff at the nest this morning and as there was a definite whiff we decided today was get em out and weigh em day .The babies are three weeks old two huffy and cross and the sweetest little boy who sat in paulines hand and had agood yawn before nosing about -- so no hope there than as pauline cant resist dopey baby hoglets esp males !! Mum is huge and we will be monitoring the babies in case she stops feeding and nod s off and then we will take over the weaning --But what a fabulous start they have had --not a tick or a flea or a sore on them --brilliant so far.They now have a clean bed which mum is sorting out and some mushy food put in to tempt them .Billy is doing well and the drugs seem to be working and TARKERS CONTINUES TO MAKE THE MOST RAMSHACKLE NEST --if only he wouldnt poo in it all the time and make it smelly wemight get somewhere --.The rescue now has it s own geriatric wing and they are such a delight -- - lets hope they all make it through the winter .

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Mrs roly poly and her 3 babies. 1 naughty boy and 2 dont knows. Mum weighs 1400g .the babies 119, 127 and 134g

CRAZY THURSDAY
W e have had a manic day with so much family stuff going on -- the sort of day where you just want to eat cake and stay in bed Pauline couldnt resist checking on the roly poly s this morning and he rlittle boy was a s cute a s ever but hadnt shown any weight gain --mum seems to be eating alot and we will be weighing them daily now in case the little one ismissing out --she may have decided he is an oddity and if so we will have to intervene --shame that --can hear pauline sobbing already as she makes the milk up and gets a bed ready --just in case you know !!!,We have had to supplementary feed youngsters before but only when the mum wa s in a poor state which mrs roly poly doesnt seem to be --but it is a very late litter so you never know and w ehave no idea how old she is -- some females just dont make it after the birth especially if they are old hogs ,Well we will be ready but hopefully wont be needed --sorry pauline -- dont get the milk on yet !!!

NOT FAIR
MRS ROLY POLY is not playing fair and when we went in to inspect the babies she has moved them to the back of the nest and all w e got was a very cross face and a huff --now come on MRS --there aint many perks in this game as it is and having a sneaky look a t baby hogs and weighing them is one of our few sad pleasures --- w e let her get away with it though but that s not to say we wont try again --all in case they arent doing too well you understand !!!