East Sussex WRAS

We are battling to save the life of the hedgehog that came in, found in a gutter in East Hoathly yesterday, nearly 900g but emaciated, dehydrated, with foam coming from his nose, very laboured breathing from his mouth & an appalling chest crackle, he is in an oxygen cage & is being syringe fed. He was rushed into the vets for a 2nd opinion this lunchtime as blood was coming from one of his nostrils. The vets do not think it is due to trauma, but from the irritation to his nasal passages. He is being supported with fluids & antibiotics & pain meds as well as being treated for lungworm & roundworm as his sample was teeming with eggs & live worms. This chap is a battler & is standing & able to walk. He is actually an old friend, one of our 2011 overwintered hedgehogs as he has blue Tippex still on his head.

We have recently had a few messages via e-mail, facebook, twitter etc about rescues, if you have a casualty please ring our rescue line 07815-078234 if you live in East Sussex and we will try our best to deal with the call. Sadly due to how small we are and limited funds there is only so much we can do. We do not have a call centre with staff to answer phone lines just one person answering the phone the best they can especially at night. This same person can be out on a rescue too, making it difficult to always answer the phone quickly. However the majority of emergency calls are returned with in 15minutes. Calls from outside our area will only be returned if we are not busy. We help thousands of casualties every year we would love to do more without more funds thats just impossible, but we do increase our workload each year as more and more people start supporting.

This is the makeshift oxygen cage we have had to set up for our very sick hedgehog from East Hoathly. Oxygen doors can cost £ 00-500 so until we can afford one this is the set up we have to use. The oxygen generator was kindly donated in memory of John Crichton. The oxygen is certainly helping this poorly chap, he is moving around more and his breathing is a little better and no more bleeding from his nose, but the odds are still against him

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Busy this evening, Lindsay collected a hedgehog from Eastbourne. He seems to have a neurological injury as is hyper sensitive, disorientated, as well as dried blood in one ear, a weepy eye on the other side & signs of bruising around his forehead as well as being very underweight. We then got called to the centre to see a hedgehog being delivered to us from a lady in Hailsham where they are regularly fed & monitored by a number of people in the roa. This little boy was 690g but had infected front feet, but is a god weight otherwise. Whilst there a collapsed sparrow came in. Then just as we got home we got called back by the same lady that had found Mr Grumps the previous hog in Hailsham, she went out to feed her regulars & found another hog on her patio with a head wound. This time a 980g female, with an old blue Tippex mark, I believe she may be handreared 'Juicer' who was soft released in a neighbours garden 18 months ago. The wound is already granulating but with a lot of ingrowing spines which have caused problems but she is in great condition otherwise.

Our old friend Mango originally from 2011, being released again home today after a short stay in the WRAS B&B in 2013 to put on a little post hibernation weight - 250g in 2 weeks!! A perfect guest & back home to his adoring 'family' today

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Fatty on the right is Picallili, released a few weeks ago, back feeding tonight at Yvonne's with an unmarked hog who we think is one released last year

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While Trev has been busy I managed to do a check of the hoggies today. Have 5 hopefully off for release tonight, Pine Nut is off with volunteer Sue, Adam Ant is back to his garden in Lewes where he was found after coming out of hibernation very thin, coughing badly & with a very upset tummy, he is now over a kilo. Eminem, Bluebell & Tupac had similar problems and are all back off to their gardens in Eastbourne all over a kilo as well, 2 have old eye injuries but their other eyes are in perfect working order & all are mature hogs.
Chesney & Road Runner who both had leg operations are now in the final stages of recovery & going into outdoor pens soon before final release, Road Runner is from the same garden as Adam Ant. Gnasty the little emaciated, coccidia, roundworm & mange ridden hog with a severely infected missing rear leg is doing really well, he is 850g, now although he is a long lean hog who looks smaller, he is going to go into a pen for a short while before going back home.
The 2 hogs who came in from Hailsham last week Crocus (aka Juicer) & Mr Grumps are doing brilliantly, Crocus had an infected head wound which is almost invisible & Mr Grumps had infected from feet which have totally healed.
Cowslip the very poorly hog from Uckfield who has severe roundworm is still hanging on in there & brighter, but has lost a lot of weight, another hog Snowdrop is in the same situation, very wobbly & falling over, but mealies seem to be the way to their hearts. Both are on daily fluids.
Dandelion who had every illness & parasite under the sun & a head injury is now over a kilo but still has a little head tilt. Snapdragon who came in from a garden sprayed with pesticides is almost ready to go, but was coughing today.
Dog Violet is a little hog with a nasty neck wound & severe mites, he is also missing an ear, he is gaining weight now & the wound is starting to granulate.
Our youngest hog is little Thumbelina, a 340g little girl who was obviously an early baby, no injuries & just needs feeding up. 2 other hogs getting over severe roundworm are Fox Glove & Nettle who are both starting to stabilise & gain weight now.
Buttercup was one of 2 hogs found out in daylight in a Lewes garden last week, one - a male, sadly was put to sleep as he had a nasty injury down below, but the female Buttercup is doing great and has gained 130g in a week & no obvious issues.
Latest hog in was Daisy last night, emaciated & with ticks & large mites, she is eating today & looking a lot better but she has a nasty infected eye so will be going to the vets. Recent dog attack hog whose name I have missed is also doing great & all wounds are healing well on his back. Kathy

The stragglers of the overwintered hogs have headed home in the last week, miracle hog Nemo who no one thought would survive, went first, last night Rubble & Tweety Pie went back to Stone Cross and East Hoathly. Zebedee is returning to Langney tonight, these hogs were all the last to wake up after the long winter so it is great to see them go. The only overwintered hogs we have now are Miss Piggy, who has been slow to mature & is in a pen and Road Runner who has had a leg op, but is off to a pen & then back home in a few weeks to the same garden as Adam Ant came from. Adam Ant was returned back to his garden in Lewes last night, he woke in the wild from hibernation with a lot of parasite problems, Snapdragon is going home to Eastbourne tonight having been found with a vey upset tummy in a garden a few weeks ago. I have brought Gnasty home to finish her rehab in a pen, she came in with mange, coccidia, lungworm and a severely infected missing back leg. She is doing great now and a bit of fresh air on her back will get her nicely ready to go home in a couple of weeks. Crocus & Mr Grumps 2 hogs from the same garden on the same night in Hailsham are also almost ready to go home having come in 10 days ago, Crocus aka Juicer had a nasty head wound which has healed fast and Mr Grumps had infected front feet. Chesney who had an operation after coming in with a sever leg fracture will also be going home next week. New hogs still coming in daily at the moment for all kinds of reasons.

Despite it still being a very tough time for hedgehogs coming into care at the moment we have had an amazing week of successes, animals moving on the the next stage of rehab & releases, some of which we really didn't think would be possible. In addition to the handreared Doves, Woodies & Robins going into aviaries, the first batch of handreared blackbirds & the 2 Mistle Thrushes have also gone into one of our new aviaries and the first group of fox cubs are trying out their new pen.
Hedgehog Crocus aka Juicer (originally from 2011) has been released after coming into care after hibernation with a nasty head wound, her spines are still coming back through but she has gained so much weight we were worried she is pregnant and so she has gone home to her garden where she has 3 hog boxes to choose from & food on tap. Miracle hog Gnasty is off home to Polegate tonight. He came in with a stinking infected missing back leg, mange, coccidia, lungworm & roundworm, we really did not expect him to make it, so it is great news :-)
The crow who came in with severely necrotic wounds right through his shoulder muscles more than 2 months ago is now in the indoor aviary & already up on high perches. We expected the worst with him, but our vet stapled the wounds after cleaning them & a long course of antibiotics. The wound was expected to break down but it healed slowly,& in the cage he showed no signs of perching at all. So we have been amazed to see him up high today.
We have been able to release 6 feral pigeons today, Amigo & Pinky, both sparrowhawk attacked, Charlotte & Squeaky along with their unplanned babies Ooops & Daisy. We have also released 5 woodies & a dove, one of the woodies was found in a chimney, 3 others had very nasty wounds & the 5th had severe ligament damage leaving his wing hanging loose & floppy, 3 weeks ago he could not use it, but today he flew off like a dream - amazing :-) The dove was the flat, collapsed adult that Tony brought to me 10 days ago. Our first baby bunnies are also about to go outside & 3 more handreared feral pigeons will be going to the outdoor aviary on Monday. Well done and thank you to everyone who has been a part of all these animals & birds recovery, all the volunteers, rescuers, baby bird team, Monica & Nikki. K xx

These tiny babies are being hand reared by Monica. Sadly after being incorrectly advised a householder relocated a hedgehog worried his dog would attack it. Only later on when the dog was pestering in the garden did he discover these tiny babies, now motherless. The finder is very upset & thought he was doing the right thing based on what he was told

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Update on some of our hedgehogs:-
Foxglove - from a Hailsham School, has severe roundworm & passing blood, also has a skin condtion, great weight, just getting skin right before release
Dandelion - from Langney - head injuries. Great weight but has a residual head tilt, so trying for longer on treatment
Mr Grumps - Hailsham, infected front feet, ready for release
Nettle - Eastbourne, leg injury still ongoing
Weed - Hailsham, came in as a baby, lungworm treatment but almost ready to go
Thumbelina - Pevensey, baby with roundworm, almost ready to go
Buttercup - originally parasite issues, has just given birth to possibly 4 babies
Daisy - Polegate, nasty infected eye injury treatment ongoing but great weight
Cow Parsley - Brighton, infected compound fracture of rear leg, recovering from amputation well
Wood Violet - Glynde, baby with strimmered nose - doing well
Aqualeigia - Uckfield, underweight, parasites, doing well
Pansy - Beachy Avenue - ticks, doing well
Lupin - skin problems
Hydrangea - East Dean, severe compound rear leg fracture, recovering from amputation
Pyracantha - Polegate hit with garden fork, ready for release
Bruno - Seaford, recovering from leg amputation
Lily - Polegate, severe rear leg injury, not sure if it will be saveable
Pease Pottage - Lewes, found in a drain, ready for release
Robson - Eastbourne - head wound, healing well
Murray - out in daylight, parasites, ready for release
Belgium - Eastbourne, recovering from amputation after coming in from vets with maggot infested rear leg which was half missing
Deutschland - Eastbourne, punctures to head & body - poss dog attack, healing well
4 babies with Monica are still with us whose Mum was removed from the garden they were later found in
Another baby in today 99g female attacked by a terrier

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Our latest hoglet, he was attacked by a terrier & was only 99g

Bill and Ben the Hedgehogs have come into WRAS's Care today after being found at the bottom of a deep trench in Westham. The two hedgehogs are thought to have been trapped in the trench over the weekend and were only found today. Both hedgehogs have come into care at WRAS's Wras Casualty Care Centre, where they were cleaned up and given a thorough checking over. They have both luckily turned out to be boys so we don't have to worry about they looking after babies. They are going to stay at WRAs for a few days until the trench has been filled in and then taken back and released. The builders are going to check every day to ensure no others get trapped.



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Before cleaning...

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...After cleaning

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The trench which the hedgehogs fell into.

Great news that Buttercup the hedgehog who gave birth at the centre a couple of weeks after coming into care has 3 healthy babies. Weighed & cleaned for the first time today, they weigh 66g, 67g & 68g, she is over 1.1kg! It is nerve wracking when um's give birth in care as they can easily kill the babies in the first week if they become stressed, so you have to be very quiet around them & hands off. Luckily having been with us a few weeks she had settled in already & having handled them all today she & they are extremely laid back. K x

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Called out to this very poorly hedgehog found on a driveway in Eastbourne this morning. Very nasty injuries to its head which were crawling with maggots right into the skull. Rushed to the emergency vets and euthanased to end his suffering. Trevor finally returned home at 5am.

Another hedgehogs coming in, this time from Herstmonceux, out during the day and underweight. It has a green paint mark on it, we have found several with these marks on but they are not marks we use when identifying hedgehogs.

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Buttercups babies (she has 3 in all) 2 weeks old tomorrow & all around 90g

Rescuers out to collect 5 baby hedgehogs suckling on their dead mum. Luckily members of the public found them. Pictures to follow. Kate

Buttercup & her 3 gorgeous babies are doing so well. She is an amazing laid back Mum. The largest baby curls up & huffs & puffs, this one is 150g, the smaller 2 are 130g & splat on the scales all legs at right angles & lick your fingers :-) All have their eyes open & are 17 days old. They are now in a pen with Mum to give them some extra space

On tenterhooks here at the moment, Mum & 3 newborns in a hutch in my shed. Mum seen running into the open with blood on her in the daytime. Bit of a mixed story after this, but 1 Mum picked up, 1 baby found born in an ants nest behind a shed. By the time rescuers arrived 3 babies had been found. All totally bald, no spines & babies cold. Mum checked over quickly on arrival, around 800g a bit dehydrated, o fresh blood. An old eye injury with slight infection but eye looks to have dried out. Mum appears to have enlarged teats. Decision made to give antibiotic to Mum & put her & babies in hutch in shed with the bedding they came in on. Mum seems to be relaxed & babies peeped for her & she didn't overreact. Since being in the hutch Mum has been heard rearranging bedding, nothing untoward heard so we hope she will accept them back & is well enough to rear them. Sadly at this age they would stand little chance of being hand reared so their best chance is with Mum. Hard line to tread ensuring Mum's welfare is looked after, but giving her space to bond with the babies Kathy x

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These are the 5 babies found trying to suckle from their dead mother yesterday. Now with Monica