East Sussex WRAS

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These 4 babies were found in a garden in Eastbourne & are being handreared by Monica

No bad news from the female hog with newborns in the shed. All quiet, no babies out of the nest, Mum has been out & had a bite to eat & more importantly drunk, which was my main concern. She has reconstructed the nest now & so we continue to wait with fingers crossed K x

A number of hogs are ready for release now, Daisy - Polegate, Pansy - Eastbourne, Foxglove - Hailsham, Aquilegia - Ridgewood, Thumbelina - Pevensey. The 4 amputation hogs are doing well, 3 are soon ready for release & 2 will soon go into outdoor pens as theu have spine regrowth needed. Weed was almost on his way home but decided to start coughing again. Wood Violet the little 300g hog with the strimmered nose is now 647g

Lovely release tonight in Uckfield of male hog Aquilegia who came in on the 1st June, struggling post hibernation, just 515g, dehydrated, thin & bony & covered in ants, found lying in a flowerbed in the sun at lunchtime. Amazing to think just 6 weeks ago some of these little guys were only just waking up after such a long hard Winter. He is now well over a kilo & was raring to go, a lovely wild garden & a lady thrilled to see him back & a very kind & generous donation which was much appreciated.

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This is Aquilegia, a male who was found on 1st June stretched out in a flowerbed in the sun at lunchtime, he had woken up like many hogs late from hibernation because of the prolonged winter & was only 515g, emaciated, dehydrated & covered in ants and like many hogs waking up this year he had a high roundworm burden. He was welcomed home tonight weighing over a kilo Kathy x

Another teeny tiny hoglet in today, eyes just open, but small for his age & very dehydrated

Another hoglet also on its way in tonight as well has numerous adult hogs today with head wounds, a greenfinch, blackbirds and many others

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This poorly hedgehog came into care today with two large abscesses on its body and an infected wound on its nose too! He has been at the vets today where the abscesses have been drained and cleaned and he is now back at WRAS's Casualty Centre.

Numerous hedgehogs still in care, including Buttercup & her 3 babies who are now over 300g & will be going back to the garden Mum came from for soft release. Faraday from Eastbourne & Einstein from Willingdon are finishing their lungworm treatment and will soon be ready for release. Cow Parsley from Brighton is recovering from amputation Pasteur & Edison are 2 poorly hogs from the same address in Eastbourne. Pasteur has a large swelling over his right eye & is at the vets, Edison had a nasty necrotic head wound & another wound on his side. Einstein II (who I believe is actually Poppers from Winter 2011/12 from her markings) is from Herstmonceux & has a raspy chest but is doing well. Belgium is also healing well after his amputation. Weed is ready for release but waiting for better weather. Wood Violet is the hog who had her nose strimmered, she will soon be going outside into a pen to see how she copes. Bruno is recovering from leg wounds & a skin condition. Dandelion had a nasty eye/ear infection & has been left with a head tilt. He has now gone into a run at Kathy's to see how he does. Norman from Uckfield has also gone to Kathy's, he was found out in the day with both eyes seemingly sunken. One eye is actually missing & we need to assess the level of vision in the other one. Hydrangea is another hog recovering from amputation. Chemistry is from Eastburne & gaining weight nicely found struggling in the hot weather as was Newton from Seaford. Sandslash is recovering from a bite wound to her side, she was originally with us over the Winter. Microscope came in yesterday from Polgate next door to where Bob & Magic Roundabout came from in the Winter, he has abscesses all over his back, so it is early days for him after visiting the vet yesterday. We also have 4 weaned hoglets at the centre in a large pen and another Mum & 3 babies in another pen as well as all the hoglets Monica is currently handrearing at home

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We have had two more young hedgehogs come in one from Lewes and one from Newhaven today. One is just 78 grams and the other is 125grams. The larger one has want could be a rat bit on his back which is infected and has needed cleaning and treating. Both are lapping esbilac and lectade and WRAS Carer Monica Russell will be taking them

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For those of you who remember little Wood Violet who at just 300g had half her nose strimmered off - this is her nose now Looks so much better and she is now outdoors to see how she gets on snuffling around with it She is now 900g!

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Another hedgehog in today with a infected head wound. Picked up in Eastbourne.

Best laid plans and all that, trying to assess Dandelion the hog with the head tilt in the large aviary/pen, but the little Tinker has already been out & now back in bed! Buttercup & her 3 babies have gone back to her home garden for soft release. They will stay in a run to start with then will be allowed to leave & explore as they wish, continuing to supportive feed for as long as they need it. Babies are all over 350g & lovely & healthy

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This is Buttercup & her 3 babies who were born in care. They are back with Mum in her home garden now being soft released this week. House holders sent this photo this morning when cleaning them out as were a bit worried Mum had a 'bald' patch on her rear end - luckily it's nothing to worry about just Mum being rather a large lady

News from Buttercup & her 3 hoglets who went back to their home garden in a run. After opening the run up last night as predicted Mum & 2 babies have left, the smaller baby is back in the house last night & enjoying B&B for a few more days

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This is little "Eddison" the hedgehog who is starting to recover from severe mange. The scabs are slowing coming off and new hair is pushing the scabs away from the skin. Another couple of weeks and he should be ready to go back to the wild.

Emergency call out to this young hedgehog found at the back of the Laughing Fish Pub at Isfield today. When younger the poor hedgehog clearly got his head and legs through the loop of the string attached to a plastic fruit christmas bauble. As the youngster has grown the string has become more tight and cut into his skin. He was rushed to the vets where under GA the wounds under his body were cleaned up and treated. He is now at Wras Casualty Care Centre. We hope he will make a full recovery.

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Lovely update on Cow Parsley our 3 legged hog who was released back home last Sunday night after a few months in care. She has reappeared tonight, knocking the foxes empty food bowls against Lisa's door just as she used to do to l
et her know she was there. She was originally found by volunteer Lisa in her hog house, thinking it was Deano a hog we had overwintered for Lisa & released just a few weeks earlier. Cow Parsley had a swollen back leg, but was using it, however it was discovered she had a nasty fracture which had come out through the skin, but the bone gone back in, and then the skin closed over trapping infection inside. The infection also caused swelling on her front leg on the same side. She had the leg amputated & it took her a while to gain weight as the infection had taken its toll on her. Many thanks to New Priory Vets for doing such a neat job of removing the damaged leg, it healed beautifully & she gained weight & was raring to go.

New hog just come in from Ringmer, seen out in daylight 2 days running by neighbours who have been giving her food & water, she looks like she has been caught/trapped in something as she has a scrape wound on her nose and no claws left on her swollen front feet. She was a healthy girl before this as although she has a clearly visible neckline & her head & ears are covered in smallish ticks, she is in nice condition overall

Great ward round by Simon our vet today. Everyone checked over, 2 hogs Sandslash & Calvin ready for release both having recovered from nasty infected wounds. Edison who is the hog who had a 'mask' on his face from Mange is now totally free of it, he has a little weight to put on and 2 puncture wounds just finishing healing & spines then to regrow then he can go home. The female hog Newton who had a nasty eye infection is also improving well, a slight discharge still but mainly just a matter of putting the weight back on. Corrie the little hog who was unable to walk & emaciated has really turned the corner, initially we suspected the lack of movement and balance was due to weight loss & dehydration, but when she didn't improve we were concerned about spinal/pelvic damage but the vets gave it the all clear. She is now a little wobbly, but can get around well once she gets going & has gained 100g since last week, this from a hog who could only lie on her side & lick at her food. All the other hogs are doing well, a little concerned about Peggy who came in with multiple small wounds, she is up & down with her weight & also possibly has parasite issues. Izzy the hoglet caught in the Christmas bauble is doing amazingly, is now gaining weight, the wounds are barely visible & she is running around on all 4 legs. The hoglet with the rat bites on his back is also doing great & the first spines are now regrowing on the massive bald patch of scar tissue on his back. The birds are all doing well, 1 gull ready for release as is a woody who was a window strike. The foxes are all improving, Rudolph looks more comfortable as does the other young one suffering from mange. The fox who was caught by the toe in fencing is improving & very lively, but has some residual infection still. We will be test flying our kestrel with the broken wing still, fingers crossed for him, he has been an ideal patient. Our young rabbit who had wounds stitched on his rear leg is healing well & can soon go home

We are still getting lots of young hedgehogs in, as well as a number of adult females who are really struggling, probably after raising a litter & their own health suffering. Calvin the hedgehog with a head wound was released home last night. Volunteer Jen has taken 3 hand reared baby hedgehogs home for soft release. The 3 babies who came in with Mum after her nest was disturbed by builders are now in soft release at volunteer Christine's. Mum was released home last week, but location was not suitable for a soft release pen for the babies as the house was now unoccupied. Adult gull also released yesterday in Eastbourne as was an adult Woody.

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This little girl has come into WRAS's Casualty Care Centre today after being found in a garden in Buxted at 3pm today. Seem is fairly good condition but a slight neck line. She weighs 217grams. We have recently had two other adult hedgehogs from the same garden out during the day, but neither appears to have been a mum.

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This little hedgehog has been rescued at Nutley tonight, very cold and lethargic. Kathy is trying to remove all the fly eggs, and fingers crossed we can pull him through.