[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]What a busy winter……
Prickles has admitted 350 hedgehogs since August 2012! Wow, they were mainly autumn juveniles suffering with a heavy infestation of lung worm We are pleased to say 94% of the hedgehogs all survived after responding to treatment and the ones who sadly died were too poorly on admission. This is a percentage that we are all proud of at Prickles and it is down to an excellent working relationship with the veterinary team at Langford and a highly committed and hard working team of volunteers. We were able to release some of the hedgehogs during a mild spell in November. However, we are currently caring for 171 hedgehogs and all but two are due to be released back to the wild as soon as the weather warms up.
Prickles continually relies on the goodwill of members of the public who generously support the work of our charity. I would like to thank you as without your support it would be near on impossible to care for the hundreds of hedgehogs that come through our door during the year, 2012 saw our busiest year with over 680 staying at Prickles for various amounts of time. That is a lot of cat meat and cat biscuits (hedgehogs preferred diet in captivity). I would also like to thank Centaur Services, Castle Cary and Framptons of Shepton Mallet.
We are now moving into a new hedgehog year and we saw our first hedgehog arrive at Prickles last Thursday, she had emerged from hibernation and immediately became tangled in garden netting. She is now well and is enjoying her days curled up on a heatpad. She will be released back to the wild when the weather warms up.
Some of you may have heard that we had two hoglets born in Prickles last Thursday! It is common for hedgehog rescue centres to place hedgehogs together as they fair better when in captivity. We thought we had three boys together, oh dear we had two boys and a girl. Ali and Jo two of our volunteers had a great shock last week during the clean out when they found two new born hoglets with mum and the two boys all curled up together. Hoglets are born from May in the wild. Mum and hoglets have been transferred to a new nest and they are all doing well. Jules is getting a certain amount of stick and the conclusion is she doesn’t know the difference between boys and girls!!
Hedgehogs are beginning to emerge from hibernation this time of year and will be very hungry and thirsty, please place food and water in your garden, cat meat, biscuits are ideal. Should you come across a hedgehog during the day please phone us immediately for advice as hedgehogs are nocturnal and shouldn’t be out during the day. The hog line is 24/7 and you can contact us on 07806744772.
Please continue to support our work, there are various ways on this web site and we also have a Prickles Hedgehog Rescue Wish list at Amazon. Thank you.
Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:51 am
