It’s quite rare for us to be the bearers of bad news but we appealed in last weeks blog for some help with Marley’s vet bill, we were hoping to remove a back leg that had a compound fracture but unfortunately, he had broken two back legs, he would never cope in the wild and he had to be put to sleep. Alicia, his finder, has been informed and thanked us for keeping him safe and pain free in his last days at home, here with us.
Rescuing hedgehogs is very difficult, there is a certain amount of knowledge that you have to work hard to get, all of us rehabbers help each other with the very poorly ones that come in and only consult with a vet when absolutely essential. We sell donated items, at car boot sales, to make sure we are equipped for any problem, pain relief, antibiotics and wormers, specifically for our prickly pals, tick removal whilst safe for any domestic pet is OK, but difficult and dangerous for a poorly stressed hedgehog that won’t uncurl, tick infections can kill a small baby or juvenile. Rehabbers are trained and experienced at fly strike and tick removal so please don’t try at home, get help.
We spend a lot of time caring for these creatures and it’s 24/7, 365 days of the year living with them, we take full responsibility and they only leave us to go back home for release.
We are doing very well at the moment, so far, in this last few weeks, Tara and myself have released twenty of these precious mammals, we will be releasing more but there are some that will take longer like Freddie, he may need an amputation soon, little Barry who has two poorly legs and we don’t know if you remember little Teddy, he was scalped by a strimmer then attacked by magpies, he will need more spines on his forehead, but he is making a full recovery.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our neighbours Alison and John for their donation of lovely things to sell to raise funds for our rescue, also June, Val, Bev, Angie and Lorraine for some wonderful items too.
Also, finally, Jackie, another of our neighbours, was walking out last Thursday and found a little hog on the footpath, also another lady helped protect this little one, she had some spines missing and a particularly nasty intestinal problem. These people got in touch with me, pet carrier in hand I brought her home to begin treatment. Thank you ladies!
Tip of the Week: It is baby season now, if mums haven’t had their hoglets they are going to shortly, please make sure your gardens are checked before using any gardening equipment, netting 6 inches above the ground and ponds are also safe, even a piece of wood will help a hog get out of a pond, adult hedgehogs can and do swim, but if they can’t leave the pond of course they drown, babies don’t stand a chance.
If you need our help, our Facebook page has a link where you can message myself and Tara, Prickly Haven Hedgehog Hotel, or email pricklyhaven@yahoo.com, failing this please ring British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890801. Maxine, Tara and Tyra