🇺🇦 a d r i a n 💙💛

Now the temperature is dropping it's more likely you will see sick hedgehogs who were struggling to survive and just about making it through, begining to lose the battle and come out in the day time. They come out because they are dying, and hypothermia is a stage of the process. It makes them feel cold, so they come out in the day to get the sun's heat. It's an emergency. If that process isn't reversed quickly it will be too late. Any delay will make it impossible for them to be resuscitated, even by the best rescue in the world. So please bring them indoors, fill a bottle with hot tap water, put it in a box, with the hedgehog, and cover them with a fleece or lots of scrunched up kitchen roll or newspaper. Put in a dish of water then leave the box in a quiet, well-lit room, and start ringing the rescues immediately. Never take wildlife to a vet, they are for domestic animals only. We can't always stop work to answer the phone, so if there's no answer, wait a couple of minutes and ring again. Keep doing that at each rescue until someone has a hand free to pick up the phone. Don't leave a message, they are for non-emergencies (my messages are often backed up for 3 or 4 days). Keep working through the rescues (a directory of UK rescues can be found at helpwildlife.co.uk) until you find a rescue who has a space, and don't worry about distance - some rescues have volunteer drivers who will meet you halfway. There is always a rescue with a space. A daytime hedgehog is always an emergency, no matter how 'well' they may look, or how well they are eating. Please #BeTheirAmbulance, not their jailor.