Jane MacDonald

Please do NOT take hedgehog casualties to a vet. No matter how lovely, UK vets are a business for domesticated animals and their paying owners only, and are NOT trained in the care of wildlife. Two more little hedgehogs lost their lives this week because their trusting owners went to a vet for help. Both hedgehogs found out in the day, one taken to a vet who sprayed him with Frontline for fleas, and told the finder it was fine to release him as he had no injuries. Frontline is harmless to kittens, but toxic to hedgehogs, but the vet wouldn't have known that. By the time it was dark enough to release this poor sick hedgehog he was sneezing blood, as a result of the Frontline poisoning. He died in agony. The second vet told the finder of the out in the day hedgehog that he was fine, just a bit dehydrated, so to take him home and syringe water into his mouth every 3 hours. Without an autopsy I can't say for sure if this poor boy was killed by the hypothermia he was suffering from, the internal parasites he was loaded with, the shock and stress of being handled so much, or by aspiration (the water being syringe down his throat by inexpert hands and into his lungs, instead of his stomach). My bet would be on the aspiration. Both of these tragic victims were out in the day in the sun for one reason only - they were so sick, so near death, that they had become hypothermic. Hypothermia is a result of a dying body's desperate attempt to keep the vital organs alive for as long as possible. It redirects the blood from the extremities into the heart and lungs, to give them as much oxygen and other critical benefits as possible. This leaves the hedgehog's body feeling cold, so he goes out in the day, desperate for the sun's warmth. If these two little hedgehogs were taken straight to a rescue, the ONLY place wildlife can be treated, they would have been been given specialist lifesaving first aid treatment, assessed, samples taken, their sickness diagnosed, and treatment given. Please spread this important information far and wide, to help prevent more needless, tragic deaths. Thank you.

There are still lots of late born hoglets being seen out in the day. Please remember these little babies are sick. They are starting to die so have come out in the day as their failing bodies become hypothermic. No amount of warmth, love, or food will fix them. They need medicines and experienced nursing from a knowledgeable rescue (never a vet). They may seem to pick up once warmed and fed, but whatever was killing them and sent them out in the day, is still killing them. Ironically it's their sweet looks and gentle nature that leads to them being kept. And every minute of delay reduces their chance of survival, even when finally in the very best rescue. They would be so much safer if they were ugly. Please do the right thing - put their needs first and be their ambulance.

Please put out a dish of water, now. And refresh it tonight, and every night, just before dark. Leave yourself a reminder note on the fridge.📜✍️ Babies are dying because the mums are too dehydrated to make enough milk for their needs. Even if you had a rain shower in the night, the natural water sources are still all dried up, and our wildlife are suffering. It takes so little to make their hard little lives easier. A turn of the tap is nothing for you, but could mean the difference between life and death for your nocturnal visitors, who are often forgotten about but who have slept all through the hot day and wake so thirsty. Hedgehogs in particular need to drink a lot of water because of their shape: they have a large surface area to volume ratio, so lose water via natural evaporation quicker than other mammals. Their mouths are set back under their snout, so drinking from a deep or small diameter dish (like a Gü pot) is uncomfortable for them, as it means them having to submerge their nose. A wide shallow dish is best; a plant pot saucer or, like this, a glass flan dish or pyrex lid - it's heavy enough not to tip up but nice and shallow and wide. So please put out a dish of life saving water right now, front and back of your house, and refresh it before you go to bed tonight. It'll be the easiest way you'll ever save a life.💝