Hoglets couldn’t wait any longer - their names are ……
Hello all
This was Rose when she first came into the rescue on June 24th - she was wobbling and falling to one side. This can be caused by dehydration, however she was not hugely dehydrated when she arrived and a few days later she continued to ‘wobble’
So we took Rose to Thrums Vets Blairgowrie to see Emily the vet and although there could have been a number of causes Rose was treated for a middle ear infection. She began to improve after a few days and went from strength to strength - Rose was released on Tuesday - a very healthy, happy hog. Have a great life Rose ❤️
Our gorgeous Tilly - she’ll be going home soon ❤️🦔
Bonnie
This is a very tough watch and read.
Mary Lyon spotted Bonnie in her Perth garden this morning and phoned the rescue as she knew immediately something was very wrong - apart from being out in daylight which this little soul was desperately thin and dehydrated. Mary brought her into the rescue and I noticed blood on her leg - after a quick examination as she was so cold and dehydrated she was given sub cut fluids and placed in an incubator to warm up and closely observed. After a short time she became very distressed and it then became obvious the blood was in her mouth. A more detailed examination revealed that there was no evidence of injury in her mouth and the blood indicated internal bleeding. Bonnie was given treatment for poisons as this can cause this type of bleeding. Sadly this little one deteriorated further and began to fit. She was made as comfortable as possible and died a very short time later. We cannot be 100% sure of the cause of death however poison is a possible cause. It may have been something else - as this hedgehog did not get into this state overnight and it is likely others saw her out in the day too - so please always phone a rescue the minute you see a hedgehog in daylight - this includes early evenings at this time of year - they will come out at dusk but should not be out much before that.
So two big messages
Please don’t use any form of poison in your garden - slug pellets, rat poison, weed killers all kill hedgehogs too. Don’t leave antifreeze in a place it may spill out, or certain ‘wood’ preservatives unsecured. They all kill hedgehogs and other creatures. There is no ‘safe’ poison and if ingested they cause horrendous suffering and generally eventual death.
And please phone - don’t message - a rescue the very minute you see a hedgehog in daylight hours.
So a tough watch - sadly something we in rescue see far too often, and we never get used to seeing such suffering - but if this precious wee souls suffering can s
‘So who’s trashed me house?’ Perhaps it was you Edna?
Do you remember Isla? Kirsty Maskell from Auchterarder brought her in early November having seen her out during the day. Isla had a nasty parasitic disease called Coccidiosis. There was lots of blood in her faeces and she was a very poorly girl. Isla also had many more internal parasites to deal with and needed lots of treatment. She also struggled to walk and it soon became clear that her right back foot was twisted - she was walking on her ‘knuckles’ . Once she was strong enough to cope with an anaesthetic an x ray at the vets confirmed there were no bones broken. It is hard to know what caused it but because she came in as a hoglet it may have been lying oddly in her mother’s womb or in the nest. Once she was a bit stronger Isla was given regular hydrotherapy - we bought a baby bath and each day the time she spent swimming, sometimes supported under her tummy, was slowly increased. The aim was to stretch the tendon back out so she had enough strength in it to correct the foot position. Isla was then placed in a larger hutch with a run to encourage weight bearing and a camera monitored her walking . She spent a little time hibernating and we waited patiently to see how she’d cope once awake again. We are delighted to report that Isla is now fit, healthy and using her foot just as she should. Isla will be going home next weekend, Kirsty is offering her a hedgehog house and support feeding - she may not have had the best start to her wee life but is now being given the start she needs and deserves. We will miss this courageous girl but it will be so good to see her return to her life in the wild 👏❤️🦔
HogsCroft Raffle Draw
And the winners are 🥁🥁🥁
Mr Floki looking for breakfast
Every morning when we start the cleaning out and feeding hogs regime Mr Floki comes out to see if room service has left his breakfast - he is a real character.
Thank you Steph - one of our volunteers - for taking this lovely video of Mr Floki - and for your narration 😉 - volume up folks ❤️🦔
Edna says ‘Never mind posting all these pics of cutie little newbies, us bigger hogs are just as cute’ Edna is a lovely natured girl - she pops out as soon as fresh food is served! She is indeed very cute ❤️
And final post for tonight! Remember Isla? Kirsty Maskell brought her into the rescue on 5th November. Isla had a nasty condition called Coccidia and was a poorly girl. When she came in she was also dragging her back right leg. Once she was strong enough a trip to the vets confirmed there were no breaks and mechanically her leg was ok. She continued to drag it and walk on her knuckle. She commenced a further spell on pain relief and has since been receiving hydrotherapy to try and strengthen her leg and hopefully once stronger she will start to walk with her foot in the right position. Although it may take a while there are some signs of improvement already. In herself she is much stronger and 450 grams heavier than when she arrived. ❤️
Meet Lottie
Martin and Rosie from Collace, noticed Lottie in their half constructed poly tunnel on Saturday morning. They immediately knew something was wrong as not only was she out in the day but extremely wobbly on her feet. Martin phoned up and they brought Lottie into HogsCroft. She was extremely dehydrated and a poop sample also revealed she has Fluke.
Lottie was extremely cold and after receiving some much needed fluids she was placed in an incubator for a few hours. After a second injection of fluids she became a little steadier on her feet. Lottie was transferred to a hutch with a heat mat, she has received more fluids and is now rehydrated and stable and receiving treatment for Fluke. Still a long way to go for this little girl - she would not have survived much longer in this terrible state - well done Martin and Rosie for acting so quickly, Lottie is a sweet little girl. I cannot post a later photo alongside the video clip so will add one in comments ❤️🦔
Hoglet Harry practicing his skills - hoping to gain his place on the HogsCroft tug-of-war team. Harry 1 Kitchen roll 0 😊❤️🦔
Do you remember we mentioned visitors to Hogscroft and Ballumbie Hedgehog Rescues last week? 🤔
We’ll be making an appearance here later today …
The best part - Nancy who came into the rescue on 19th June - was released last night by Raz who found her to start with. She was a sorry sight back then , too thin, dehydrated and had flystrike. Now a healthy 832grams - enjoy life Nancy and thanks to Raz ❤️🦔
Just sharing the utter joy of watching hoglets! This pair are now growing up and becoming more independent- they no longer need an incubator so in a ‘zoo zone ‘ with heat mats underneath. Ricky on the left is tasting biscuits for the first time - hedgehogs react to new experiences by ‘self anointing’ - basically throwing their saliva over themselves - here is Ricky doing just that, Louis then goes to investigate and a moment later guess who is also self anointing 🤔😊❤️🦔
Ricky and Louis❤️
Kenny found Ricky in his garden near Burrelton out in the sunshine with lots of flies on him. We collected him on 6/7 and once we got him back to the rescue we set to removing the flystrike. He was also cold and thin - around 3-4 weeks old.
Louis was found by Rebekah Baisley in Caputh Spitalfield on 8/7 - out on his own in the sun. Louis also had flystrike and lots of little ticks and was also cold and thin and a similar age to Ricky. Once we had established they weren’t carrying anything contagious we popped them in incubator together - abdctgey snuggle up together. This is the first time they have lapped their special formula. They still need toileting and additional hand feeding day and night - but who couldn’t love them ❤️
