Louisiana Hedgehog Rescue Safe Home

28/06/2021

27/06/2021

I love this. I wish I remembered where it came from so I could thank them 🙂

20/05/2021

26/03/2021

Easter is coming up soon. Once again many little innocent animals will be purchased, played with and eventually dumped or placed when little p**pers become big p**pers and people realize their isn't enough air freshener to compete.

Unless you are committed to provide a lifetime of care and proper habitat for these animals, please avoid being part of the problem. Rescuers are worn out with cleaning up the mess from "traditions" that lack a whole lot of empathy and common sense.

Thank you for making good choices!

-Annette
(pet rock advocate)

01/03/2021

Wise words from an animal rescue I enjoy following. Give their page a view. Their updates are wonderful ❤

Advice for other rescuers!

This is me in 2006. I was ten years into building and running a wildlife rescue, still learning from the animals, still struggling to get through each day ensuring no one fell through the cracks.
I have learned so much since then. I am still learning every day. I wish I could have a conversation with that rehabber back in 1996 when she began and hand her my hard won wisdom and save her so much struggle, but I cannot. I can however share some of what I have learned with those who are struggling or just starting out.

#1 Build an open network with your peers!
Having relationships with people who do what you do is vital to the survival of your rescue. Share information, resources, supplies and help and you will also share the load. Any form of animal rescue should not be a competition. There is plenty of need to go around. Avoid engaging with those who make it a competition. Any rescuer who publicly disparages the efforts of another rescuer is not putting the animals first as it is always the animals that pay the price when a rescue fails. Keep in mind that sometimes all a floundering rescue needs is help, not criticism and that could be you one day. Don't be a jerk. Step up if you can, but don't make the situation worse for them. (If there is a real situation of neglect or abuse, report it quietly and let authorities handle it.)

#2 Know your limits and set your boundaries!
SO important! You have a limited amount of time and resources to contribute to caring for the animals you accept. Going without sleep and destroying your own finances does not make you more dedicated. It makes your longevity to help unstable. This is when you have to learn to "stay in your lane" and avoid taking in animals outside of your mission's guidelines. For me, my first boundary was to decline taking in domestic or exotic animals who were healthy owner turnovers. If the animals were safe and cared for, I would simply help find a home. I began a FB page called "Green Country Domestic Network" to refer people to. It has worked perfectly for many years. My second boundary was to decline imprinted wild animals who were no longer suitable for release. It saved a ton of money, time, frustration and danger for me and my crew.

It is HARD to decline help to an animal, but if you know you cannot help the situation for the animal, avoid extending resources you need for the ones who have no one but you to care for them to save a person from a poor decision. Offer support, advice and direction and avoid taking on someone else's problem. You have enough of your own.

#3 Learn from your mistakes!
You will make mistakes until you die because we are all always learning. Accept that, and do better. I look back at old photos and footage of myself and am often mortified. In the beginning, it was my connection with the wildlife that lured me in. Eventually I learned that my connection was harmful to them and should be avoided so wildlife stay wild. We don't always know what we do not know. Check yourself constantly and be open to learn from others. Wisdom comes from experience and delivery is everything. Share your hard won wisdom, but always keep in mind; Being right is secondary to being effective. If you teach in an offensive manner, you have wasted an opportunity to help someone else learn from you, and an animal lost your help. Again, don't be a jerk. Teach don't preach!

#4 Toss the bad apples or lose them all!
If you are fortunate enough to have help, don't allow anyone to run their own agenda within your space for the animals in your care. Granted, (I say this all the time!) "Animal people are not always people people" and that is a fact, but everyone who works together must work as a team or the animals will suffer in the end for it. None of us need help so badly that we should suffer through someone taking the attention from the animals and creating drama. The environment in any rescue needs to be peaceful, positive and supportive. The animals feel your energy. Wild or domestic. When people are apprehensive, animals follow suit.
I would rather have no help than grumpy help. Send the grumpies packing and protect your care environment and find yourself a Kimmi McKenzie to keep morale up! :)

#5 Be transparent.
Sure we all have losses we don't want to talk about because we are fighting a daily battle to keep our focus on the ones that we can help, but hiding losses or failures, even from your own mistakes, can be damaging to your reputation and a successful rescue is ALL about reputation. Share the situation honestly and move on from it. If it hurts to talk about and people keep dragging your back to the pain, have someone else handle the endless questions. Protect your focus and morale and let someone who isn't emotionally affected handle the rest. Your belief in yourself is paramount. Protect it!

#6 Avoid needing in excess.
This is a touchy one and something I've always known. I began my efforts believing I could fund it myself and did so for many years. It was only when I had no choice but to accept help to keep going that I applied for non profit status, and I am grateful for every penny that I don't have to work away from here to have for the animals and I take nothing for granted.
Every dime you raise is a dime that is unavailable to another need. Always keep that in mind and avoid being greedy. I care as much about the animals in the hands of others as I do about those in mine. Keep it in perspective. It's not a competition.

#7 Take care of yourself!
Killing yourself to save others is a very real threat. Youth was on my side for many years as I worked 20 hour days and cared for tens of thousands of wild animals. I miss my youth and I wish I could have a do-over to protect myself from myself.
Years of self neglect and overdoing it catch up to you and if you don't have a strong support team, the animals will suffer for it. I am fortunate to have the team I have, but I wish I could go back in time and take better care of me while I cared for so many.
Creating a world where so many depend on you and not taking care of yourself IS self sacrificing, but in the long run, is unfair. It is unfair to the animals who depend on you as well as the people who support you. If you're going to be stupid, make sure you have enough capable people to pick up the slack. Period.

#8 Protect your morale!
If you lead like you are burned out and fed up, all who follow you will follow you to 'burned out and fed up'. Squash the problems, avoid confrontations, ignore the gossip and keep your mind on the work. Remind yourself why you started. Make time to be alone with the animals to refocus and recharge yourself. Don't let people suck the life out of you. Find inspiration every single day and never ever let anyone else tell you who you are. The only opinion of you that matters comes from the animals in your care. If they are happy, content and cared for, you are doing your job.

#9 Last but far from least; Show appreciation to those who help you do what you do!
Your volunteers have PLENTY of other things to do besides clean p**p and care for your charges. Remember that. Every dollar that comes in is a dollar someone besides you had to work for. Remember that.
Once upon a time you decided to help, and eventually you needed help in order to keep helping. Those who help you help others are the lifeblood of your identity and mission. Make sure they understand what that means to you. If you don't make the time to appreciate them, they may find someone who will.
Yes, it can be exhausting to be grateful 24/7, but keep in mind what it would be like without their help and find the time and energy. You speak on behalf of the animals in your care and your voice should never fade.

I hope something here resonates with someone. If I can help anyone move forward in their efforts, stronger for my lessons, I am truly blessed for having learned them, even the hard ones.

"Even the rescuers suffer the same" ;)

Annette

22/02/2021

As a child my mother taught me how to feed wildlife with a wash rag corner dipped in unsweetened condensed goats' milk for them to suckle on. Looking back now I shake my head knowing now that I created rescues too. I'd bring in any babies I found to care for them not realizing some moms were coming back. My mom at one point stopped coming into my bedroom fearing what all I had in there.

I'd take opossum into the woods and crawl around with him as he foraged for bugs around the trees. It was a different world back then. Humans have complicated these animals' and other species lives with the best of intentions and allot of misunderstanding.

13/02/2021

13/02/2021

Consistent good daily hygiene, deep clean as needed.

By Diane VukovicWe've all heard it before: you need to wash your hands with soap and water to prevent the spread of germs. So, it would seem logical that washing your hands with antibacterial—germ-killing—soap would do a better job. It turns out that this is not only false, but those antibacteri...

13/02/2021

And still today ...

THE INVISIBLE SLIMY MONSTER IN THE WATER BOWL

Ever rub your fingers on the inside of your pet's water bowl and you feel a slippery slime of sorts? Well that invisible goo is called Biofilm.

Biofilm is a collection of organic and inorganic, living and dead materials collected on a surface. It is made up of many different types of bacteria bound together in a thick substance that acts as a glue to both hold the bacteria together and adhere it to a surface.

Biofilm can often be good bacteria but there is also the bad!

Biofilms provide a safe haven for organisms like Listeria, E. coli and legionella where they can reproduce to levels where contamination of products passing through that water becomes inevitable.

Bad Biofilms have been found to be involved in a wide variety of microbial infections in the body such as urinary tract infections, middle-ear infections and bladder infections.

Many pet parents are guilty of simply refilling the water bowl over and over without a wash and this becomes a wonderful environment for biofilm to soak around in.

How to reduce Biofilm:

Remember to clean your pet’s water bowl at least once a week if you can and change water daily.

For pet daycares where a host of different bacteria float around in water bowls, wash daily!

For best results, run your water bowls through a hot cycle in the dishwasher with an eco friendly, non-toxic soap to really clean out the biofilm!

Rodney Habib Pet Health Site

"An educated, informed and well-researched community of pet owners can only put more pressure on the pet food industry to be better! When pet owners know better, they will only do better!"

(P.S. - I am going to get lambasted over the "wash once a week at least" concept. However, after a wonderful discussion with a well known pro-active veterinarian/scientist, when she studied the bacteria looming in pets' water bowls she found if you have a healthy beast, biofilm can actually be full of wonderful, healthy bacteria. It's like playing in the mud as kids and having good bacteria all over you! So sometimes cleaning regularly can wash all the good stuff away. ;) )

13/02/2021

Omg ... this is an old video someone had shared that I just found ... too sweet ❤

06/02/2021

Dai is not my biggest fan right now 🤣😂😅 We cut nails tonight. In my defense; I didn't nick a cuticle for once. And her nails are so pretty...

Dai is really sweet and open once she lets you know how she feels, hedgehog style. I think her badger stripes leave her looking stern all the time.

She kissed my nose tonight though! At lunch my friend handed me ccx a napkin and told me I had sour cream on my nose from our Mexican food 🤷‍♀️ SO, it may be the sour creme smell she is licking at! I can put a little sour creme on my nose for a kiss 😂

I'm gonna get my grandson to record her next week when he comes. I get too tickled to even manage to record it. You just never know what these girls will do ❤

OH ... look how big her Quills are against this penny, even as tiny as she is at 340 grams. I've had several hedgehogs from young ages to older adults. Their Quills do get larger as they age. I believe the Quills can somewhat tell the age.

Once the bone growth is complete at 6 months, age is a guessing game with vets. Their teeth can be worn from age to bad food. Teeth can't determine age. I've always wished there were ways to determine age beyond extensive test done "possibly" giving an answer.

❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

01/02/2021

Ugh 🤢 but often overlooked. Another reason not to feed your animals raw meat and to clean any uncooked veggies very well 🤷‍♀️

Yes, we are going to talk about tapeworm. In order to keep nausea at a minimum, we will omit as many of the grosser details as possible.

01/02/2021

Codas' nick name is "Toe Jam" ... girl has a stinky sock fe**sh 🤦‍♀️😅🤣😂 and yes... I still gave her kisses afterwards 🤷‍♀️

❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

31/01/2021

Dai is such a pretty hedgehog. She has thick fur and quill skirt and the longest whiskers

❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

30/01/2021

Tongue shot 😅 God love her ... I never have to call Indy for dinner. Granted, she only took a few bites then left the rest knowing bugs come later. Food for the feral cats tomorrow. I can work with that though 🤷‍♀️ She's pretty good about eating what I give her.

She's an easy going hedgehog period ❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

30/01/2021

A wild hedgehog in Africa ... NOT an African Pygmy hedgehog as renamed when imported into the US. Back then anything named "pygmy" brought more money. And so the "beginning" of the myths about our hedgehogs for monetary gain with no benefit to them began.

ORPHANED HEDGEHOGLET: This little Southern African hedgehog (Atelerix frontalis) was found wandering alone in the middle of the day on a road near the Lonehill Nature Reserve. Being a nocturnal animal, and being too small to be alone, she was brought to our hospital.

So far, she is enjoying her special milk formula and loves insects. Once she is a little older and able to forage for her own food and care for herself, she will be released again.

We treat indigenous animals free of charge, relying solely on the donations and support of our community.


www.johannesburgwildlifevet.com
📷: Ashleigh Pienaar

29/01/2021

I can't help but shake my damn head "I've had hedgehogs for 15 years but I still feed them like cats and do not spay my retired females 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️!"

OK rant over ... My superworms are finally producing. I just needs lots more production 😂 I'll leave them growing and producing for 6 months. Then I should be closer to self sufficient. My guys love Superworms and they energize them like no other insects do. So I'm still ordering bulk to keep enough to feed them.

Roaches, now they are easy. Dubias are easy. Madagascar hissers are easy. On the rare occasion one gets loose, Smaug to the rescue. Truthfully they stay by their bins because they know their food source.

The hissers hide more than the dubias. But they show up for dinner time just like the hedgehogs do 😁

❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

24/01/2021

Hah! Yay Frankie! Getting her taste on 😊🥳👏🤸‍♀️ It was the insects sizes intimidating her ... Once she gets her taste on, she won't care what size they are ... woo hoo Frankie! You go my girl ...

I gave her bugs only tonight - 10 supers - 4 dubias and 2 wax worms. She hesitated at first just smelling, then wheeling ... the she went to the bowl looking up at me like "really?!" We talked about it, or rather I talked and she listened like she does so cute ... I think my accent still sounds funny to her. She got kinda mad and stormed off into her igloo for a second.

BUT then she came back out and ate 6 supers - 3 dubias and her 2 wax worms! I'm so proud for her 😁 Now by next week, I'll be having to force her to eat something besides bugs like I have to force Dai 😅🤣😂 THAT I can live with.

She's toned up 30 grams since she came. I can tell by her nature she feels better 😊 I feel like we've accomplished something she and I ... equivalent to a kid fed on junk food learning to enjoy healthy nutritional species specific food ... ❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

Yep, my mom said as a kid give me a milk jug with rocks in it and I was happy as long as I was outside in nature 🤷‍♀️😂🤣😅

23/01/2021

Well ... I have messenger that is supposedly attached to FB and yet I could not download photos from it. I say where there is a will, there is a way; so here I am doing what I do.

I thought I'd share the hedgehogs dig bowls to show you the differences in how I feed them based on each of them specifically.

I found out before Swiss and Daisy Rae had been spayed and were gaining weight that I could control the affects on their weight gain by feeding different size insects to them. Sadly I lost them soon afterward. What I was learning was interrupted due to the hedgehog food I fed - Precision Weight Management food.

If you notice the food bowls, you can see there are larger insects in the burgundy and orange bowls than the other bowls. The bowls with larger insects are Coda and Dais' bowls. Bigger insects equal higher fat ingested. Both of them being calorie burners, the larger insects are necessary for them to maintain weight.

Indy being a chubby hedgehog, gets smaller insects which are lower fat. They require her working harder to eat them. This helps keep her weight stabilized with no weight gain.

I have been more lenient with not forcing Frankie to eat insects realizing the bigger insects I have here from my farming must surely intimidate her. I mean, think about it ... when you aren't used to your food moving, how would you feel about your food suddenly leaping out at you?

I was able to make a superworm order which gave me more choice of feeding size for her. I am learning how to farm superworms since it's not as easy to order them like it has been in the past. They're kind of a pain because you have to seperate them to pupae. I'm learning though.

I purposely left some smaller dubias and superworms loose in her bowl to see if she'd feel more comfortable eating them. Be damn if she didn't come out out earlier than usual. She ate all but 2 of the the dubias. I'll see later how she does as far as going back after what she left.

My girls came out to meet me though ... they're such blessings ❤️🦔🐉🐾🐛

22/01/2021

Frankie wheeled all night long on the few insects she ate 😁 she even walked her wheel a little ... all night long ... where is the music note icon when ya need it?! 🤔😅🤣😂 She will catch on now ...

❤🦔🐾🐉🐛

22/01/2021

Yay! It worked! Frankie ate the bugs 😁🐛🐛🐛🐛

22/01/2021

I have to say the thought went through my mind tonight as I worked my bug farms that I feed the bulk of from them; it is damn satisfying knowing I share from actually doing something to experience it.

I still haven't gotten my super worm output high enough to meet the needs of the animals here. But I am getting there through my own efforts. I order from Mulberry Farms and Rainbow Mealworms to supplement what O feed.

Do not order bugs from people selling bug chow or claiming they know how to farm insects if they have no history. My bugs got held up at the USPS because they made an error. As I unpacked them tonight seeing they ate the very newspaper they were packed into once the carrots were gone; the thought came "how can people not realize a starving bug and mammal will eat anything? It does not make it good for them"

I suggest people be wary of all the groups out there telling you what to do, without actually doing it & sharing what they do.

Realize that having hundreds of something divided by 24 hours, not being knowledgeable; just means they have too much to pay attention to species specific and they sell you a bill of goods that has 0 to do with the product that draws you in to start with.

Hedgehogs are insectivorous animals that, as of 2018, even vets have seen enough diagnosis to see they are prone to estrogen induced cancers and female issues age 2-4 like our domestic animals are. Talk to your vets and ask them questions considering their experiences with hedgehogs.

17/01/2021

We had visitors today. A friend stopped by with people who had never met a hedgehog.

Coda was her usual sweet self even though I woke her up. She let the girl hold her without objecting.

Both girls wanted to see the bug room. They freaked out when they said they saw a loose roach 😅🤣😂 I couldn't find it after they left though. I was showing them a clear hisser bin so they may have seen one crawling on the inside. I'll send in Smaug reinforcements later 🤷‍♀️😁

❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

17/01/2021

Too funny ... it's like having a house full of picky children. I was running 30 minutes late feeding. I realized as I was putting meat mix and bug bowls in, wait I can't feed like this.

You see, Indy and Coda will eat it all. I can put in both bowls same time.

Dai ... nope! If I don't put in the meat mix first when she's hungry, she will not eat it. I had to pull her bugs out real quick. You can see her bowl of bugs set on the side that she will get "after" she eats some meat mix.

Frankie, well she is proving to be as stubborn as Dai was in the beginning about not eating bugs.

She also but me last night for the 1st time! Just a warning bite that didn't break skin. Kudos to her for getting that close. It's been years since a hedgehog caught me off guard. She loves her couch time. She had pood on the liner. I picked her up to clean it up and she bit "at" me to put her down. She thought I was interrupting her couch time. She stopped as soon as I said "Frankie!" 😂 We are a work in progress ❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

12/01/2021

Coda was so funny last night. I can always count on her for giggles.

Her with her stinky sock fe**sh kinda grosses me out since I kiss her nightly. She won't touch a clean sock. I've tried 😂

Right now she's trying her best to get to the floor. It's too cold to roam on the floor. I will roam an active roamer on the floor at 68f. It's been more like 64f. I have a corral I can set on a blanket on the floor ... but tiny & fast Coda will just dart through the wire and take off when she thinks I'm not looking 🤨 She's like an unruly child.

Last night she kept sneaking to the edge of the couch. She went behind the pillow trying to sneak to the edge too. When I picked her up to talk with her and get a kiss, she was like "nope, no kisses for you tonight. Put me down!"

Then she literally went to the corner and stuck her face out like she was pouting for the rest of visiting ... " you can see me but you can't touch me" ... 😅🤣😂

Oh the joyz of being owned by hedgehogz
❤🦔🐉🐾🐛

12/01/2021

I apologize for not answering messages I can see I have. You see, someone has been accessing my accounts again. Last week someone even sabotaged the water lines here. I am doing what I can about it. I give the rest to God. I keep my focus and priority on the hedgehogs here and things that I can do. We are well on spite of things.

Every year I make the effort to make sure of the laws for this area to make sure I operate legally. With all that has gone on with attempts to sabotage me here; I'll be being extra careful to be aware of any new laws and changes for 2021. It's top on my to do list this week. Because of that, what I do here other than loving and caring for the hedgehogs here, sharing them, assisting parents with hedgeducation and helping hedgehogs that I can, any other activity is put on hold until I am able to verify the 2021 laws. I firmly believe if you can't do something ethically and correct; you do not do it at all.

I'm kinda wondering about Frankies' mom who FB name ended "Hasslebring". I wondered then too but I felt Frankie needed my help and help her I have. I have no doubt she brings a lesson on her journey like they each have.

I'm adding one of my favorite photos of Courage. I still haven't taken down his cage. It occurred to me that my hesitating taking it down, is not just about Courage being gone. Since 2014 I have had a big obnoxious male hedgehog cage on my floor, 2 when Aegis and Rielei were alive ❤️🦔🌈 Change is good ... it just takes me a minute. I firmly believe when one door closes, another opens.

I've got Coda and Frankie ready to spay. Onto what we do. I said I was taking a break from girls. I've learned I don't always make those decisions. I just do what's put in front of me to do.

10/01/2021

Frankie feels much better. She's got a sweet personality. I can tell she likes the smells of the other girls on me when it's her turn. I'm going to let her and Coda meet next week. With them being about the same age they may click.

I've been lenient about the bugs with Frankie. I wanted to let her get to feeling better after getting off the cat food. It had her more messed up than the hedgehogs usually are. I think the fact it had cheese in it may have made it worse.

TONIGHT tho ... I'm tough loving her awhile after her lap time while she's hungry. She may not like me as much tomorrow night 😅🤣😂

❤🦔🐾🐉🐛

10/01/2021

Dai is so funny ... she likes to act like she doesn't like me. But she does as much as she likes anyone.

She has no patience for Coda and her busy self. She objects more when Coda interrupts in her lap space though. It's too cold to put them on the floor tonight.

Dai' is going on 4-4.25 now. Not old at all but set in her ways for sure. I cater to her because I figure she's earned it. She will stay here with me. I can't risk her wasting away like she was when she came summer 2019. She had a good mom who tried. She's doing well now and her weight is stable since spayed after retiring from breeding. She was just a little lost for awhile I think ❤🦔🐉🐾🐛