Rescue stories

The trio - Harry, Hermione and Ron

Sadly, their nest was destroyed in building works, mum ran away and never came back. The builders were great and saved the hoglets by warming them up with an improvised hot water bottle. Harry and Hermione were thriving at ours, but little Ron lacked rather behind. When the hoglets were old enough to be separated, we gave special care to Ron. He learned everything a bit slower - eating on his own, cracking kitten kibbles - but finally he caught up and could be released.

Video of the trio playing with their nesting materials

Little Ron was the runt of the litter, but we managed to get him through.

He had to learn how to lap formula, then to eat solid food.

Rydal grew up with us and was released

Bruce suffered from tick overload

Little Bruce had been caught in vegetable netting on an allotment. He had a leg wound from trying to break free, and an incredible tick overload. In order not to stress the hedgehog any further, the ticks were removed by our vet under anesthetic. The skilled and patient vet nurse counted more than 200! Bruce was put on antibiotics for his wound and then was released near where he was found, but slightly away from the allotment.

Speedy with the broken leg

Out in the day is not OK, even if it looks OK. Speedy was a good example of this! He was seen out in the day, striding through a garden, so the finder thought all was well with him. We were alerted on the third day of his having been day-active. And sure enough, our examination showed that he had a broken back leg. This was treated at Pumpkin's wildlife hospital and was released after three weeks.

Never assume a hedgehog is OK just because it is walking and seeming active - they are very resilient and will hide injuries in order not to fall prey to predators. Out in the day is not OK!

Medical challenges

Flea was found in a nursery with a grass seed in his eye. This was removed by our vet and Flea was brought up by one of our hoglet carers.

Hollyhog was caught by a dog and suffered infection from her deep puncture wounds. The treatment went well and here is the final check-up.

Barnacle suffered from ringworm, which is not a parasite, but a fungal infection. Cared for and healed by one of our foster carers.

Hand feeding orphaned hoglets

Several of our volunteers have been trained to feed orphaned hoglets with feeding syringes. The youngest ones need feeding every two hours. At about three weeks of age, they grow initial teeth and learn to eat on their own - first licking formula and mashed kitten food, then progressing to more solid food.

Important: Do not try this at home if you are not trained. This is not milk - it is very specialised baby forumla.

Video of little Maren - enjoying his formula food