Tripods Check-up

On the 22nd March I picked up from one of our carers a hedgehog who'd had a back leg amputated. As with all major operations we always play it safe and get our vet to do a check-up for us. Today Tripod (don't blame me for the name that was our vet Helen's suggestion) had his.

I just wanted to share with you how it went.

Now if you know anything about hedgehogs you'll know if they don't want to co-operate they just curl into a ball and refuse to uncurl. Therefore they often need a little persuasion. So Tripod was popped into a box and given a little whiff of gas:

After a while Tripod became sleepy and Helen was able to have a good look at his wound:

She found the wound was healing well however it needed a clean up. So poor Sophie (she needs hands-on experience with wildlife as part of her nurse training) was given the task of carefully cleaning with wash and cotton wool buds:

Once the wound was cleaned and checked again it was time for a little oxygen to help Tripod wake up and a little warm on a heat pad:

You may notice a few flakes of 'stuff' on the blanket. I had noticed Tripod was losing a few spines and hoped it was mange and treated. However the spine loss has continued and the skin is now a little flaky, so these were collected up and have been sent off to the lab. They're going to see if they can grow us anything nasty. If they do at least we know what to treat Tripod for.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the following:

John, one of our supporters/hog carers who did a little fund raising for us and the money he raised covered the cost of the lab test. 

The A120 Medivets for providing their expertise free of charge.

Attimore Vets in Welwyn Garden City for providing the primary care and the removal of Tripods leg.

Without the support of such fantastic vets we would never be able to do our job - so THANK YOU guys!