Arthur Formerly Known as Spike

On the 3rd August we received a call from Medivets in Chestnut who had taken in a hedgehog that had a broken leg. Sadly the leg could not be saved and they asked if we could rehabilitate a three legged hedgehog. Our answer was yes, as long as a back leg which thankfully it was. So they kindly removed the leg without charge.

Spike a day or so after his big operation

Weighing just 395 grams

Once they were happy with his progress he was transferred to Medivets in Enfield then to our local vets, the A120 Medivets, so he could be collected. Due to work commitments HQ was closed, so one of our fab carers (Michelle) stepped in and took over his care. She named him Spike, she names all her hedgehog visitors Spike. Now Spike was kept inside on towels for just over a week to allow his wound to heal. Whilst in Michelle's care he was found to be very partial to meal worms and would hiss like a trooper when picked up to be checked. Once happy the wound had healed he was moved outside into a hutch and run, to allow him to get used to being on grass. He was still being closely monitored to ensure he was adapting to have a leg missing.

Healing well, enjoying the evening sun outside and

now weighing a whopping 465 grams

He adapted quickly to only having three legs and was able to keep his face clean, so he was moved to his new forever home where he was renamed Arthur.

Temporary home whilst larger premises more suitable 

for winter were located

Arthur has been in his new home for just under two weeks. He has settled in, is coping well with life and at 674 grams he is ready for hibernation.

Arthur as he is now - ready for winter

It's great to see Arthur doing so well and as and when I receive up-dates I'll keep you posted on our Facebook page. 

Lastly I'd like to thank everyone who helped in saving Arthur - a great team effort.   

Triplets Followed By Twins

On 16th of July I received a call from a lady who had found a small hoglet (a female) out of its own. Unfortunately due to work commitments HQ was closed. Thankfully Sophie from the A120 Medivets (Bishop's Stortford) had offered to help if any hoglets needed it. So the hoglet was dropped off to her.

The next day it's siblings (a brother and a sister) were found. Thankfully they had been picked up quick and were fairly healthy apart from a few fly eggs. The two girls weighed 85 grams whilst their brother just 75 grams. Then a few hours later another two hoglets were found by another member of the public. Sadly their mother had been found dead and at just 30 grams each would surely have died. Although Sophie had her hands full with the triplets she madly agreed to take on the twins as well.

Sophie kept me updated and by the 20th the triplets had reached around 100 grams each and the twins were trying to eat by themselves.

The triplets

One of the triplets enjoying a little tea

Under Sophie's tender care the triplets and twins continued to thrive and were soon looking for a fosterer to fatten them up (ready for the winter) and take them for walks to get used to foraging. In stepped Alison (and her family) who took on the task of caring for the triplets and Di (and Rob) took on the task of caring for the twins.

Both Alison and Di have kept me up-to-date with the progress of the triplets and twins. Here are just a few of the lovely photographs they've sent me.  

The Triplets:

The triplets enjoying their new enclosure

23rd August - what a handful!

One of the triplets - free to roam the garden

The Twins:

The twins enjoying exploring their new home

Fizz keeping guard

 
Hopefully by the beginning of next month all five hoglets will be large enough to be returned to the wild. Now we're waiting for the autumn babies to start coming in so we can start the process all over again.

Pocket Full of Change

It's that time of year when we return from holiday with a pocket full of foreign currency. Many of us never know what to do with it so simply throw into a the nearest drawer or pot. These coins then spend months perhaps even years lying there doing nothing.

Well that doesn't have to be the case. Many not-for-profit organisations (such as Herts Hogline) and charities collect and sell foreign currency to raise much needed funds. For each bucket of foreign coins Herts Hogline can raise around £60. This would cover the cost of care and rehabilitation for two hedgehogs.

So please collect those coins. Ask family and friends for theirs. Perhaps encourage a school or an after school club such as the local Brownies or Cub Scouts to rescue those un-loved coins and put them to work.

Up-date on Vince

Background: 
In October 2010 a large male hog came into us very flat, very skinny and close to death. He surprised us all by how determined he was to not give up the battle. Unfortunately it wasn't until he was much better that we realised Vince was partially paralysed (back legs). However he had shown no signs of being stressed it was decided to find him a new home. So in March 2011 Vince moved into his new forever home with one of our fab volunteer fosterers Elaine.

August 2013:
On the 12th August I received a message from Elaine saying she was a little worried about Vince, he was smelling. Knowing he was a fully grown adult when he came to us and he's been with us for three years this October we braced ourselves for bad news.

We agreed Vince would need a trip to the vets. However prior to this visit he'd also need a little bath in warm salty water, just in case there was an infection and to ensure there were no maggots.

Vince drying off after 'Operation Rinse Vince'

Once he was dry Vince was placed outside in a run, he normally enjoys the freedom of the entire garden. However you can never trust a hog to be where you want them to be, so we decided to play it safe and place him on 'house arrest' for the night. 

Temporary run

The following day Vince was taken to Enfield Medivets and was seen by Kelly. It was discovered Vince had cut one of his back legs and it was now badly infected. The wound was cleaned and a small drain was fitted and Vince returned home the next day. At present he is recuperating indoors but is now well enough to accepting visitor. 

Vince being as sociable as Vince gets!

He has two more doses of anti-biotics to go and a quick check up at the vets. We are hoping that by the middle of next week he'll be back out in the garden with Shirley (one of our one-eyed hogs). 

We'll let you know how he progresses.

Friday Night Rescue (21/06/13)

I'd just settled in for the night when I received a call from a lady, (who was all ready to go out on the town), who had just had a neighbour knock on her door. Her neighbour had found a hedgehog tangled in the netting that stretches over the top of our blue recycling bins. Between them they'd managed to cut away most of the netting but couldn't get the last little bit. So were calling for help. I don't normally do house calls but I was concerned to hear that just 10cm or so from her they'd also found a very, very young hoglet. So I jumped into the car and popped around to see them.

Within a couple of minutes we managed to remove the remaining netting from mum. I then gave the hoglet a quick look over (ensuring I did not touch it) and it seemed quite active and well. We then checked mum again and noticed fly eggs in one ear. So between us we managed (with the aid of a few cotton buds) to remove the offending eggs. It became apparent this poor mother hog had been caught in the netting all day and had given birth whilst caught out in the open.

Mum and baby

On occasions like this it is very difficult to decide what the best cause of action is. Are mum and baby brought in, where it's possible mum will become stressed and ignore or even kill her baby? Or is it better to leave in a safe place in the hopes mum isn't too upset and abandons her baby? As both appeared well and the ladies involved were prepared to keep an eye on mum and baby it was decided to leave them where Mother Nature intended them to be, in the wild. So we cobbled together a house, filled with fresh hay and a bowl of food nearby. 

One make-shift house in an out of  the way position

However as we stood talking the mother hedgehog left the house and made a small scrape under a bush and settled down. After seeking advise from Enfield Wildlife Hospital it was decided the best thing to do was bring mum and baby in and keep an eye on them. So I now wait with fingers crossed hoping mum does not ignored her baby overnight. If she does then it looks like I'm in for some late nights feeding. 

To round off this blog I urge everyone who has such netting on their recycle bins to remove it, cut it up into small pieces and put in the waste bin. Finally please spread the word with family and friends and encourage them to get those scissors out.