What to do?

[Guest MOLLY]

This little fella was on my doorstep today.

 

 

 

 

 

Last year i had to share my bath with a frog who had been disturbed, till the weather got warmer i dont mind but id like to make sure im doing things right.

Ive frontlined it for the fleas, its ate a good meal of cat food and drank water. Now what do it do, im not ringing the arsepca, and im sure i can do anything a rescue can...do i let it go and hope it is ok and finds somewhere else to hibernate or should i keep it here, feed it up and release it in the spring? For it to be out in the middle of the day, somewhere it must know humans and dogs frequent, and i can tell you its bloody freezing here there must be something not right

If i do keep it here do i continue to feed it cat food, will it eat the dogs raw meat. Should i dig for worms and is the bath a big enough space....its nearly as cold as outside in the bathroom so it wont overheat.

He seems quite at home, had a sleep in the box and seems perfectly relaxed.

MOLL.

[juckler123 707]

Molly its not unusual for hedgehogs to come out in spells of mild weather theyve come out round me for last three weeks i would put it back outside and put a little cat food out at night as your right it might be hard for it to find food thats probably what it was doing out in the day by the way your not supposed to flea them they reckon they get withdrawls from a sudden reduction of fleas thats what ive read and been told on a few occasions

Edited January 21, 2007 by juckler123

[Guest MOLLY]

Thanks juckler, problem is, there has'nt been a warm spell here, its bloody freezing. Ive been in touch with a person who does rescue, i have my list of instructions...

I can't tell from the picture how big the hedgehog is, but it looks like a young one and definately should not be out in the daytime. It needs to be kept warm in a box, with newspaper, old towels, straw etc. It will not overheat.

Hedgehogs should ideally be fed on cat food, preferrably chicken in jelly, as gravy upsets their stomachs. Never give them fish and never give them cow's milk. They could probably have dog food in an emergency, again chicken is best, or sometimes tripe if you haven't got chicken.

If you would like to ring me, I will be more than happy to talk to you about it, I have been rescuing hedgehogs for years and am a registered hedgehog carer with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Its in the lounge with 5 very bemused dogs at the mo

Ill ring tomorrow with more questions, looks like a corner of the spare room will have to be secured off for him to have room to move. The bloody thing has'nt stopped eating since i got him...gonna be an expensive little house mate

MOLL.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Moll; As Jukler says, they do break their nap in mild spells. But, as you say; 'What mild spell?!'. I'd only add that for a hotchi to be out in the Daylight never bodes well. Extraordinarilly, it does look quite small and young too

 

Now, I'm not, for one moment, going to argue with an experianced Rescuer. He / she will doubtless know more than I and I'd listen to them

 

However, I would add, from personal experiance, that the little bugger needs be kept in a 'Ferret Cage'. Anything that'll contain a ferret might just about hold a 'Hog. They're amazing little escape artists! Put Nothing past them!

 

Also ~ uncomfortable truth ~ their shit can be the Most abysmally sticky, shitty, smelly stuff since a long forgotten dish of steamed sprouts!

 

Maybe a hutch in an out building ....?

 

 

Best of luck with the little mite

[Guest MOLLY]

Spoke to a lovely lady tonight

Seems i was very wrong to frontline him...its should be some sort of bird powder....somethingmite. But since he is running about he has been lucky this time....i had the poor sod dripping of frontline knowing how many fleas they carry

This long warm summer has encouraged the hogs to produce a later litter, he would have been born in september, and the mother cannot get enough food to feed herslef up for the winter and feed the young so they are left to get on with it on their own, he would have been slowly starving, hence the being out in the daytime still looking for food. His litter mates will all be in the same predicament so thats me out each night to try to find them

Housing = if i had 3 together then housing them outside in a hutch would be fine as they will generate enough heat in their straw to keep warm, since he is on his own he must be kept warm, even the cold bathroom will be too cold (sensitive little chaps arnt they!) I must restrict his movement to prevent him burning the calories he needs to survive and he wont be able to be released till end of next April/may time...when it gets warm and damp (slugs out)

Must only be fed with chicken cat food, not in gravy and definately nothing with fish in, no cats milk, and i can get him some meal worms as a treat.

If his faeces becomes green then he has an infection and it must be treated.

So 'Bert' will be a permanent resident for the next 3-4mths if he makes it, she said not to be surprised if he does'nt

He has been very lucky, woke up to nearly 2inches of frozen solid hail this morning....im a great believer in fate

Thats all i can remember up to now....im away to lock him in his box then look outside for more.

MOLL.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Good to see ye've got sound advice from people with such huge experiance of the matter, Moll I fed mine on a diet largely of snails. His shit then made me green! :sick: Incidentally; Mine was quite grown up and in good health. I took him in for a few days observation after my then Bull 'n Terrier dragged him out of a bramble patch. Just wanted to ensure he wasn't injured which, thankfully, he wasn't.

 

Now, the possibillity of your ones siblings being out there, slowly dying, is a bit bloody harsh. Suggestion; While it goes completely against the grain of any pest controller to advise such a thing, under the special circumstances: How about ye put out a sheltered dish of that cat food and a box of warm bedding, with a 4" entry hole, close by? Better; Put it inside such a box? Mean no foxes can steal it, at least.

 

Bit of a long shot, I know. But, like spikey Bert there, any more will also be attracted to the warmth emminating from ye door and may just do the fairy book bit of eating ye offering and then curling up to awate their fate. Do that in ye box and it'd be a better fate than a hedge bottom.

 

Best of luck. I'll be watching this one.

[Guest MOLLY]

I did put some meat out last night, near to the door so hopefully the feral/farm cats would'nt eat it. Plus id know by the mess if it had been a hog. Sadly still there this morning.

I also went out with my lamp, which yet again something else broke on it, tried the torch but its not powerfull enough. Ive got some alterations to do to the lamp then hopefully ill get out again tonight, i wish she had'nt told me about the rest of the litter

Ive taken your advice about a box, ive had to change his sleeping quarters anyway if he is staying a while, so have dug out a large carry box, easy to keep clean, and he can stay in the only warm room in the house with the rest of us safely, the cardboard just absorbs the wee etc and the dogs would pilfer the cat food.

 

 

 

Ive put his old cardboard box out, it is reeking of hog so will hopefully encourage others to use it?

 

 

 

 

MOLL.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

All looks as good as could possibly be to me, Moll. A reptile keepers heat mat shot through my mind there but, having been bitten by a hotchi before, I don't think so! I've also sat and watched one crunch up an old toads leg. Those things have quite the set of teeth on them

 

Having said that ~ just to put ye mind at ease over it; I've handled a fair few in my time. Only been bitten once. And that one was inside my shirt and took a munch on my bare side. God knows what he was thinking of. I know what I was thinking of though! F*cking hurt! But they're not quick or quick witted little creatures. Don't ever fear it'll spin round and latch onto ye. I've never known or heard of it. Just use common sense and don't invite a misunderstanding Wild creature, after all.

 

Wish you all the very best of luck with the little mite. Good on ye for caring

[juckler123 707]

Molly it was on central news last night about em having two litters last year and there being loads of little uns out looking for grub all the best to you for looking after it looks like youve got bert for a while i know folks who take animals in are doing it for good reasons but shouldnt nature take care of itself no offence meant

[Guest MOLLY]

No offence taken

 

My personal point of view is, you simply cannot have too many hogs in the garden, but, you can have too many slugs

 

If the animal was dying because it was a runt, deformed, not surviving because it was not strong enough, then yes i agree leave alone, as only the fittest should survive to breed. This little lad seems to be fine, and only needs help due to climate change, im sure if there is anything else wrong, he will probably die at a later stage?

MOLL.

[juckler123 707]

cant fault you there moll sooner have hogs than slugs anyday

[Guest MOLLY]

He suddenly loses his shyness when these are dangled in front of his nose....its amazing how quick they can strike

 

 

 

MOLL.