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Summer 2010 The last three months have been quite quiet, but there have been some nasty injuries most of which have been put to sleep. The prolonged dry spell in April and May, when night time temperatures often fell sharply after warm days must have affected hedgehogs in the wild. We didn’t release the last of the over-wintered juveniles until the middle of May. We only released hedgehogs where people were putting out food and water for them. It was such a relief when the heavens finally opened at the end of May! But in spite of predicting that the breeding season would be a month later than normal, bang on cue, the first disturbed nest of Mum and 4 babes was found on 21st May! So the cold winter hasn’t changed their routine at all! They survived the last ice age, so a bit of cold weather isn’t going to make them even blink! We should have known better! The dry, hot weather in June can’t be easy for any hedgehogs, especially youngsters just leaving the nest for the first time so……… SUMMER ROUTINE: You can really help the hedgehogs which visit your garden by making sure there are bowls of water on the ground and additional (cat or dog) food left out for them - dry complete cat food is easier as it doesn't attract the flies - if you put the food under a box with a hole cut out of the side, it will deter cats, seagulls etc from taking the food. Cutting and mowing: There are plenty of hazards for hedgehogs, especially at this time of year so please take extra care when cutting hedges or long grass. We see such horrid injuries, some hogs are so badly injured they have to be put to sleep. One morning we admitted 2 strimmer injuries before 8.30 am! Both went straight down to the vets, their noses were injured and one had a head wound as well. One was put to sleep and the other was given a chance……. Pools and ponds: If you have a pool or pond make sure that any hog which falls in can get out again, they are good swimmers and climbers, but need an escape ramp made out of wire netting, firm plastic mesh or rough wood. Put a dish of water in another part of the garden and the hogs may drink from this without bothering with the swimming pool! This quarter 5 hogs have been rescued from swimming pools, one from a garden pond and one from a bucket sunk into a lawn to provide a home for a goldfish, it also turned out to be a hedgehog trap as the steep plastic sides were impossible to climb up. Cattle Grids: We had a young hog who had fallen into a cattle grid, he was fine after a bit of TLC, the grid could be made safe by putting some concrete blocks at either end, so in future hedgehogs can just climb out on their own. Drain: A lucky young hog was rescued from an uncovered drain full of water, it was a narrow pipe and a tight fit, but luckily a young girl saw him from her bedroom window and called for help. Please check that all your drains or any other holes in your garden are covered! Netting: Strawberry and other nets when left lying loose on the ground are hog traps, they can get so tangled up in the net that the blood supply can be cut off resulting in constriction injuries. The finer the netting, the more damage it can do. If the nets are pulled taut or lifted off the ground these accidents can be avoided. One lucky pig was cut free from a football goal and had not suffered any injury so was released at once. Another was less fortunate, he was found with a small square of very fine netting around him - so someone had cut him free from a fishing net but had not done the job properly. By the time he was found again, the net had dug deeply into his flesh under both arms, he later died of these wounds. Sheds and garages: Hogs often go into people's sheds or garages during the night if the doors are left open, if the doors are shut the next night - they are trapped inside - so be consistent, either always leave the door open, or always shut it well before it gets dark! With the nights being short at this time of year, hogs are up foraging before it is really dark, being insectivores they need to fill their stomachs twice a night as their metabolism is so fast. How much does a Grecian hog urn? One poor hog found herself in a cul de sac with nowhere to hide and needed to give birth, so she went into a Grecian style urn which was lying on its side in a front garden. The householder’s dog alerted him to the hedgehog’s presence, so he moved the urn into his enclosed back garden trying to keep the family safe. Unfortunately when Dru was called, she found just one adult hedgehog inside the vase and only a few baby spines and skin. The hog wouldn’t come out of the urn so she was brought into care inside her chosen home to emerge later into her pen. She was none the worse for her ordeal and will be released in fields near where she was found. This sad tale demonstrates the consequences of moving a hedgehog into an enclosed garden “for safety” the poor mother must have run out of food and in desperation to keep herself alive ate her own babies. Steps If you have outside steps, please make sure young hogs are able to get back up, should they fall down them by putting a brick on each step or a plank of rough wood down the flight of stairs as a ramp. ADMISSIONS FOR THE LAST QUARTER: In April we admitted 16, 15 died and we released 27 In May we admitted 35, 10 died and we released 16, in June we admitted 37, 12 died and we released 15. Tag Returns:9 hogs from last year have returned, 3 were recognised by their nail varnish marks, they had not been tagged. Our second oldest returnee has come back after 5 years in the wild, Hugh has removed 10 of his back teeth which were loose, so he will not be released again, but with food provided he is doing very well. He only weighed 389g when he was found, he had travelled some way from his original release site but was obviously not coping in the wild. A female from 2008 is on her third visit, she has never moved very far from her original release site and this time was found next door to where she was let go last year - trapped in a garage as a new door had been fitted while she slept inside! The old wooden door had a nice escape hole at the bottom of it. She then gave birth to 3 babies, but none survived, in fact she ate the 2 healthy ones, but she left the third who did not look well. This is a normal reaction if they have been disturbed, and is sensible in survival terms, they are reabsorbing protein which they have just spent 5 long weeks making… .…If they are not going to look after the babies, they are more use as an extra meal! INJURED HOGS: Dental patients: 2 old hogs have had so many molars removed that they will not cope well in the wild with hard food. Another had several abscesses and wobbly teeth, he is progressing well now. Another old boy was very snuffly and sneezy and had lots of tartar on his teeth, after a good clean up and several extractions he perked up no end and stopped dribbling from his nose, we hope he will be released back home soon where there is a regular supply of cat food. We have had 3 more dental patients who have had abscesses and teeth extracted. It is a problem for older hogs as their teeth get worn down, and maybe is not helped by feeding on supplies of soft cat/dog food! Some hogs seem to prefer tinned meat to dry biscuits and we would not discourage you from putting out any sort of food, especially in such dry conditions as we have had this year. Better to be alive with bad teeth, than dead of starvation! If people regularly feed hedgehogs in their garden, then they are going to notice a poorly hog and call us - well that’s the theory! Noses: It took 2 trips to find one poor hog who had been knocked by a strimmer or something similar, he had short spines on his head and his nose was badly swollen. He died from these injuries. We have had 5 more with nose injuries, two have been successfully released and 3 have died, one is still in care… As always we are extremely grateful to the vets and staff at New Era Vet Hospital for all their efforts to save these wounded hogs and for their advice on our other patients. Rat Poison: One of our patients would not stop screaming with pain even after strong pain killer from the vets, so after a few days he was put to sleep, he had passed blood so we assumed he had eaten some rat bait. The finders heard the noise and thought it was a duck and were amazed to find a hedgehog was responsible. BABIES: The first nest of Mum and babes was disturbed under a pile of garden rubbish which hadn’t been touched for a long time, luckily, even though forks were used to shift the pile, nobody was hurt and the finders carefully put the whole family in a big box with some of the original nest material and called us. The mother is a mature hog, and has obviously bred before, so she wasn’t a bit phased by the upheaval and was letting the babies feed while the human children watched. The young were about 36 hours old they only had white spines and their faces and tummies were still pink, their backs had turned grey. They are now about 2 months old and will be released back home with Mum soon.The next 3 families were not so lucky. Some dogs disturbed a Mum and 3 newborn babies in a paddock with long grass, 2 of the young were injured, one was put to sleep at once, the other wouldn’t feed at all and the third even though it looked unhurt died the same night. The Mum has been released away from the dogs. The third story is our tag return from the garage mentioned earlier. The fourth was rescued from a garden pond and didn’t eat for the first few nights, then gave birth to one baby with a lot of blood in the bedding. We didn’t know if she had had more and eaten them, but then the next day, the baby was dead and uneaten, so in case there were problems she was given an injection to make sure there were no more dead babies inside her. Our first baby found out on its own was covered in fly eggs, maggots were just hatching. She is a very feisty little girl and weighed in at 82g, even though she had no teeth yet, her eyes were open and was about 2 weeks old. Compare this with the next baby found under a bench yelling for its Mum, only 72g but with teeth at the back and some coming through at the front, so almost weaned, about 4 weeks old and able to eat soft food for herself… another feisty girl! The next was a boy who had lost a chunk of flesh on his nose but in spite of this, he could eat for himself, he weighed in at only 58g, he was covered in fly eggs and may not do. Please keep an eye out for young hogs in the daytime, if they are left in the open, flies will lay their eggs on them and birds will peck at them. When they are about a month old, they leave the nest with Mum at night but sometimes they get separated from the rest of the family and are found the next day. If you find one (or more!) of these hoglets, please pick it up and put it in a box away from the flies and if it has a pointy, furry face, offer it some water to drink and some mushy cat or dog food and give us a ring. Please contact Dru on 734340 at once if it is too young to feed itself and keep it warm. Small hedgehogs from last year: We have looked after a number of very small hogs who have just managed to make it through the cold winter. “May” from the Amaizin’ Maze weighed in at 267g on 20th May and was released in the middle of June at over 700g! Another 266g hog came in on 11th June, but has a very creaky chest so may not make it. Some other small ones did not survive. Gate: A large female hog was trapped between a solid wooden gate and a stone wall, she must have been used to using this exit from a patio-style garden before she was pregnant and didn’t realise how big she had become. She was released from her trap with a bit of manoeuvring and kept in care because she was badly bruised and in case the babies were damaged. Nest disturbance: It is the breeding season, so if you clear a patch which has been left for some time, or move a shed, you may find a mother and her babies, if the work cannot be postponed, then please put on some gloves and pick up the whole family (Mum first, so she doesn‘t run off) and put them in a deep box and phone us to come and rescue them. We will bring them back once the babies are independent. When to intervene? Healthy hedgehogs do not sunbathe! If there is a hog lying out of its nest in the daytime, it is sure to be sick or injured, so please give us a ring on 734340. But, if you see a large hog walking around in the early morning or evening, then it may be a healthy mother out looking for food at a slightly unusual time because she has been feeding her babies! It can be hard to tell if a hog is hurt or not, so if in doubt, please phone for advice. RTA's: A very thin old hog was found with a damaged jaw, eye and face and 2 patches of shredded spines on her back. She must have been hit by a car some time previously, she could not open her mouth fully, which was why she was in such poor condition. Her mouth would never have got any better and she was not able to eat, so she was put to sleep. Another small hog was found with very odd shaped hind legs. Xrays proved that she had suffered multiple fractures to her ankles, one knee and one hip and had survived all this. She also has a lesion on her back which may be unrelated to the accident. We have an account at the Co-op if you would like to donate your divi our share number is: 325001 |
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