Another injured hedgehog
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Hi All
Yet again I have caught footage of a hedgehog with a leg injury. This time a regular of a couple of years-Victor. He has been staying in the HH most nights but I think has a nest elsewhere.
Got him straight to the vet and again a broken back leg with infection. I am gutted! I get so sad when I see these beautiful creatures hurt.
They can see no puncture marks or other injuries and he weighs in at 980 grams.
His leg will need to be amputated. They need to get the infection down first.
I am being positive and think about his rehab. There are conflicting views on amputees either being released back into wild or being kept in an enclosed garden. We have got Big Leg seeming(amputee from Oct) doing well as a wild hog even if he looks very ungainly.
Any thoughts welcome. I will be talking to BHPS and Brent Lodge to see what they think.
Fingers crossed for Victor.Hi Simbo65
I attended the Vale Hedgehog Care course last year and their view was that hogs with amputated rear legs could survive ok in the wild as they use their rear skirts to compensate and help them get around. In Warwickshire we use a couple of enclosed release sites for hogs who have lost eyes or who would have other difficulties surviving in the wild which seems ok to me. The Vale view is that a hog that cannot survive in the wild should be euthanised. Always very sad to hear of injured hogs so good luck with this one.Thank you for that information. Did they suggest keeping the HH in an enclosed area for a couple of days so that he can get used to his new walking style?
No but that sounds like a very good idea. I cared for a hog with an injured, but not amputated, leg last year and made sure it was moving reasonably before release. On advice from the rescue centre, I also kept it longer than I normally would just to be sure it had healed as well as it was going to.
The hog needs to be kept in an enclosed area long enough for the skin on the stump to toughten up or it’ll just end up in more problems
If the wound isn’t an open fracture I would always advise trying to set it if it can be done. Even a limpy leg is better than an amputationHi Stef-
I did ask if the leg could be saved but they have said the fracture is low down, sort of by it’s ankle and because of this it needs amputating. If you think differently I can see what they say. I am waiting to hear about his progress as they said they would need to treat the infection first.The vet has already amputated. I was told this would be done on Thursday.
Spoken to our nearest hospital called Brent Lodge and am hoping they will be able to do his rehab. I will then bring him back here so he is in his regular places. That will be 2 amputees to keep an eye on. Fingers crossed he pulls through.
Thanks for all your help.
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