Possible sick hedgehog

[Bunnie1984]

I know this is late but anyone up?

I’ve got 3 hedgehogs in my garden. The third one came to the feeder tonight, had some food (dry cat food) then some water then walked around the garden for a bit. Then it seemed to scratch itself a lot. I’ve seen them do this before and I know they have fleas but it didn’t seem right as it was constant. It then seemed to sit in the garden for a bit, rather than wandering off to explore which it normally does.

I seemed to scare it as it wasn’t in my garden anymore while I went to sort out a box, but found it outside the back gate. It didn’t seem to move very quickly (maybe it was the torch?) and hid under a bush. It got startled by the train (my garden backs on to a train line) but it still didn’t seem right so I picked it up.

I’ve currently got it in a box but unsure if it needs to go see a vet. It’s perked up a bit since it’s been in the house, in a fairly dark kitchen, so now I’m wondering if I should just release it back into the garden? It’s having a good sniff about and trying to see if it can escape!

I’ve noticed it in my garden for about a week and didn’t seem to be any problems with it before. I’m new to looking after wild hedgehogs after seeing the first one in my garden during the heat wave in July.

Any advice would be much appreciated – thanks

[Jan-Marie]

Hi Bunnie1984,

If you have been watching hogs for a while and noticed unusual behaviour then it could well be as a result of something.

do you still have the hog? have you checked for anything obvious, like an open wound or swollen anywhere, fly strike or tick numbers? most hogs don’t actually have fleas to be fair, but they can have mites and various other infestations etc which if they are unwell can overcome them.
I would recommend you have a look for your nearest hog rescue or helper – try the hedgehog bottom website they have a map and contacts. these people are very knowledgeable and will also know of the best vets to use as many don’t have the wildlife training needed.

point of note – they are very good at escaping – so you need a really secure place to keep your hog whilst trying to sort him or her out.

fingers crossed all is well and you can quickly re-release.

let us know how you get on…….

[Author]

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