Wild Hedgehog Basic Care

The UK only has one species of hedgehog in the wild – the European Hedgehog.

Hedgehogs are nocturnal and build nests within sheltered areas. They hibernate during Winter, when temperatures are below 8 Celsius. It would be unusual to see one out in the daytime so it’s likely they are either poorly or lost.

When hedgehogs are handed into the practice, it is important to know that they should not be released back into the wild if they are weighing less than 550g as they will not have enough body reserves to survive.

Hedgehogs primarily eat beetles, earthworms, slugs, snails, caterpillars, and sometimes bird eggs. Whilst in captivity, they can be offered cat food (although not great for their teeth), minced meat and a commercial diet. If they are going to be kept long term before being released back into the wild, they should be offered whole day-old chicks, mealworms as well as cat biscuits to help prevent plaque build-up on their teeth.

IN PRACTICE:

Members of the public are likely to bring a hedgehog in to the practice because someone has found one wandering around in the day time, traumatic incident, skin disease, myiasis (fly strike).

Hedgehogs won’t tend to uncurl if they are feeling unwell or they are injured. Because of this, some hedgehogs pay need to be placed under anaesthesia to be able to carry out a thorough examination. It’s common to see fly eggs in their mouths, particularly young hedgehogs. These need to be physically removed and a veterinary surgeon should be advised that the hedgehog may need analgesia and antibiotics. Warmed subcutaneous fluids should be given to any hedgehog that is presented in practice. Maintenance rate is 100ml/kg/day (large boluses of 20-30ml can be given). Many animals presented will be hypothermic so a warm environment will be required as it is essential for their recovery.

All ticks should be removed as they can make hedgehogs anaemic.

Hedgehog fleas are specific to hedgehogs – they are not interest in dogs, cats, or humans. It’s important to note that cat and dog flea treatment can be toxic to hedgehogs so consult the veterinary surgeon in practice about what flea treatment they can have – it's usually something with ivermectin

Zoonotic diseases commonly seen in hedgehogs is ringworm.

When releasing hedgehogs, it would be a good idea to release them into an area which is already known to be populated. They are not known to be territorial so releasing them into an already populated area is more likely to benefit them more. They should be released at dusk, away from any main roads.