# Wild hedgehog, very concerned, please help



## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi, I am in norway and i hope someone can help me! 
At the end of august, i found two small baby hedgehogs at the side of the road. I moved them into the bushes not knowing much about them and on my way home, they were back at the side of the road. I took them home concerned that they were so small and may get hurt by a car. I contacted the BHPS in the uk who were really helpful. I weighed them, one was 85gram and the other 120gram. I unfortunately did not manage to save the smallest one :sad: but i did however manage to help the bigger one who is now 900grams and still with me at the moment while we think he has a back leg problem. Have been giving vitamins to see if there is improvement. 
The reason i tell you about the one i still have is because last thursday evening a small hedgehog ran out infront of the car, we stopped in time but when i got out to check she was okay, i noticed she was very small. I took her home and weighed her, she was 318grams. 
I decided to keep her till she weighed abit more as its starting to get cold here now and i was advised not to let the other hedgehog go untill he was at least 600gram. 
She is eating and i have been giving her mashed cat food mixed with goats milk, i have given apple a couple of times and some peas and carrots (not much) She has also had some hedgehog food i found and some crushed kitten biscuits. 
I am very concerned about her poo, it seems to be different every time i change her. Some looks normal like the other hedgehog, but some is a dark greeny colour and i found some on her bedding which was like jelly and a pinky beige colour! It looks stringy also.
Her weight was going up fast the first couple of days, but since monday the weight has been 
Monday - 360
tuesday- 358
wednesday- 369
today (thrusday) - 362

Its abit up and down and im not sure if this is normal, im just looking for some advice on what this can be and what i can do to help her. 
She is in a box with newspaper and towel and a box house, i change her twice a day and feed twice a day. I have floor heat which is turned on to 17-23, it go's down once its reached 23 and back up when it hits 17, slowly of course. 
I do move her box into another quiet room when i do washing or shower. 

We have no wild life sanctuarys here or wildlife carers. I have talked to a vet who say they dont know much how about hedgehogs and that they could put it to sleep if there's no-one to care for it, I really don't want that.

I also want to make sure, it cant be passed on to my biggest hedgehog, they are in seperate boxes and i have not had them together. 

I will be grateful for any advice. 

Thanks, :wink:


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

First, thank you for being so caring and helping them!

Her poop may be green because she's eating a bunch of new foods and she's in a new environment. Although I don't know what could cause a beige color. Hopefully a breeder will be along to answer that.

Are you weighing her at the same time every day? That could account for the fluctuation. Is she eating a consistent amount of food, or does she seem to be losing her appetite?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

So, this is all based on domestic hedgehogs, which are quite different than your wild European ones. You might find people on the UK-centric hedgehog forum can help a bit more?

1. Poop: sometimes pumpkin can help regulate poop a bit. The bright green can just be from stress, or it can be from intestinal infections. Is it smelly? No idea about the pink. If it's stress, it should settle down in a few days.

2. It's getting cold and dark in your part of the world -- they could be attempting to hibernate? I don't know if it's a good idea/safe to interrupt hibernation for truly wild hedgehogs: try calling the UK Hedgehog Rescue and ask them again? For domestic hedgehogs, we try to fend off hibernation attempts with heat (ambient air temperature) and light (12-14 hrs/day). If they're trying to hibernate, that would mean they wouldn't eat as much while sleeping...

3. Maybe gut-load with fatter food to help weight gain quickly? I'm not that sure of the diet recommendations for a wild hedgehog, but stay away from dairy. Maybe add in eggs or really fatty insects (like silkworms or mealworms)?


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Just had a thought - when you say that the discharge you found was stringy, did it look like it could be worms?

I think Annie has a good point about her trying to hibernate. If that's the case it would make more sense for her to be eating less, so I agree that a fattier diet would be helpful to keep her weight up.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I didn't know what the beige, stringy discharge could be and I talked to a breeder and she said:

_"My first thought was worms/parasites. That's what they look like when you de-worm a puppy. I would also recommend the fecal and dewormer, although that'd be up to a vet to figure out the appropriate med and dose. Intestinal worms might be related to not gaining much weight. The irregular consistency and green color of the poop is typical of stress and food transition, nothing to worry about. Assuming the weights are in grams, I know hedgehogs are supposed to be a minimum of 600g by mid/late autumn in order to survive the winter. Sometimes a late litter will result in late season babies that aren't very well off... I would focus on high-fat, meaty cat/dog food to get her weight up high enough so she can go back into the wild."_

Since there are no vets in your area that can treat hedgehogs, I'd say take a closer look at the discharge to see if you can identify worms, and then maybe ask the regular vet for some dewormer (someone mentioned Pancur, but I don't know what dosage is appropriate)?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I wonder if this might be of help to you? It's a website with information on all kinds of wildlife. A lot of parts are still not filled out much (due to lack of information, or just hasn't been done yet - I believe they're still working on the site), but the European Hedgehog entry is pretty extensive. http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0M...s/Erinaceus_europaeus/Erinaceus_europaeus.htm

It includes information on treatment for worming, so you could check that out and perhaps send it to your vet to get his opinion & see if he's comfortable following those ideas to give you deworming medicine for the baby.

Alternatively, I'd contact the place you contacted before & see what they do and/or recommend for deworming, and if there's any other "standard procedures" that should be done to make sure she's in the best health you can get her to - other parasites to check for, any adjustments or additions to diet that may help her put weight on & grow, etc.

Definitely take measures to keep her from hibernation until she's big enough - 12-14 hours of light & 73-78* is what's recommended for our hedgehogs, though I would guess temps may vary for European - so check with the rescue or the UK board on that one.

As for transmission, I'd make sure you handle the bigger/older one and do anything you need to for him each day, before handling or doing anything for the new hedgie. Make sure you keep supplies separated and wash hands before going between the two - especially if you go back to the first after handling the new one. Having them in separate rooms is optimal, but obviously not always an option, so just do the best you can.

Good luck, and I also thank you for taking these guys in!  We always love hedgie-friends here, especially for hedgies that don't have anyone else.


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi, thank you so much for your replys! 
I did have a look at the beige poo the 2nd time it happened (yesterday) and it did smell quite bad. What do worms look like and would they be alive? The stringy bit in the poo i mentioned was like white tooth floss, but it was definately not moving so i flushed it. 

I have been weighing her at 7pm everyday and she does have an appetite but its slightly up and down. Sometimes everything is gone and sometimes there is some left. 

I will keep the light on in there more from today as i have actually been keeping them with the light out as i thought this would reduce stress. 

I have not been able to find any mealworms, most reptiles are illegal to have as pets here so they dont really supply for them in the pet shops. I did find freeze dried grasshoppers though, but neither of them ate any of those. I also read that hedgehogs love eggs and i made them boiled eggs but that was left by both of them! Is there any other foods you can suggest? I gave them sweet potato this morning. 

Im not sure i trust the vets advice as when i explained the situation and how small the hedgehog was and that i needed a flea powder, they sold me stronghold which i was then advised by the BHPS not to use as its far to strong for such a young animal. I could ask for a prescription of the pancur you mentioned and see if anyone here can recommend a dosage? 

If i see the poo again, i will take photo and upload here. 

I will be sure to wash my hands before handling  

Thanks again everyone for your time and being so helpful! I will be grateful for anymore advice or updates with the additional info


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## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

Im not sure about wild hedgehogs, but my guy doesnt really like boiled eggs. If you scramble them, he loves it! I think he likes the yolk, so when its mixed in, he likes it.

Theres a food list on this website that says what treats are good for them, I will give you the link:
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/17725-treat-list-safe-fruits-veggies.html


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Stronghold is the same stuff as Revolution. We use it on our tiny little domestic hedgehogs (in very small doses -- 1 drop per 100g of hedgehog) to control mites and fleas. You want the kitten/cat/small dog version of it because it has a lower density of medication than the large dog version.

Because these are wild hedgehogs, you might want to check out the Raw Food sticky. Does anyone in your town supply raw/holistic diets for dogs? They might have full-grind meats (muscle, bone, and all) and advice on a high-fat version of one.


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Thanks for the list, i will try scrambled eggs then!  

Hedgehogs are not allowed as pets here  i asked in 3 petshops and they all looked at me like i was really weird, so i dont think i will find anything here. I did buy some hedgehog food in the uk but then read online after that its not very good for hedgehogs. 

I dont have a problem with fleas anymore actually, i have no idea how but they just dissapeared. 

Abbys (piglets mum) you mentioned panacur earlier, i have a cat and checked what i was giving him and its the same! Panacur vet tablet 250mg (Fenbendazol to animal) Maybe someone can recommend a dosage. I will write a post here. 

Thanks again everyone for your comments


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

More potential higher-fat foods: cooked chicken breast with the skin (no spices)?

Looking up the drug information on Panacur, I can only find it as a suspension (that you mix) or a paste used to treat horses. :\ For them, the drug dosage is 10 mg of medication per 1 kg of horse, and I don't know what the overdosing risks are.


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

i will get some chicken tomorrow  

I have emailed tiggywinkles, will let you know of their reponse


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi everyone  

I just thought i would let everyone know who tried to help my little wild hedgehog, she passed away this morning   
Her weight was just going down from sunday, we got up to 372 then down to 364 to 344 and to 330 last night. 
I started a worming treatment monday and gave her rehydration fluid yesterday incase she was dehydrated. I made her food extra mashed up and changed her water bottle often. I had a vet appointment tomorrow too. 
Really wish i could have done more for her


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm sorry you lost her.  Poor little thing...But you did a LOT for her already, and it's still so great that you tried so hard to get her better. I'm sure that somehow, she realized that and appreciated it.


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