Vulnerable to Extinction

Beautiful Myla was our first baby treated in Prickle Lodge.  Myla was an out in the day orphaned hoglet found on a wooded path and heard crying by the finders who acted swiftly to take Myla to a rescue, which no doubt saved her life. 

Myla was just 107g when admitted and was cold to touch.  Following an initial assessment and emergency fluids to hydrate her (administered by Pauly at The Hedgehog Cabin), Myla was admitted to Prickle Lodge.  

Myla initially needed a course of antibiotics and was syringe fed Royal Canin puppy dog formula every 3 hours  for the first week. Although her weight fluctuated during this period she had gained 21g. 

 Myla was the most adorable hoglet, so curious and mischievous, we had hours of fun watching beautiful Myla on the CCTV camera developing her nest making and climbing skills. 

During her stay with us, poor Myla was treated for Lungworm, Roundworm, Fluke and Ringworm.  This beautiful baby made a full recovery and  was released into our hedgehog friendly garden weighing a healthy 784g.  Myla stayed in our garden for a number of months and we were able to observe her with our wild life cameras on a regular basis.  She eventually left us in October to hibernate. A wonderful outcome for this very special baby. 

Poor Gerry, an adult male. Gerry was admitted when his finders (who had a wild life trail camera) noticed one of their visiting hedgehogs had an unusual shaped head, loss of spines (on his head), as well as a cluster of ticks. 

Due to his finders providing good, safe, quality food and fresh water all year round, Gerry was well nourished and weighed 987g on admission. 

Following Gerry's initial assessment it became very clear that not only was this poor boy covered in ticks, but he had a number of open wounds on his head and back. Given the shape and positioning of these wounds, they were likely to have been caused by a dog bite.  

Gerry would have been in pain and was immediately given pain medication along with antibiotics. The wound on Gerry's forehead had debris embedded so deep it required our local vet to debride it to remove the damaged tissue and foreign objects from the wound 

Gerry's wounds were cleansed and moisturised daily and over the weeks it was so satisfying seeing the improvement in his condition. We lost count as to how many ticks we removed from this poor boy who was also suffering from Lungworm, Roundworm and Ringworm.  

This gorgeous boy made a full recovery and maintained a good weight, when released back to his finders lovely hedgehog friendly garden he weighed a healthy 975g. 

Precious Whiskey (named after her finder Johnny Walker) was an autumn juvenile, found at night collapsed in below freezing temperatures of -7c on a wooded path.  

Whiskeys finder was alerted by his dog sniffing this poor helpless dying baby and knew he had to act urgently and get her to a rescue to save her life. 

When Whiskey was admitted she weighed 339g and we didn't think she would make it, her body was cold and lifeless and she was severely dehydrated.  

Following our assessment, our priority was to administer life saving fluids to hydrate her, to give her antibiotics and provide warmth.  

Whiskey required emergency fluids for 48 hours, during this period we were able to sample her poo to gauge what other treatment Whiskey required. 

Whiskeys Poo was teeming with adult Roundworm and Roundworm eggs, meaning this poor baby was not getting any nourishment from the food she was eating.  She was also suffering from Lungworm and Ringworm. 

Whiskey responded so well during her treatment, she was the perfect patient. We loved to watch this precious baby on the CCTV cameras, at night she would always take naps in her pen (not in her bed) yawning then crawling gingerly to her food and water bowls so not using up any energy during the feeding process.

When this precious baby was released she weighed a healthy 826g, a real success for Whiskey, for the happy finders and for us.