Checklist for helping hedgehogs

• Did a dog or children disturb the nest? > does not need help unless there are hoglets.
• Was the hedgehog lying out in the open? > it will need help.

• Assessing age according to weight and approximate body length
  • Hoglet > approx. 15 to 120g approx. 5 to 10 cm in length > go to 11.
  • Juvenile > approx. 120 to 700g approx. 11 to 25 cm in length
  • Adult > approx. 800 – 1500 g up to 30 cm in length
• If you don’t have any scales, have a guess by comparing with a piece of meat or a packet of butter. Size: is it bigger or smaller than a tennis ball or a man’s fist?

• If the hedgehog feels colder than your hand it is hypothermic > wrap a hand-hot water bottle in a towel, put the hedgehog on it and cover it.
• BEWARE:  syringe feeding and any medical treatment must only be undertaken once normal body temperature (approx. 36 °C) has been reached.

• Sausage-shaped, with a dip at the neck (sign of starvation), sunken flanks, if you can feel the ribs > malnourished, thin hedgehog
• Pear-shaped > narrow at the head, broader behind > well nourished hedgehog

• No > weak, sick or perhaps injured animal

• If they look like slits and are barely visible > weak, sick animal

• If so where? A small wound or severe injury?> go to the vet

• Fleas > treat with flea spray (not powder) don’t bath weak hedgehogs!
• Ticks > pull out with forceps without twisting the tick
• Fly eggs and maggots? > remove with forceps immediately

• Male: button of skin where you think the navel would be
• Female: vulva immediately in front of the anus > this is especially important in summer as females may have babies left behind which need to be found.

• A nest found with hoglets > cover nest immediately and walk away!
• Hoglets found outside the nest? > seek expert help at once!
• Were the babies seen for several hours or even days? > seek expert help at once!
• How old is/are the hoglet(s)? > see table on age determination
• Are the babies cold? > hypothermic > seek expert help at once – first warm them up! then toilet them then feed milk replacement formula – or fennel tea if none available!
• Where is the mother hedgehog? > if possible go and look for her!

Table on age determination for hoglets

© Monika Neumeier

• Where was the hedgehog kept?
  • Cold or warm room, outside on a balcony etc? > correct: hedgehogs which need help must always been kept in a warm room at about 20°C
  • Accommodation: box, hutch, cage? > correct: a large container lined with newspaper and a nest box with nesting material and entrance hole.
• What do the droppings look like?
  • Colour and consistency? > Healthy: black/brown formed and sausage-shaped
  • green, slimy, bloody, runny? > indicates internal parasite burden or bacterial gastrointestinal infection.
• Has the hedgehog been to a vet?
  • What medication has been given?
  • Rehydration fluid? Vitamin B? > often a life saver in weak animals!
  • Worming? > only in animals which will tolerate it!
  • What wormers were given? > First choice: active ingredient Levamisole, 2 doses 48 hours apart injected sub cut into the hind third of the body.
  • What other medication has been given?
• What was the hedgehog given to eat and drink?
  • unseasoned scrambled eggs, cooked mince, tinned cat or dog food with a high meat content, boiled egg, water > correct!
  • Milk products of all sorts > wrong: hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, causes diarrhoea, can be life threatening.
  • Fruit and vegetables > wrong: no nourishment for the hedgehog!
• How much was the hedgehog given – how much has he eaten?
  • A teaspoonful, a dessert spoonful, level or heaped? > possibly too little food?
  • Enough to fill a 150g yoghurt pot > correct!
  • Weight gain? > should be: 10 to 20g per day i.e. 70 to 100g per week