Baby hedgehog, parent dead. What to do?
On my daily walk, this little friend was laying on his dead mother (killed by a car, it was awful
)It was able to walk a bit around when I came back with a box, it is Sunday tomorrow so all vets or refuges are closed. Any tips? I gave a little bit of water next to it.
Small update, frank somewater and spilled it everywhere, it still seems in good health abd is burrowing under the old clothes i put in the box. Just bought some grainfree, dry catfood see ifshe will take that, i'm also adding some worms from my compost but the poor little critter still seems a bit traumatized.
It's moving around a making noises, I'm guessing calling out the mother. It's pretty mobile though, saw it drinking some water too, no visible wounds or parasites so that's good.
Aww what a precious little guy!
It's good that its looking lively. These guys grow up to be active in the nighttime only, but when they are wee like this they don't yet have the adult hedgehog rhythm and can be active during the day also.
If you worry at all about it not being warm enough, a warm water bottle in the box can help with that.
And if you decide or are told to release it back to the wild, you should take it to where you found it as hedgehogs live in the same area their whole lives.
Thanks for the update, I am rooting for you guys.
Awwwww
Update 2: Good news! I put some works with some hydrated cat food, and while I was looking it was looking around and started eating the worm! It was maybe a bit too much of a fatty and didn't swallow the entire thing but it's taking it's time. Very good news as I suppose it means it already has the reflexes of eating insects
I don’t know anything about caring for this animal nor am I religious but I will give you my blessing that you will end up in heaven
Bad taste
Luckily that isn't a newborn or else you'd be in for hell. If you can weigh it, anything under 300g and it will need puppy milk replacement. Not goat or especially cow milk. If it's above 300g, cat food and meal worms should sustain it until you can get it to a rescue. Unseasoned and cooked chicken breasts/eggs can also be supplemented but high protein cat food is going to be your best bet if it's above that target weight for solids.
just wondering for my own curiosity but why would it need puppy milk specifically, is cow/goat milk not rich enough in protein
It's a combination of the nutritional profile and lactase. Cow milk in particular is really bad for young wildlife because it risks diarrhoea as much as it does protein deficiency. Goat milk is better tolerated by a lot of species but puppy milk replacement is the only formulation I know of that's generally safe for such a vulnerable age.
puppy milk has lactase in it so I'm guessing lactose intolerance is a big part of it
Thanks, it weighs 150 grams max, I don't think I can find puppy milk now, I'll try calling around tomorrow a bit. For now I'm keeping it warm and with some water. Good thing is that when I came back for it,it was walking a bit around, didn't see any wounds or apparent parasites.
If it's a lil bean, you'll want something like this: https://www.petag.com/products/esbilac-puppy-milk-replacer-powder . I know that brand in particular is usually safe for wildlife. I'd offer it warmed puppy milk replacement every 2-3 hours from a 1ml syringe, and that 2-3 hours is around the clock. Wet cat food with a high protein content should be tolerable as a mainstay but that's a young adolescent that will need a mixed soft/liquid diet.
Milk is a no because these guys are lactose-intolerant like others here have said and it would result in diarhhea.
If you do cat food and it's dry, do soak it first because the little guy can eat so much that it swells in its tummy with bad results. Wet cat food is fine.
Worms and stuff it would eat out in the wild are also fine.
The best drink for it is water. If it seems low in energy or dehydrated you can mix some honey in the water or mix 1 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt per 1dl of water to hydrate it. If it looks like it can't or doesn't drink, you can try using a syringe to get water to its mouth in very small amounts.
If it weights 150-350grams it's reached the age when it can be weaned from the mother
If you can, you should check that it doesn't have any fly eggs or worms in its coat. If you see any, you should remove them with tweezers.
If you want to make it more comfy, you can put it in a cardboard box with air holes, some soft cloth and shreaded newspaper inside so it can hide and feel safer. If it's very tiny, a heating mat might be needed.
One thing to note for your own safety is that hedgehogs often carry salmonella and they spread it in their poop (its asympomatic for them). So the water cup and utensils, gloves and other things you use to handle it should not be washed in the same sink or with the same washcloths you use for your food. Always wear gloves and wash your hands well after dealing with it.
Thank you for saving the little guy!
Edit. Adding that if it is so small that you suspect it can't eat solids, the baby formula for cats can be given to hegdehogs.
And not to alarm you, but just want you to know that these guys can take a turn for the worst very fast when they are small so hydration and warmth are very important. Flies lay eggs in hedgehogs very fast when they are in any sort of trouble so doing the fly egg/worm check is super important.
Best of luck to you and the little one. Hope you can get it to a shelter quickly.
I'm genuinely curious, how do you learn stuff like this? I'm terrified of the day that I find an animal in need like this and I just do all the wrong things 😳
Stuff like this is related to my never-ending
interests. I am also old and grew up in the countryside.This hedgehog rescue stuff especially is also something that has been pretty widely distributed and discussed in the media where I live, because these guys so often come live in peoples backyards and there used to be a lot of misinfo for example about giving them milk (which was bad) or taking in small alone looking individuals that look like they are alone, but are actually fine and just out for their first adventures from mom. Their behaviour typically is a tell on if something is really wrong or if you should just let them be. We make winter nests for them and stuff these days. They used to be so common when I was a kid and now they are so rare that you rarely see any. It's a protected species here.
There are websites and experts we can call for advice about wild animals, if this ever happens to you, I hope there is something similar where you are so you can get help. Common sense often gets you pretty far too.
I'm terrified of the day that I find an animal in need like this and I just do all the wrong things 😳
Me too, but what else can you do? It was either try my best or leave it out in the scorching sun
hydration and warmth are very important. I just saw it drink some water! It was very cute. I'm also putting in a steel bottle with warm water every once in a while, it seems to like cuddling against it for warmth.
Thanks for the tips, I'm doing my best and really hope it will work out.
You are doing awesome with it!
I had a pet hedgehog a few years ago. We fed her cat food and meal worms. she lived on her own in a hamster cage with cedar chips and went hard on the wheel. She lived 8 years with no major issues.
She eventually got used to our smell but I never really felt as though she recognized us. If you took her out she could chill on ur lap under a blanket or in a hoodie pouch for hours but she (quite often) went to the bathroom on whoever was holding her. She also really loved sitting on the shoulders of people with long hair, hiding under the hair.
10/10 would get another hedgie before getting any other mammal smaller than a cat.
RIP Luna 💕
paging @happybadger@hexbear.net the local wildlife wrangler
Seeing how it was rolled up on top of it's dead mother, killed by someone who didn't even feel it in it's big metal box probably, kinda fucked me up a bit ngl
Yeah I hate seeing roadkill when I drive around and I always stop for animals, I moved 4 turtles out of the road in the last month
So cute! What a relatable creature ♥️
Danger ball! Cute.
They're actually not too uncomfortable to hold, their spines aren't like porcupines and they are so light and have so many points that the pressure is pretty distributed. They are certainly a unique tactile experience when held though.
You can feed them cat food, probably something grain free.
I only have dogfood atm not grain free. I could find some worms in my compost though?
A lot of people have given what seems to be good advice and also what I know is good advice already and seem to know more about hedgehogs than I do. So I don't have any advice but wanna say good luck and that you absolutely rule for helping the critter. Are you gonna keep em or do you plan on giving them to a rescue? I don't wanna influence your decision but if you are in a position to give a hedgehog a good life maybe you just found a special little buddy. I would take it that way and its cute. Do what is right for both of you tho
Bad timing , end of the month we're moving to a new place but we'll see how it evolves, tommorow i'm calling some vets and refuge for advice.
Ideally it will be healthy and big enough after a while. I love the idea of a little buddy but i feel like it should be able to live as a normal hedgehog in the woods and fields. But if it can stay semi-autonomously in the garden, that's a win too.