Thursday 12 September 2013

Two new members of the family...

Let me introduce you to Twilight.
No, I did not name her!
She used to be called Spiky until we were told by a vet that sticky out parts aren't necessarily boy parts.



My seven year old daughter found her on Saturday. She finds a lot of hedgehogs. They usually turn out to be teazels or thistles. I thought this one was dead and I told her to leave it alone. Then it moved.

I know a little about hedgehogs. If they are out in daylight it's not good. If they are out in daylight and are babies it's really not good.

So I picked her up and said we were taking her home. My husband said I was bonkers.




She was very weak and wobbly. I fed her some lactose free milk that we bought on the way home and some cat food and she lapped it up. I spent the afternoon reading all about baby hedgehogs and picking fleas off her with tweezers.

Since then she's been doing okay. She's gaining weight and has perked up no end. But mostly she sleeps. She likes hot water bottles, walking in her food and sleeping in a woolly hat. It turns out she has 4 little wounds which are puncture wounds so it looks like she was taken from her nest by a dog or a fox. Her wounds have become infected and she's on a course of antibiotics. The vet isn't charging me which is very kind.

This was when we found her. Now she is much more frisky!


We also have a local hedgehog hospital and they have provided us with special milk and colostrum to add to the cat food. If she survives and gets fat enough to hibernate I'm sure they can find a good place to release her. (I can't do it here because of the road outside.) If she doesn't reach the right weight then they will keep her awake over winter and release her in the spring. They had 80 babies last winter who were too small to release as they were born too late in the year. But until then, she's staying with us for some TLC. She's a lovely little thing. Even if she has a name like a stripper. (Lucky me! My grand children are to be called Twilight, Sequin, Sparkle and Star! I am so not taking those girls to the park. At least, I hope they're girls with names like that!)
 
 The hedgehog lady said I don't need to feed her through the night which is the best news. Because after two nights of that, I was knackered! Yes, they are nocturnal, but at this stage her mother would be out foraging at night so she wouldn't be fed.

Bad Bobby is rather worried by her, but we think it's the cat carrier that's freaking him out. It reminds him of many stressful trips to the vets.
Fat Freddy wants to eat her and turns into a silent stalker when he sees her. Don't worry, she's living in a cat carrier for her own protection. I took her out for a little walk in the garden today. She walked around me and headed back to her woolly hat bed. Far too chilly.

She's gained 49g in five days which is great. But, I've not been able to carry on with my waxed finish stripping as it's been too wet to do it outside and I don't want to poison poor little Twilight with white spirit fumes.

The other new addition to the family is this:


We have joined the modern world and bought our first car. The seats all collapse for furniture transportation purposes and I look forward to finding out how much I can carry in it!

21 comments:

  1. What an adorable little hedgehog. You sound like an authority on them, I wouldn't have the first clue how to care for a hedgehog, my only knowledge being they are covered in fleas and like catfood. Nice motor, very practical for transporting all that second hand furniture but how have you managed without one up till now?

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    1. We moved here from London about 5 years ago and kidded ourselves we didn't need one. We were in denial that Hertfordshire was not in London.

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  2. She's so gorgeous! How lovely of the vet to provide free treatment. I hope the little darling survives. She's obviously a fighter.
    What a snazzy new ride! x

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    1. Both the vet and the Hedgehog hospital have been so great. These little guys are almost endangered I think and are very good at getting into trouble. You see far more dead ones than live ones.
      I'd LOVE a vintage car, but seeing as neither of us knows anything about cars, we had to play it safe. xx

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    2. At least your groovy new model can play cool tunes - Ebbie has an eight track so we're limited to tapes from 1971 (the system never caught on)! x

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  3. Oh my goodness!! What an interesting and sweet story! It would make a precious published story for children-you have a heart of gold!
    Warm Hugs,
    Jemma

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  4. Awwww she's adorable (and will hopefully prevent future grandchildren called Twilight... "You CAN'T darling; it's clearly a name best suited to hedgehogs!" :p) xx

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    1. Great idea. I shall have to rescue a few more to use up all the bad names! xx

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  5. I love hedgehogs - have raised a few myself, I adore their little furry underskirts. I'm so pleased you rescued it. Good Karma. Congrats on the car - I have a micra hatchback and it's amazing what I can cram in to it. As it's got old and scruffy I can get even more in it. My neighbour said the other day, as I arrived home with a bookcase from a charity shop, don't ever buy an estate car...!

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    1. It's amazing what you can get in a Micra. My mum had one and I had one for a job once.
      I know where to come for Hedgehog tips! x

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  6. I think you're doing fine, keep it warm and fed and get it as fat as possible. I have always thought hedgehog fleas stay on hedgehogs and don't migrate to humans and cats. Our little hogs had to be released miles away as we have badgers in the garden and they allegedly splat them with a paw and eat them. One year we had 3 hogs come in to the barn to eat cat food while the feral cats sat back and watched, while we watched on cctv. ♥

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    1. Yes the fleas are just for hedgehogs. They don't want cats or dogs or anyone else. But the poor little bugger has about 100! I picked them off and deposited them into a cup of boiling water. I read about the badger thing. Hopefully the hospital will know badger free spaces! X

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  7. Aww, how cute and lucky that she was found by you guys x

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    1. We were quite lost and going the wrong way. I think it was meant to be! x

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  8. Ahhhh, Mrs Tiggywinkle! She is adorable! Well done to you for rescuing her and providing such excellent care. Hedgehog Nurse - add that to your CV, Emma Kate!
    Cars... Don't know anything about them, I'm afraid. I only have eyes for the wee hedgepig. xxxxx

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    1. She is absolutely delightful! We let her out for excercise when my daughter is in bed and she's so funny. She stays so close, she's right under your feet. xxxxx

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  9. I'm just catching up on blog reading, this is so adorable!! Bless you for helping such a vulnerable little thing, I wouldn't have known where to start xx

    Kate
    Just Pirouette and Carry On...

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    1. She is the sweetest hedgehog I've ever known. And the only one really. We've just been out for our evening supervised forage round the garden. xx

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  10. God bless for helping such a vulnerable little creature - U surely have earned more stars in heaven for your kindness. She is so cute! I love your blog, Mary

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