We’re pleased to report a successful reintroduction into the wild for Harald, who was admitted to Snuffle Lodge less than three weeks ago.
It was a stunningly fast rehabilitation, given that when Harald was rescued by a lovely couple in Clifton he was as flat as a pancake, seriously underweight, circling round and round, barely eating and sneezing for England.
He was so underweight you could see his hip bones protruding and he looked ‘long and thin’ – a far from ideal hog, an adult male weighing in at just 495g.
Initial examination ruled out blindness, but pointed to either a respiratory infection or a head trauma.
After administering antibiotics for 10 days, and anti-inflammatory drugs for four days, Harald made very steady progress.
He initially required feeding little and often, which meant yanking him out of bed every two hours and presenting him with prescription diet food. He’d take about ten mouthfuls, if that, then flop back into bed. This was the order of the day for his first three or four days at Snuffle Lodge.
Harald munching away on 19 Aug - the camera makes him look a bit smaller than he is in real life !
Gradually, as time went on, he’d eat more at each sitting, and his strength slowly returned. Finally he was able to start feeding for himself without supervision and he eventually graduated to proper cat food ten days after admittance, piling through two pouches per day (with room for more, no doubt).
The improvement in Harald in the last few days before soft release was so incredible, he went from being a hog we would consider for soft release in two or three weeks, to one who could be considered in two or three days ! He stopped sneezing, slept through the day, started nest building, and showed great interest in life ‘beyond the cage’ (a daily scuttle around the room whilst his cage was cleaned).
Harald went into soft release on 25 August, just 12 days after being found collapsed, and whilst initially trying to beg food in the morning soon got out of the habit and become a proper nocturnal hog. He also built a truly fantastic nest in the box, with straw packed in so tightly it was a wonder there was room for Harald to sleep (there was a perfect Harald-shaped dent within !)
He was scrabbling to get out of the soft release pen on 2nd September, a true sign he was ready to go back to the wild. The pen was lifted and, true to form, he ran back to bed !
An hour later and he was out in the garden harrassing a visiting female, who rightly gave him the cold shoulder (way too late for babies now, Harald !), and eventually he left the garden at around 1 am to begin life in the big beyond.
Always a calm, inquisitive hedgehog, Harald was a very good size when he returned to the wild, at a comfortable weight (probably around 900g or so) to enable a safe hibernation over the coming months. His nest-building skills should mean he’ll find a safe hidey hole very soon !
When we received a call from a couple in Dunstable we were a bit taken aback, given the distance between us and them. However, the lovely couple had picked up a hoglet scurrying around near a busy road, whilst other people just ignored it.
Snuffles is doing well
Giving the couple advice about emergency care (heat, rehydration, a box to sleep – see here), we also gave them the number for Bedfordshire Wildlife Rescue in Houghton Regis, and via Facebook we let Sam at that centre know the couple would be in touch.
We’re delighted to say that the hoglet, named Snuffles (okay, we suggested the name !), is doing very well, despite having a wounded jaw and several broken teeth, and has put on 100g in weight since the couple rescued him.
Hedgehog carers and wildlife rescue centres up and down the land do work very well together, and we’re pleased to have played just a very small part in Snuffles’ recovery.
Harry-hog, who came into Snuffle Lodge five weeks ago, has been released and is now back where he belongs, living in the habitat of Snape Wood.
Harry gets stuck in to his grub 5 July 2010
Harry came in as a mere dot of a thing, weighing just 73g and underweight for a hog of his age, thought to be four weeks old. He had been found near a busy car park in Grantham and was brought over to Snuffle Lodge by a lovely couple from Radcliffe.
Harry was always grown-up for his age, and incredibly never needed syringe feeding. Starting out on a replacement milk formula diet, he quickly progressed to semi-solid then solid food and rapidly put weight on. Pre-soft release, his weight had shot up to well over 500g, not bad for a four week stay.
All grown up 30 July 2010
He stayed in soft release for a week, but it became apparent that a week was more than enough – the pen was lifted yesterday and out he shot, completely ignoring his tea. He spent an hour or so snuffling around the garden, before exiting stage right and scuttling off into Snape Wood, where he spent the night.
Releasing a wild animal following rehabilitation is always the best part of the job and I have no doubt that Harry, who quickly developed a fear of humans due to our ‘hands off’ approach at the Lodge, will survive just fine, all things being equal.
For the first time since September 2009, Snuffle Lodge is bereft of patients. We do have a travelling contingent of visitors each evening though, so the Snuffle Lodge garden will remain Hog central for a good few months yet !
A quick heads up for the annual Open Day held by our friends at Brinsley Animal Rescue, on Sunday 15th August 2010.
Do please support this fantastic charity, who recently donated some indoor cages to us here at Snuffle Lodge.
Angel-hog, who came into Snuffle Lodge in early June from Bestwood suffering from serious bite wounds, has been given the keys to Snape Wood.
She had been in soft release since 8 July 2010, and last night the pen was lifted to enable her to leave her confinement should she choose.
Angel two weeks after admission
She opted not to leave – she was still snuggled up in her house this morning (and gave an almighty huff at being disturbed).
Some hedgehogs choose to leave as quick as they can, but Angel has never attempted to try to bite her way out the pen, so she may well hang around for a few more days yet.
Angel has fully recovered from her horrific injuries and whilst she will be scarred for life, her wounds have healed perfectly and she now has perfect eyesight : on admission, her injuries were so bad it was unclear whether she’d completely lost her left eye. Over time, and as the swelling reduced, her eye appeared, and is now fully functional.
Angel is probably a misnomer – she is an incredibly feisty little prickly, and during her recuperation would take great pleasure in launching for Clayts with gnashing teeth, and landed a fair few bites on various parts of his body. This bodes extremely well for life back in the wild !
We’ll keep you posted on whether she decides to up sticks, but she is no longer a patient, and is now a free hedgehog should she choose to be one.
Fred came in to Snuffle Lodge on 12 June after wandering into a neighbour’s house during the day. At first it was thought he had an infection, as his right eye was bulging and his left sunken.
Fred-hog in soft release 25 June 2010
Despite a course of antibiotics, his odd behaviour throughout his stay at Snuffle Lodge worried us. He would only ever be active during daylight hours, or when the light was switched on.
He was put into a soft release pen where it was hoped he would adjust to normal hog hours (sleeping daytime, active night time), but after a week he had failed to adjust at all, leading us to conclude he must have a visual problem, being either partially or completely blind.
Fred came into the sanctuary with a unique blue blob on his head, suggesting he may have been released this Spring – it’s entirely possible he had a bang to the head after his release, or the symptoms simply were not picked up. It was also quite worrying to see how tame he was around humans – when rehabbing hedgehogs, we adopt a ‘hands off approach’, avoiding contact with hogs unless absolutely necessary, so that they retain their wild instincts.
Fred was relocated today to another hedgehog carer’s enclosed garden in Derby. We are eternally grateful to Kitty, who also took three-legged hogs Barney and Bimble from us to spend the rest of their days in a semi-natural environment.
Fred will be closely monitored by Kitty, as he prefers to be active during the day, and may need keeping out of trouble ! A very friendly hog, he should have a fantastic new life in Derby.
We’re pleased to report that Bimble has today gone to start her new life in Derby with another carer, Kitty, to be alongside another former Snuffle Lodge resident, Barney, and current resident Pudsey.
Bimble was spotted from the bus by Clayton on 5 May 2010 and was rescued immediately. She was found to be underweight, with a broken right hind leg and, most crucially, she was active during the day which is almost always a sign that something is wrong.
Despite the best efforts of the team at Byron Veterinary Clinic, it was not possible to save her leg, and she had it amputated.
She has recuperated well and, despite one minor setback when she got a minor infection in her amputation site, she eventually rallied and started piling on the weight.
Seven weeks after being admitted, Bimble has made a rapid recovery and is now ready for her new life – we wish her well !
Lots of apologies if anyone has had problems contacting Snuffle Lodge over the last week or so. Unfortunately a technical problem with the telephone meant the battery kept running out, and I spent most of the time continuously charging the battery !
Thankfully, an old dinosaur of a phone has been resurrected and it holds the charge for days rather than hours, so we are contactable again !
After spending the last seven months with Snuffle Lodge, we are pleased to report that Barney-hog has today moved to an enclosed garden with hedgehog carer Kitty in Derby. Barney will be sharing his new home with another disabled hog, Pudsey, and will have free rein to scuttle around Kitty’s garden – hopefully, this will enable him to lose some of his fat belly.
Barney came in as a very small Autumn juvenile, with a broken leg which he had to have amputated. After hibernating successfully, his weight ballooned to 1.2 kg, so was put on a diet before he moved. After a slight scare in his last week, when it was thought he had an infection (it proved to be nothing more than very smelly wee !), Barney prepared for his move by starting to construct what looked like a hibernaculum – in May ! This adds some weight to the fact hedgehogs are excellent weather predictors, as tonight is set to see temperatures drop to 1 degree overnight !
Barney will be sadly missed – a very shy hog, he has always retained his ‘wildness’ due to our ‘hands off’ approach at Snuffle Lodge, and this looks set to continue with Kitty, giving him the best quality of life possible given his disability.
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