Care Rehabilitation and Aid for Sick Hedgehogs

Feeding time at the Hedgehog Hospital

This usually has to be done in shifts as there is seldom enough space to get all the little patients out of their cages at the same time.
Of course many are too ill to leave their cages and have to be hand fed which takes a great deal of time. Their favourite lunch is usually cat food. Tins of cat food are always welcome and some local pet shops have set up special donation bins for customers use.
These three little hoglets are always hungry and need feeding at regular intervals throughout the day and night. When mum is no longer around it means someone has to go without a good nights sleep to keep them fed.
It is essential for them to get proper nourishment and as they cannot digest cows milk, a special formula has to be made up for them. The knowledge Angela has acquired about the care of hedgehogs is vast and she is always happy to advise anyone trying to help a sick, injured or orphaned, wild, hedgehog.   

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After struggling day and night for many weeks to feed these orphaned baby hedgehogs it sad when some fail to make it.
However, without Angelas tireless efforts even less hedgehogs would survive to eventually be released back into the wild.

In some countries African Pigmy Hedgehogs are sold as novelty pets without much regard for their subsequent care, treatment or welfare.
These hedgehogs are usually left in the hands of children who regard them as cute but fail to understand they do need very careful treatment,  feeding and conditions if they are going to survive in captivity.
Although much of the information given on this site will be applicable to these creatures, you should seek advice from a local veterinarian as CRASH can only advise on the care of wild hedgehogs, which are indigenous to the UK.       

ON WHAT SHOULD I FEED THEM?
Apart from their natural food of slugs, snails, beetles and the like, they welcome a nightly dish of tinned cat food, any brand but not any of the fish varieties. They will eat almost any meat, leftovers, mince either raw or cooked, chicken, etc. They can eat about half a tin each night. Some also like digestive biscuits as a treat. NEVER GIVE BREAD OR MILK. They cannot digest milk and it gives them severe diarrhoea, which leads to dehydration and death within  a couple of days. Always make sure they have easy access to clean water at all times. A shallow bowl  or container sunk into the ground makes an excellent watering hole. 

DO HEDGEHOGS HAVE FLEAS?
Yes, they inherit them from their mothers in the nest but hedgehog fleas are very different to those sometimes found on dogs or cats. Hedgehog fleas only live on hedgehogs. They like the cool open environment of the coarse and widely spaced spines where it can run fast. If it finds itself in the dense, warm coat of a dog or cat, it  immediately knows it's in the wrong place and drops off to wait for another hedgehog. The same goes for hedgehog fleas that get onto humans, they do not stay long before leaving to find a proper host. If they are a nuisance, you should lightly dust with Johnsons RID-MITE or similar powder suitable for use on cage birds.
DO NOT spray or treat with anything intended for flea control on domestic pets, IT WILL KILL THE HEDGEHOG.

Angela has put together a series of fact sheets, which include a wealth of information on wild hedgehogs and their welfare.
You may print out these fact sheets for future reference but  please remember, CRASH at the Hedgehog Hospital is a charity that cannot continue without donations from members of the public.