First Aid

We hope these pages will help you to recognise some common hedgehog problems and conditions and to be able to apply basic first aid. Experience has taught us that with very few exceptions, a hedgehog has to be taken into care to assess any suspected problem - it is impossible to diagnose over the telephone.

After basic first aid, help from your Vet or local Wildlife Carer must be sought in all cases of illness or injury. We use medication and procedures as recommended by Tiggywinkles in their booklet Medication for Use in the Treatment of Hedgehogs and have had much success. If you would like more details or to share your experiences with us, please get in touch. We can learn much from each other.

When to Take Into Care

Out during the day. Hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures - they do not sunbathe. If you see one out during the day he has a problem and must be taken into care to be checked over.
Asleep away from the nest.
Being mistreated.
Obviously injured or dragging a leg.
With fly eggs or maggots.
Under 600 grams in the winter.
Small hedgehogs not in a nest.
Trapped in netting or wire.
With scabby or bare patches.
With a dry or rasping cough.
Stuck in a hole or drain.
With more than 12 ticks.

Into Care

Bertie was admitted with balloon syndrome. This was caused by expelled air finding its way under Bertie's skin, possibly due to his jaw injury.

A much deflated Bertie after having been deflated by Johnny Plessas his Vet.

Always wear thick gloves when rescuing a hedgehog. Their spines are sharp and they can bite!

If possible, weigh your hedgehog then wrap him in old towels and place on a covered warm hot water bottle (or any plastic bottle that will hold water) in an escape proof box lined with newspapers. Add water and good quality tinned cat or dog food (non fishy) in non tip pots. Hedgehogs are insectivores but they do enjoy a cosmopolitan diet. Do not give him bread and milk. Hedgehogs cannot digest the fat in cow's milk which will lead to serious digestive problems. Cover the box with a net to protect from flies and place somewhere quiet, warm and dark. Ring for help giving some indication of weight and size.

The Nasties

The accommodating hedgehog naturally suffers from a variety of parasites both "endo" (inside) picked up from slugs, snails and worms and "ecto" (outside) like fleas, ticks and mites. This is normal and causes no problem for a healthy hedgehog and it enables the parasites to complete their lifecycle. Unfortunately, in return for his generosity, these short stay guests often repay their host by outstaying their welcome, with some internal nasties migrating into the lungs. For a hedgehog that is already struggling, this extra burden can be life threatening. Treatment for each is a carefully measured dose of a specific wormer with an antibiotic cover and as a precaution we treat all hedgehogs coming into care for a range of parasites.

Endoparasites

Lungworm and fluke picked up from slugs and snails.
Intestinal worms picked up from earthworms.

Symptoms can include not eating, weight loss, loose smelly faeces or hyperactivity in the case of fluke. A dry rasping cough often accompanies lungworm, but not always, to beware this silent killer. A vet can make a diagnosis.

Ectoparasites

60 ticks were plucked from "Tic toc" and not surprisingly he was very dehydrated. A fractured hind leg had prevented natural grooming.

Fleas. "and what about the fleas" is the most asked question after giving a talk. If fleas were the only problem we had to deal with, how easy it would be! Hedgehog fleas are host specific and will not breed on any other animal. It is normal for him to carry a few fleas although we often see none on ours.

Never spray a hedgehog with a cat or dog flea spray. The toxins are far too strong and could kill the hedgehog along with the fleas. If necessary we use a pyrethrum based product like Johnsons Ridmite - just a sprinkle on the back of his neck and "goodbye fleas".

Another successful removal with a tick lasso..

Ticks look like grey pea shaped lumps often found in great numbers around the ears and eyes. They will eventually drop off when they have had sufficient blood but too many can cause dehydration.

A safe way to remove them, especially important when working around the eyes, is to douse each one with almond or vegetable oil using a tiny paint brush. The tick will die and drop off in a few hours. Some carers use special tick removers, but it is essential that the mouth parts are removed intact to prevent infection at the site.

Mites are tiny microscopic arachnids often seen in huge numbers around the face and can appear like a covering of thick dust. They can cause scabby/bare patches and we have noticed that they are often worse on hedgehogs that are unable to groom themselves properly due to being ill or with a injured hind leg when the problem is often worse on the side of the injury. A safe and kind treatment is to wash away the majority using a soft brush and Johnson's baby shampoo which will not hurt the eyes, followed by a warm blow dry and a carefully calculated course of Ivomec.

With eyes, ears and face all gummed up with mites, Dusty must have felt awful.

With millions of mites all shampooed away a bleary eyed Dusty can see once more. Hope he feels better.

Other Problems Which Will Need Expert Help

"Lucky" upon arrival with "no eyes" due to dehydration, and fly strike above his eye caused by lying out during the day. Lucky for him he was noticed in time.

Rotting weeds in an old tarpaulin had made a cosy nest for this little family. As it was in a safe, sheltered area, everything was replaced and food and water left each night for them.

"Goalie" was entangled in a child's football net and was rescued the next day.

Flystrike: Often found on hedgehogs lying out in the sun, and especially around wounds and moist areas of the body. Fly eggs look like clumps of tiny grains of rice and each has to be picked off immediately before they turn into dreaded maggots.
"No Eyes"/Staggering: Both symptoms of dehydration, the eyes are there but shrunk back into the eye sockets. Hedgehog will need special rehydrating fluids either orally or subcutaneous if very weak. While awaiting help, International Rehydrating Fluid can be made by mixing 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt in 2 pints of warm water and offering in a low non tip pot.
Maggots: No easy way, each has to be picked off with blunt ended tweezers and flushed out of wounds.
Ringworm: Not a worm at all but a fungus infection which often looks like a covering of grey ash and is easily treated with a special fungicide.
Disturbed Nests: DO NOT TOUCH THE BABIES!
Replace everything as it was and protect from further disturbance and weather. Check the surrounding area carefully for any escaped babies.
Wounds: Best left to the experts.
Ligatures (Netting etc.): Cut away if you can but do not release him. The ligature may have caused the flesh to die off under the skin (pressure necrosis), and the hedgehog will need to come into care for two weeks for observation.