Guthram and the Hedgehog Hospital

Hedgehogs hibernate in the Autumn. In November they look for comfy piles of wood and leaves to burrow into and make into a snug hibernarium where they can doze through the cold weather. There are two main dangers to hedgehogs at this time, the social activities of human beings and the lack of food.

If you care about hedgehogs, never light a bonfire without checking there are no animals sheltering. Hedgehogs are often injured or die this way!

Hedgehogs who are slow starters, orphans, or born late in the season will not have sufficient fat reserves to survive hibernation. Young orphans found weighing less than 500g (1.1lb) at the end of the autumn will probably die unless taken in for the winter. What does a 1.1lb hedgehog look like? Well, like a proper hedgehog, but very small. Guthrie Hog was such an underweight orphan. He was about the same size as the orphans in Elaine's picture - slightly larger than a tennis ball - and obviously too small to hibernate.

One cold November night, at around bed time, we were startled by a loud and persistent knocking on our door. We opened it to find a jolly neighbour with a slight glow on from a night at the pub. "I've brought you a present" he said swaying very slightly, "You'll know what to do with it!" He opened his hands to reveal such a small hedgehog! "Found him wandering in the road and he looks too small to be on his own" said our kindly neighbour.

What were we to do? Neither of us knew much about hedgehogs, we had taken various casualties to the Wildlife Centre locally though, so we reckoned the best thing for the little chap was a quiet box for the night. The cats took an interest of course, but the prickles, though small, were sharp so they soon lost interest. We left him overnight in a sturdy box with a towel for a roof, a dish of cat food, some water and an old rag to make into a nest.

The following morning, the Wildlife Centre recommended Hedgehog Care and so we telephoned Elaine Drewery at Authorpe, near Louth, and our education began....

We have cats now, we had cats then and we also had carpets! We knew hedgehogs carry fleas, but not what was safe to treat them, so our first port of call was the vet, Mr Way, who laughed, deflead Guthrie and gave us some palatable worming liquid for kittens. He told us that hedgehogs, like feral cats, have much shorter lifespans because of internal and external parasites. Guthram was otherwise a healthy hoglet. So off we went to Authorpe to chat with the Lady of the Hogs herself.

Now as previously mentioned, Elaine, mother of the lead singer in pop group Swing Out Sister, has totally devoted her life to the little ones. She has a few dedicated helpers and fundraisers and a few sponsors but what she does is nonetheless amazing! She takes in orphans and casualties all year round and hedgehogs who are too sick to return to the wild or too needy to rehome in a safely walled garden live out their days in her house and garden.

There are hospital wards, memorials, and even a Hogsfam shop at Elaine's Hedgehog Sanctuary! The inside of the house is like one great big hibernarium. If you sit down, don't sit on a sweater - it may be housing something prickly! Her "hospice" cases roam like pet cats, use litter boxes even. She is amazing! I can't say strongly enough - visit the website if you can't visit the rescue!

Following our visit to Elaine, we made a sturdy wooden box for Guthram. It was lined with newspaper for ease in cleaning and softness on delicate paws. (We sooned learned hedgehogs are messy!) For warmth and security, We gave him an old sweater, minus buttons and sleeves, so he could roll himself up in a ball and snooze safely.

We offered him cat food mixed with Abidec vitamin drops and fresh water. (Which was frequently spilled!) Hedgehogs will eat many things, but should NEVER be given bread and milk as cow's milk gives them debilitating diahorrhea and can kill! Cat food is good, but needs pepping up. Slugs don't appeal in captivity! ;)

His box was kept in the hallway near the bathroom, out of the main traffic, and covered with a towel at night to deter feline curiosity. Occasionally we would let him out for a run around the house. We practised minimal handling because the intention was to release him into our hedgehog friendly garden (another lens!) and we didn't want him to be too trustful of humans.

We soon learned that hedgehogs unroll if you stroke them gently, that they are incredibly noisy at night, that they bite when they are cross but it doesn't hurt much, that they are very brave, that cats are not all that interested in them. The Autumn and Winter passed quickly and soon it would be time to release our now large hedgehog - but that is another story for another day....

It is a long time since we visited the hospital at Authorpe and I owe Elaine another donation, so maybe sometime this week - between decorating and training days - I will take a little time out to see how things are going! If you are in the Louth area, I can recommend you go to see Hedghog Care too!

Birthday coming up soon? Persimew Designs have a hedgehog mug gift for every month of the year!