This month we welcome Caddington Hedgehogs 01582 730896

Caddington Hedgehogs has now been running for just over three years and takes in the sick, orphaned and injured hedgehogs found wandering about Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. We receive casualties from the Vets the RSPCA and members of the public. We have built ourselves up from very small beginnings consisting of a simple rabbit hutch and cat carrier up to our present state of plastic hutches, cages, heat pads and a hut specifically built for casualties requiring round- the-clock treatment and observation.
	Why hedgehogs? I have always wanted to work with animals but, like many, took a route that would pay bills rather than fulfil ambition. After reaching the grand old age of 40 I decided it was time to do something about what I was really interested in and started making enquiries regarding animal work. It soon became apparent that there was a gap in the wildlife rescue work regarding hogs and so jumped straight in and started reading all I could regarding our spiky friends. With the backing of my local vets, who take my enthusiasm seriously, we have successfully cared for and returned to the wild hundreds of animals that would otherwise have died horrible deaths, usually being eaten alive by maggots, yuck !!!!!!!!!!!!!
How do you identify a hog in distress? Rule of thumb, any hog out during the daylight hours or appearing to be sunbathing or hibernating in the open would be classed as a hog in serious difficulties. Hogs are nocturnal, only coming out during the cover of darkness.

What can I do to help? Firstly catch the hog. Throw an old towel or cloth over the animal and pick it up carefully, placing it in a high sided box or bucket. Dried or tinned cat food can be offered, although a dehydrated, sick hog would be better off with tinned cat food.

Water or Dioralyte can be given, you could make up your own solution of rehydration fluid by mixing 1 litre of water and into this dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of either sugar or honey, pour a little of this into a shallow dish (jam jar or drip tray from the bottom of a pot plant is ideal). The hog will then probably require warmth. Even during the hottest days this summer we have had sick hogs on heat pads. A simple method is to use an empty plastic bottle, fill it with hot (not boiling) water and wrap this in cloth to stop the hog burning itself on the bottle. Be aware that once the bottle cools down it will start to draw heat away from the hog, so you will have to be vigilant in renewing this heat source. Don’t leave the bottle with the hog over night, it will become cold when the hog is most in need of the heat source and could push the hog into hypothermia which can be a killer.

How do hogs mate? Carefully! Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. They have no problems reproducing, the babies being born with their white spines growing beneath a blister that covers their backs. Within one hour these white spines will break through the blister and the hog will have an even covering of little white spines.

Myths exploded. Ask anyone about hogs and the first thing they usually say is they are covered in fleas. If you can see the fleas on a hogs back then the light must be good and it is probably during the day. We have already said a hog out during the day is in distress and so will tend to have a much higher parasite burden than those that come out at night. Don’t be tempted to spray the hog with flea spray, most cat and dog sprays are toxic to hogs and might kill the animal. Putting this flea myth into perspective, we have taken in well over 150 hogs this year and only about 5 have been sprayed for fleas. One final word before we leave this topic (….anyone scratching yet????) hog fleas are known as host specific. This means that they cannot live on your cat or dog and will not infest your house. You might possibly get bitten by a hog flea, but they cannot live on anything except the hog.

Hogs are secretive and are best observed in their natural state. Leaving them well alone whilst they carry out their nightly lives encourages them to share your garden with you and, if you are lucky, giving you years of pleasure as they scurry around in the shadows, followed by their babies, looking to make meals out of all those scary mini beasts that crawl around the undergrowth.

	What next? We are always happy to give advice and information over the phone to anyone wishing to know more about our nocturnal friends 01582 730896