Found Wobbling Baby Hedgehog

[Marcia]

Hi everyone,

We've found a baby hedgehog (5" long) in my garden (3pm) and he was wobbling very badly. I offered him some mealworms but he wouldn't eat it so we brought him in. After a search here we found out he could be suffering from hypothermia so we quickly put him in a high box, on top of a hot water bottle wrapped up in towels. He stopped wobbling, curled up and seems to be sound asleep now. Every now and then he moves to get more comfy.

We phoned the local British Hedgehog Rescue and been told to give him catfood and honeyed water. And that we should keep him in until he reaches 1Lb in weight.

My only concern is that from the previous threads I've read here hedgehogs with the "wobbling syndrome" rarely make it as they might have underlying illness.

It's the first hedgehog I've ever seen in the wild and I really hope he can make it... he's in our lounge now and we just can't take our eyes off him...

Should I wake him up and try to feed him some boiled chicken? Or should I just let him sleep?

I'd appreciate any advice, input or similar stories and experiences with wobbling hoglets.

Thank you very much for reading.

Marcia.

[paulthomas]

Leave him to his own sleep pattern. He'll wake up to eat as when he needs to.

[Marcia]

Thank you for your reply Paul. We let him sleep.

He just woke up now and made a poop, very normal poop, not runny, no blood traces. He sniffed the food but hasn't eat anything (chicken, raisins, mealworms) and hasn't drank any water too. Now he's scratching the sides of the box trying to climb it. He's definitely better and more lively than one hour ago.

[Pippa]

Hi Marcia,

The rescue service do say cat-food but not the fish type and good to do as they say.Water is obviously good too.You have been given great advice and fingers crossed your hog will do ok


Well done you for giving it a chance though.

[Marcia]

Thanks Pippa, I haven't bought any cat food yet, but I boiled and diced some chicken. He's hasn't touch it yet.

We've just upgraded him to a much bigger box and he's moving around much more, trying to climb it. I gave him some honeyed water in a pipete and he opened his mouth and tried to chew the pipete. So I wonder if he's still not into solids? We've just weighted him: 126g, very tiny, isn't he?

My husband thinks that maybe he'll find his family again if we release him, but I'm not sure...

We have an impending travel in two weeks time and unless I find a babysitter I can't keep him as a pet... The rescue center I called is full and won't take anymore hoglets. I don't know what to do...

[Pippa]

If you must, you could release him at dusk and put food and water out for him every night.Fingers crossed, he has 2 weeks and may make it.Good luck Marcia.He really has to put on a lot of weight before winter.

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi Marcia, sounds like the little mite will need nursing for a while. Wobbling is usually indicative of hypothermia/dehydration (often due to underlying infection, but as his poop is normal that's a good sign that he may not have an underlying infection). He won't attempt to take any fluids/food until he has warmed up, as you've discovered. 126g is tiny, possibly around 3 weeks old? Does he have teeth yet? The fact he's attempting to bite the pipette suggests he's not properly weaned, so he'll need his food mixed to a gloop and fed via syringe, with a little of the gloop left in a jam jar lid to encourage him to lap.

Please check your garden for his siblings (who will also need help) as it could be something has happened to mum, which is why he was out in daytime searching for her.

I have a contact in Sheffield whose details I'll pm to you, if this wildlife centre is too far from you to get to, they'll hopefully be able to put you in touch with somebody more local.

In the meantime, see here for more detailed help:
http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/hedgehog_care.html



P.S. Apologies for the very rushed reply, I'm in the middle of packing but will check forum again later tonight.

[Hedgehoggy]

Have just PMd you with those contact details.

Forgot to mention, hyperactivity (continued restlessness) can be a symptom of dehydration in hoglets, so continue with the honeyed water as often as he'll take it.

[Marcia]

After reading some more info on British Hedgehog Preservation we rushed to the shop and bought a couple of cat food chicken flavour with jelly I liquidised it, offered it on a teaspoon and he wolfed it down! Pheew, that's a relief.

Hedgehoggy, thank you so much for your invaluable reply! I'd appreciate if you could send me the contact in Sheffield because I believe he need an expert carer. He might be around 3 or 4 weeks. He's got teeth, very tiny but lots of them. He ate well from a teaspoon but made a big mess, he had around 10g of cat food, we cleaned his nose, change the beddings and he's having a nap now looking quite content.

We went to check the garden but couldn't find any siblings. We'll keep an eye though. My garden has no proper fences between my two neighbours and there're lots of fields around so it's hard to know where he's come from. Thank you once again for you help, Hedgehoggy.

I've still got a couple of questions:

How often should we feed him?
Should we mix water so he doesn't get dehydrated?
Or should we give him water with a pipette?

I'm trying not to handle him unless necessary but he doesn't seem interested on the dishes with put for him.

Thank everyone for helping us.

[Hedgehoggy]

Marcia, I've just sent you another PM

Originally Posted by Marcia

He's got teeth, very tiny but lots of them. He ate well from a teaspoon but made a big mess, he had around 10g of cat food, we cleaned his nose, change the beddings and he's having a nap now looking quite content.

Excellent! Just how a well fed, watered and contented hoglet should behave If his teeth are all through he's probably around 4 weeks old. At this age, he would just be accompanying mum on night time foraging trips.

Originally Posted by Marcia

I've still got a couple of questions:

How often should we feed him?
Should we mix water so he doesn't get dehydrated?
Or should we give him water with a pipette?

I'm trying not to handle him unless necessary but he doesn't seem interested on the dishes with put for him.

At that age, and because he's able to lap from a spoon, I personally would wake him up to offer hourly feeds up until about midnight, or later if poss, then start again at around 6am in the morning (sorry! ) Feed him as much as he will take in one session; he'll only eat what he needs, then after his last feed of the night leave enough of the liquidised food in a couple of very shallow heavy based dishes (preferably not much higher/bigger than jam jar lid size but heavy enough so that he can't tip them over when he climbs/wades in them!) in the hope he'll lap it up by himself if hungry during the night. Although the wet cat food does provide moisture, I would add just a little water to the mix to ensure he stays hydrated. You could also try leaving a very shallow heavy based dish of water, just in case he manages to drink by himself.

With regards to keeping him warm, it's important that the hot water bottle is not left to become cold, otherwise it will have the opposite effect and freeze the little mite! So, when you get up during the night to replace the hot water bottle, you might like to offer him another hand feed too!!!!

Don't worry about overhandling at this age, once they're independent and are feeding by themselves and have established a nocturnal routine, they won't let you handle them anyway!