3 baby hedgehogs found

[tara-jane]

today i found 3 live babies,3 dead ones and a dead mother.after calling sue at wildlife aid in leatherhead and double checking i had the correct info on how to feed and look after these 91grm infants,i proceeded to mix up weetabix with catfood and water and to my relief they all were munching away in no time,pooing and wee-ing and huddling up together in the shredded newspaper i had provided inside my huge food hamper!...obviously we are really up against it for hibernation this year,600grms is a long way off..does anyone have any advice or idea's that could help me out with the upbringing of my prickly charges should we not attain this weight gain..also any numbers of any close to swindon,wiltshire,wild animal hospitals that may advise me.i am not a stranger to the care of wild animals,however i have never raised hedgehogs from this small before and don't know when to start introducing their natural foods(slugs,snails,beetles) etc..so any help or advice is most welcome,thankyou for taking the time to read.

[Farplace]

Congrats on the new arrivals. kept indoors and warm (heatmat?) they will probably not try to hibernate and just keep eating and pile on the weight. To aid their weight gain, add to the mixture crushed dried mealworms, soaked currants, chopped peanuts, egg food (bird rearing powder from pet shop). Add a scrape of cuttlefish bone daily for added calcium. Dont feed them on slugs etc, as it might spread parasites, and right now, you need them to just pile on the weight. I am sure someone with more hedgehog experience will be along soon.
Have the babies got any ticks fleas or anything?
Jan

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi Tara-Jane, welcome to WAB

Hoglets weighing 91g would generally still need hand-feeding with a replacement mammal milk (Esbilac or Royal Canin Baby Dog milk replacer), but if your hoglets are feeding and toileting by themselves, my guess is they’re approx 4 weeks old, but (understandably given the circumstances in which they were found) are underweight for their age.

I prefer to feed Hills a/d critical care tinned food (available from all vet practices and online) to newly weaned (or severely compromised) hogs; it’s a specialist convalescing soft food (mousse-like consistency) high in protein and calories, easily digestible, and contains all the nutrients and minerals they require and can be watered down as required. Once they reach approx 200g you could then start to add a good quality kitten/puppy food to the Hills, gradually reducing the Hills whilst increasing the kitten/puppy food, until they’re just eating the kitten/puppy food. At this stage, introducing kitten bics (eg Iams kitten bics – purple bag) would be hugely beneficial to help keep their teeth in optimum condition.

It’s also crucial to weigh each hoglet daily to ensure they’re all gaining weight, as it can be difficult to tell whether they’re eating, or just walking through the food. Not only will this enable you to chart their growth, but -- if you are caring for more than one together -- will alert you if there is a ‘bully’ present. If you notice that one particular hedgehog is gaining weight far quicker than the other(s) further down the line, this one should be separated as bullying can result in death from starvation/dehydration for the weaker hedgehog(s). In order to tell them apart, you can ‘mark’ a few spine tips of each hedgehog with a small spot of nail varnish, water-soluble paint, or Tipp-Ex®.

Under no circumstances introduce slugs or snails to their diet. Not only do slugs/snails feature very low on their preferred diet in the wild (beetles, caterpillars and earthworms are their top favourites), but slugs/snails can (and frequently do) transmit lungworm and fluke to hedgehogs, so best avoided. Hedgehogs have strong in-built instincts and once released they’ll have no trouble in foraging for natural food by themselves.

It is preferable for hedgehogs to weigh 700g+ (1.5 lbs) in order to hibernate successfully and be in sufficiently good condition to survive post hibernation. If your hoglets don’t reach this recommended hibernation weight before the winter sets in (which is quite likely), they’ll need overwintering until the spring. Detailed instructions of overwintering autumn juvs can be found here:

Wildlifeonline - Caring for Hedgehogs

Hope this helps to be going on with! I’ll do a search for hedgehog carers in the Swindon/Wiltshire area tomorrow and report back with any findings.

[CharlieCreek]

This may be coincidence looking at your location and the details but I believe you have been talking to us at Willows Hedgehog Rescue (Jayne in particular) on the phone about the hoglets over the last couple of days.

Hopefully you have had a chance to look through the information Jayne has sent you and if you have any questions or concerns you have our number and please ring us.

[tara-jane]

hello charlie,
yes indeed,this is the very same person that Jayne has spoken to!..i tried to message her earlier actually,but i don't know if it went(new to the pc).
Just incase it didn't...how much weight should each little hoglet be gaining daily??..two started at 91 grams,2 days ago..they are now 115grams and 116 grams,the other was smaller and found later in eve,cold..so was rushed in the warm and fed..so didn't get a starting weight for her i'm afraid..but she is now 102grams,all seem very perky and eat well and are toileting very well! all solid (not too solid),but is this weight gain enough?? or should i be trying for more?

I have looked after most types of orphans over the years..living in the depths of the country,but never hoglets this small!..so any advice is warmly received.
also is it possible to be sent some milk substitute as i'm having difficulty getting goats milk,my illness prevents me from going too far from home and my local shop doesn't stock it,so i have used cats milk so far..but to be honest they are more interested in the food!

how much of the cuttle fish should i scrape on?, I've been adding just a scrape so far.
yours thankfully

[CharlieCreek]

Hi Tara,

We will give you a ring this evening so we can talk you through things.

If you can still edit your post on here it is worth removing your telephone number and address as that isn't a good idea on an open forum.

All the best Charlie