90 gram baby

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[Derek]

This one has just come in so I thought I would show everyone what a tiny hedgehog looks like

he weighs 90 grams and is not much bigger than a medium egg

There are 4 pictures so you can compare him  to an egg and get an idea of what a tiny hedgehog looks like in size

Anything this size seen out on its own needs to be picked up immediately & kept warm & an experienced carer or rescue centre or Vet contacted IMMEDIATELY if he is to stand any chance of survival

Any hedgehog seen out in daylight needs help URGENTLY

The people who found him knew he was young but thought he might be just under 1 year old and he was sitting out in the pouring rain, huddled in a corner trying to get shelter. They were going to put out dog or cat food and hope he would survive on his own. They now know he would have died and probably by tonight if he hadn't have been picked up

I have had him for about 3 hours now and have managed to warm him up using a heat pad and he has just come round enough to give a few 1 ml syringe  of esbilac milk to start him off

He will need feeding every couple of hours for today and hopefully the cold & wet won't have done any serious damage

[Marg]

If anyone can save him,Derek,you can.I have been quite concerned for the young wildlife and birds this appalling wet weather.I have found several very young,dead baby birds blown out of their nest,it is so sad.How old do you think he is Derek? Should he still have been feeding from his mother,or it the time they get their hardened spines the time they go off on their own?

After the upset of the ones you found after the strimmer did the appalling damage,I do so pray this little one makes it.

[Derek]

I would think he is about 3 1/2 weeks old to 4 weeks as he has teeth but still has the very wobbly gait of a baby that isn't used to walking yet

He will lap at milk & puppy food but prefers to be fed so he must have still been feeding from mum and either followed her out & got lost or got left behind when mum moved them as they do tend to at about this age

I hope he stands a good chance and he seems quite happy
I have called him Napoleon from  Bonaparte as he is quite thin & bony

he should be about 50 grams heavier than he is  so he is only 2/3rds of his proper weight

[paulinemiller10]

He's lovely Derek, I ve never seen baby hedghogs, I always keep a look out for hogs when I driving, but I never see any, I m still putting water in the centre of town where my boyfriend saw one walking, it was near the old Tesco which is closed now, so I m wondering if they had been feeding on waste food left by the store and people.
Anyway the water goes down in the bowl and has soil in it, a sure sign of little snouts lol, I also leave chopped peanuts, and they are gone too, and last time there were peanuts in the water.
The place is in the centre of town, there are big roads all around, so hogs must be living in this enclosed space, it also has a large churchyard, but with more buildings going up, I don t think there will be enough food for them. 
Keep posting the pics of baby hoggy, good idea to have a pic with an egg, just shows how small he is, hope he makes it. Pauline.

[Gaynor]

Aw - that is about the cutest thing I have ever seen

He's lucky to have found you Derek - he's got the best chance of making it now. Hope he responds to your help.

[Mouse]

What a gorgeous little hoglet, it's a good idea to photograph him next to an egg (I did a similar thing once with one of my cats to remember how tiny he was  ).

I really hope he survives Derek, you've have a rough time lately with all the strimmer deaths.  He's in the right place. 

Ali x

[Derek]

here are a few more

the first 2  curled up in bed with his substitute "mum" to keep him cosy
the next 2 show him exploring, but show how thin his back legs are and they should be at least double that thickness, especially in the thighs  in a healthy well fed baby

It is so easy to think they are fine when you see a fluffed up set of spines, but that is all it is usually, a bundle of bones and a puffed up coat of spines hiding everything

[Derek]

Today he weighs 106 grams so he put on 14 grams last night

he is still very thin & underweight and should really be about 150 grams for his age & size of body

Hopefully he will do OK now but the damage has already been done and lack of food for a baby for even a day or 2 means a long slow painful recovery

[Mouse]

You're doing a great job Derek.  He is just so beautiful - hopefully if he keeps putting on weight at that rate he'll be normal body weight in no time. 

[Derek]

This morning he is 128 grams and is starting to get a little podgy belly
He has finished his course of antibiotics and has had his first 2 doses of panacur worming paste

He is a dear sweet little thing with a wonderful personality and nothing fazes him
He is so trusting and despite all his problems and his terrible start where he was soaking wet and freezing cold when found he seems to be doing OK

Baytril oral antibiotic tastes horrible and is extremely bitter but he still comes up for his food & medicine as if to say " I know you are helping me"

He still has his heat pad but is in a box big enough so he can choose whether he wants it or he can sleep off of it if he prefers

[paulinemiller10]

Thats wonderful Derek, so glad he's doing so well, good idea with the heatpad, if I have a sick bunny, I always leave the other half with no heat, they can get too hot, and awful if they can t get off it. Pauline.

[Derek]

Napoleon is now 190 grams when I weighed him at 9 am
( he just did a big pile of poo & pee in his bed & that lost a few grams down to 182 a few minuteds ago )

he is eating well & behaving like a normal hedgehog now so I am hopeful with him

I will be taking a  few more snaps later & upload them ( time permitting)

[Mouse]

That's excellent news Derek, I can't wait for the photos 

[dawn]

i know i cry easily but what you do and are doing makes them flow more

[simon]

Hi, i have found a baby hedgehog in my garden on it's own what should i do?

[Derek]

Hi, i have found a baby hedgehog in my garden on it's own what should i do?

where are you

it needs to be got to a carer as soon as possible

take it indoors & give it a small amount of cat or dog meat & a small saucer of water

how tiny is it

you can ring me on 020 8508 4056 for advice at anytime

[paulinemiller10]

Just wondering Derek, what can people give very young baby hogs for a drink, sometimes they post late at night, and there are no carers till the morning, it needs to be something they have in their kitchen cuboards, if I found a baby late at night I would nt know what to give it to drink if its very young, and most people find them late in the night when you can't get hold of people, or any kind of milk. Pauline.

[Derek]

Just wondering Derek, what can people give very young baby hogs for a drink, sometimes they post late at night, and there are no carers till the morning, it needs to be something they have in their kitchen cuboards, if I found a baby late at night I would nt know what to give it to drink if its very young, and most people find them late in the night when you can't get hold of people, or any kind of milk. Pauline.

Safest thing is to make a solution of 1pt (500ml )  of freshly boiled water allowed to cool mix in 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of salt & 2 teaspoons (10 grams) of sugar or honey

Let the mixture cool & carefully give a few drops by syringe or eyedropper or similar into corner of mouth

If the baby is lapping and able to walk properly & has it's eyes open & you can see teeth in mouth then try a well mashed mixture of dog or cat meat or baby food with the water mixture put down for it

If you happen to have goats milk & quite a few people do drink goats milk now then that is fine for hedgehogs

DO NOT give cows milk

[dawn]

last year when i had a few little ones, i bought goats milk and put it into ice cube trays to freeze then put ina bag when frozen that way you only have to take out what you need when needed, less waste and always available.

[paulinemiller10]

Thanks Derek, copied and kept that now for future use, sometimes people on here write in very late, and they need to know what to do with something they have at home.
I remember finding cold and dead baby rabbits with their eyes closed, I said what a shame and put them back in the open nest, and thats when I saw a paw move, story here.
http://www.geocities.com/paulinemiller10/BabyWildRabbits.html?1113413033406

I fed them on cows milk for a day or so, then found they needed very rich milk, I m amazed these rabbits lived, and one had been dead and cold for over 20 minutes, and I had given up on him.
I ve never looked after baby hedgehogs, they seem a lot harder to rear.
That's a good idea Dawn, and that way you don t find the milk has gone off and have none for the babes, a very handy tip. Pauline.

[Mouse]

What an incredible story Pauline, I've heard that baby bunnies are extremely hard to hand rear.  Are they why you have loads of bunz now?

Derek, is it possible to put that basic emergency information on the top of the 'hedgehog help and advice' page along with a link to the carers list with your other important information, just in case anyone needs help in the early hours and nobody is on here?  Hope you don't mind me suggesting it.

Ali x

[paulinemiller10]

Yes I think that would be a good idea to have the emergency information on top of the page, be very handy.

I was brought up on a farm Ali, and my mum cared for all kinds of wildlife, foxes,owls,kestrels,birds dropped out of nests, and I used to help out, but I always took care of the little bunnies the cats brought in, I don't expect they got the right food, I just did what I could, and did save a lot, so always have a love of rabbits, we had an accident with our bunz, male got into females while waiting to get him neutered, and ended up with ten, could nt send them away, people would lock them up, and some don t even feed them, so kept them all, they are in their sixth year now, but we have lost two to cancer, but they are hard work.

The baby wild rabbits were again very hard work, I had young children at the time, but managed to rear them, I treated them like babies, all feeding equipment was sterilized, and very clean hands, when I was on the way home with these baby bunnies, I thought because they had been cold and dead, it may have affected their brains, and they would never be able to feed, some animals are amazing, glad you liked the story. Pauline.

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