Firstly I would like to thank Paul at Newton News for publishing this blog, it’s very important to get our message across to members of the public about the significant distress our prickly pals are found in.
This week the telephone number for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society is mentioned first, it is 01584 890801. If you find a hedgehog and you think it’s in danger or vulnerable ring the number, if it is out of hours, they still have instructions on how to deal with an emergency until a rescue intervenes. Cleveland Hedgehog Rescue are also on Facebook, please do not use e-mail, this is a very unreliable way of getting immediate help.
All rescue centres are volunteers, including this one, we do hedgehog rescue because we have a special affection for these beautiful mammals, we take them into our homes and provide warmth, food and more crucial urgent medical treatment where necessary, we are also responsible for financing and do a lot of fundraising. But what is of paramount importance is that we get them help quickly, as soon as they are discovered, that gives us a better chance of keeping them alive. We lost too many hedgehogs from August to December of last year because of the really damp weather and that is a countrywide problem.
When they come to this rescue centre they are sometimes dehydrated so injections of warm saline are given, they are placed in a quiet room on a heat pad and allowed to recover from the shock of being removed from their natural habitat, the first 24 hours are crucial to whether they survive the trauma and also to identify any health issues. Whilst they are wild animals, they still feel unwell and can also be hypothermic, they never cry out unless they are really in pain.
We also have some that are just too little to survive these really harsh weather conditions, just like this little lady Holly, pictured, she is enjoying being warm, comfy and well fed, nearly 400 grams now, she will be released with Oliver, Jessica, Hagrid, Hermione, Hester and Hazel in the spring.
If anyone needs any questions answering please post them on the ‘Anything Aycliffe’ Facebook site, I do check the site quite frequently.
Maxine
Aycliffe Rescue Centre
