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May 2008 
01/05/08
1 hedgehog uplifted from Medic Peter Taylor yesterday afternoon. The
hog was out during the day and showing difficulty in moving (it kept
rolling onto its side) it was also in mild shock and hypothermic.
We, the vet and I, suspect that its one of last years hogs. It
didn't have sufficient fat reserves to see it through the winter and
what it did have its used up coming out of hibernation.
We also suspect that it has either been clipped by a car or been
kicked by boys. Some internal bruising and severely dehydrated
weighing a pitiful 100gms. The hedgehog, named "Grove", is currently
in Intensive Care on a heat pad and is being given fluid therapy
orally.
When unrolled, you can see that this is a juvenile hedgehog by the
size of its head and general body frame, but you can also see the
extent of dehydration and malnourishment that it is suffering from.
The hog has another vet check on Saturday - for now, its still on
the critical list.. updates later.
Update
Hoggie has managed to get up on all 4 legs and had a small sip of
dog food soup. Left eye is closed and there is discharge coming from
the nose with clear wheezing. The vet appointment for Saturday has
been brought forward to tonight as respiratory infection and or
pneumonia now suspected. Hog will be x rayed tonight to rule out
foreign body as well. Hopefully this little one will be coming back
home with me after vet check.
Just back from the vets so here's the run down
Grove has damage to the nasal bone (misaligned)
Damage to the cranial base (bruising)
Damage to the cervical vertebra (misaligned)
Ivermectin has been applied for the treatment of external and
internal parasites (fleas and lungworm) ...it was hoaching in
fleas!!! so am I!! Baytril is to be given twice a day for the
treatment of respiratory problems which appears to be due to the
nasal passages being blocked due to the misalignment of the nasal
bone. The hog although now on its feet and walking about and active
is displaying signs of mild neurological behaviour .
Two options are available
1 - Intensive care carries on by myself until the hog gains weight
and becomes stronger then we can look at surgery to bring the nasal
bone and jaw back in line.
2 - If after intensive care the hog is able to eat solids we leave
well alone.
If unable to eat solids and if surgery is going to prove difficult,
then sadly this hoggie will have to live its life in captivity as it
will be unable to thrive on the every day food in which it is
accustomed to. It would appear that the hog has received a
short sharp blow to the left of its head by either a stick or a
small shoe. RTA has been ruled out as there is no damage to other
parts of the body associated with RTA injuries.
For now.....Its back to 2 hourly feeds of a high protein based
chicken soup (home made) which I feed my ferrets on when ill,
Lectade oral therapy and massage of stomach to aid in urination and
faecal movements
Photo to follow tomorrow....off to bed I guess.....Its going to be a
looooooooooooong night
Elaine Roft - Marine Mammal Medic
Montrose / Arbroath Area Coordinator
02/05/08 Hoggie is still on the critical list but has managed
to survive another night. Today will be its first day on high
protein food (soup) as it has had its initial 48hr period on oral
therapy only along with its medication
Just returned from another vet appointment with "Grove". Vet is
happy that it has had sufficient rehydration therapy over 2 days.
High protein Royal Canin Convalescence support sachets have been
given today - to be mixed with water and hoggie to be fed 3mls every
2hrs over the next week to aid in weight gain. X-rays have showed
that the lower jaw has a hairline fracture. Grove will have her jaw
re-wired as soon as she gains enough weight to allow her this
operation without dying under anaesthetic. Fucithalmic eye ointment
has also been prescribed now that the left eye is open. She is still
critically ill and continues her convalescence on a heat pad
indoors. Elaine Roft - Marine Mammal Medic
Montrose / Arbroath Area Coordinator
04/05/08
Another successful night with Grove and today sees me into the start
of day 4 with her
She managed to pass urine and faeces for the first time last night.
No concerns with her urine (all is normal), but her faeces were dark
black / greenish blue which usually indicates gastro intestinal
problems and is something to be worried about, HOWEVER, it could
also be associated with the sudden change in diet as recommended by
the vet combined with her medication and the fact that she is ill.
We will be off the danger list for this IF her next 3 lots of faeces
return to normal.
She is much brighter today, wakes every 2 hours for her feeds and
takes them willingly whilst chattering away in hedgehog language!.
Although she is still thin at the back end, there is now marked
improvement in her abdominal area and she is more steady on her
feet. Elaine Roft - Marine Mammal Medic
Montrose / Arbroath Area Coordinator
10/05/08
Grove's vet check went remarkably well today She has gone from a
pitiful 100gms to a whopping 482gms! It would seem the convalescence
soup worked wonders. She is still unable to feed herself so I am
continuing with the syringe feeding, now up to 10mls every 3 hours
and diet switched from Royal Canin convalescence soup to Hills a/d
high protein semi solids.
She has been given her second dose of Ivermectin for internal and
external parasites which should rid her of her last burden of
lungworm and fleas.
Despite applying eye drops to the damaged eye, I can now confirm
that the eye has completely shrunk and in the process of
disintegrating. This means that the eyelids will be sutured when she
has her jaw re-wired which will give her sight from her right eye
only.
Despite her injuries she is progressing well and has another vet
check in 2 weeks time. It is hoped that the operations will go ahead
when she reaches a target weight in the region of 600-700gms.
 Elaine Roft - Marine Mammal Medic
Montrose / Arbroath Area Coordinator
14/05/08
Many Thanks to Colin Liddle of SSPCA
Middlebank for the following seal pup updates.
"Bell" Grey seal pup uplifted by Medic
Bob Pert (Easthaven) BDMLR Montrose / Arbroath.
"Bass" Grey seal pup uplifted by
persons assisting us (Inverbervie).
"Fidra" Grey seal pup uplifted by
Medics Willie Taylor & Thom McNeil (Scurdieness)) BDMLR Montrose /
Arbroath.
All the above seals have now been released back into the wild after
their spell in rehabilitation and treated for lungworm and
pneumonia.
"Soay" Grey seal pup uplifted by Medic
Karen Kirk (Galashiels) BDMLR Lothian & Borders has now reached a
target weight of 45kg. She is quite a character and throws her fish
around before eating it. She is the bigger of the 2 pups currently
still in rehab at Middlebank (Inverkeithing) and will be released
sometime next week.
"Sommer" Grey seal pup uplifted by
SSPCA staff is progressing well despite still being small.
14/05/08
A busy week for me on the Hedgehog front - First of all, after
lengthy discussions between my local vets and the SSPCA I can now
confirm that it is NOT in "Groves" best interests to have her jaw
re-wired. The bone structure is quite thin and in the past success
rates on jaw re- wiring have been poor, resulting in persistent
fractures. Two options were put to me.
1 Euthanasia if the hedgehog was transferred to SSPCA as it will not
be able to survive in the wild. Food hunting would be limited and
hibernation cannot happen as Grove can not fully curl into a ball
for hibernation process. With food hunting limited she would not
have the fat reserves stored either.
2 The option which I have chosen and discussed with the SSPCA is to
keep her indoors meantime (she's quite happy with this) and chirps
at me at feed times, continue with syringe feeding and when weight
gains 800gms transfer her gradually to an outside specially designed
enclosure with food bowls secured to wooden logs so they are at chin
level. After 3 weeks (which will be next week) the jaw will have set
in its current position and meal worms can be introduced as well as
biscuits to keep her diet varied. She will be treated as an
overwintering hog in September and brought back indoors to prevent
her hibernating. At present, because her mouth is damaged she lies
on her side, alternating positions and tucks her chin in as far as
it will allow. SSPCA will be kept updated on a regular basis on her
progression as they are keen to follow her rehab. She is now
adopting typical hog behaviour having most of her feeds at night and
sleeping during the day.
"Mrs Prickles" (hog number 2) has now gained sufficient weight
(having come out of hibernation from under the shed) and is fit for
release again from my garden. This will take place at the weekend.
"Mayzer" (hog number 3 ) was in my garden during the day munching on
the rabbits carrot!!! It weighs 500gms and on closer inspection was
covered in ticks! all ticks have been removed (approx 8 of them)
most of which were on his face and took me 3 days to clear! He has
come to my garden from the neighbouring field. Once his weight is up
to 700gms I will release him from the second enclosure contained
within my garden. Sadly the 4th hedgehog that was with Mayzer
drowned in my neighbours pond. She has since made the pool wider,
shallower and placed a ramp and some branches in it to allow future
hogs to get out.
pictured below "Mayzer" after the last of the ticks were removed.
Copyright Elaine Roft.
26/05/08 Checking the kiln today found a hapless Fulmar
ensconced in the hole. Obviously this one was male and hadn't been
there long as he ripped lumps out of my finger, payback time for
losing my thick gloves!! He had been there long enough, though, to
be disorientated on release. He sat perplexed for a few minutes
before taking off to the sea as you can see in the picture.
Bob Pert BDMLR Medic
31/05/08 Customers are popping in every
week now, LOL. Another bird today, he was lively and a difficult
catch and proved even more difficult to keep hold of! It
is very important to catch these birds as quickly as possible as the
bottom of the kiln is a mass of old rusty cables which can, and
have, injured birds whilst they're trapped or during rescue. The
first picture shows the amount of scrap cable lying in the bottom of
the kiln. As you can see I also remembered my thick
gloves this week and was protected from the ungrateful little
beggar's attacks!
Early evening saw another bird rescue as Gareth Norman from Shanwell
Wildlife Rescue gave me a call saying a lady had reported an injured
Gull outside McDonalds on the Westway at Arbroath. As the location
is only a few hundred yards from my house Gareth asked me to respond
as he was currently in Alyth on another call out. On
arrival at McDonalds sure enough a Gullie was wandering all over the
road, dragging his right wing, in imminent danger of being run over
by a car. Luckily, because of his injury, he was an easy catch and
quickly bedded down in the back of the car. Gareth picked up the
bird at about 23.30 after dealing with several calls today, he'd had
a busy day by all accounts! We won't know if the bird is a suitable
case for treatment until it is checked and the full extent of the
injury is known. The right wing was certainly broken but it was not
known if it was broken at the joint or the "beam" of the wing. A
break at the joint would mean, almost certainly, that the bird would
have to be put to sleep. Thanks to the young lady who
helped while I recovered the bird to the car! Bob Pert
BDMLR Medic
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