Most hedgehog Mothers now have two litters, particularly when the weather stays mild. The Spring litter usually do very well but those born later in the Year, have little time to gain weight for hibernation. Hedgehogs that have not put on enough weight will start to come out during the day in order to find more food. If these autumn juveniles do not put on enough weight before hibernation, they will die. We like our hedgehogs to weigh at least 600g before they go into hibernation to ensure that they have enough fat reserves to last until they wake up in April or May.

The problem is that Autumn orphans also usually suffer from a potentially fatal parasitic worm that infects the lungs. This lungworm accounts for the deaths of so many autumn hoglets that it is now a standard treatment for all autumn orphans in most rescue centres.

Hedgehogs contract the parasites when they eat infected slugs and snails and once infected, the lungworms breed inside the hedgehog and start to eat away at the lungs. The hedgehog either dies from drowning due to the build up of fluid in the lungs (Pneumonia) or dies when the lungs bleed because of the lungworms. Hedgehogs with lungworms have terrible breathing problems and cough like an old smoker. The infested lungs soon turn into a hard solid lump and they can't get any air in and you find the hedgehog gasping for breath.

The damp weather causes an increase in these lungworms and most ordinary wormers, such as Panacur are not strong enough to kill the parasite. Treatment involves a 3 week intensive course of antibiotics, steroids and levamisole wormers as well as a bronchodilator to help the hedgehog cough up the dead worms. EVERY one of our Autumn hedgehogs is treated. So, if you find a Hedgehog, how do you know if it needs help?

Any hedgehog out in the day needs help. If the hedgehog is larger than a grapefruit and seems to be healthy, you can pick it up and treat it yourself. The hedgehog will need a warm place to sleep and you can feed it up using our high fat blend of food guaranteed to help a hedgehog gain weight. The food is available in a 650g or 2kg bag from our shop here and contains peanuts, raisins, dried mealworms and crunchy chicken nuggets. We use this food to treat our hospitalised hedgehogs and they absolutely love it!. If, while you are treating the hog yourself, you hear it coughing, this is an indication of lungworm and the hog will require treatment.

If the hedgehog is smaller than a grapefruit, it will need treatment. You can pick the hedgehog up using an old towel or some thick gardening gloves. It will need an immediate source of heat such as a hot water bottle or a plastic milk bottle filled with warm water and wrapped in a towel. Putting it in a warm room is not enough. Please do not give hedgehogs milk, it can cause severe stomach upsets and can kill them. A dish of water will be fine together with some chicken flavoured cat food. You can then contact us for further information and advice.