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Find out
how to help
"The Hedgehog in YOUR
Garden"
Epping Forest Hedgehog Rescue is
only a small, local hedgehog help and rescue
The official British Hedgehog Preservation Society Website is
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/
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January 2009: Because of health problems we cannot take in any
new hedgehogs for the foreseeable future.
In an emergency I will
give advice by phone. Please try one of the other carers
or rescue centres listed first
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Information
Small and Juvenile
Hedgehogs during Autumn and Winter
- There has been a lot of misguided, incorrect and dangerous
advice recently published.
- At this time of year ( from about
middle of October until the spring) ANY hedgehog weighing less
than about 500g should be picked up and help and advice got from a local rescue
centre or hedgehog carer.
- As a rough guide anything smaller than
an average Man's fist is too small to survive on its own and
needs to be taken into care IMMEDIATELY. If it fits in the palm
of your hand it is too small to be left.
- A hedgehog needs to be a minimum weight of 600g
to survive hibernation. Anything under this weight will
die.
- If you see ANY
hedgehogs out in daylight of ANY
size, they will be injured, sick or starving and need our
URGENT
help so pick it up and ring for help IMMEDIATELY
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Small or newly born baby hedgehogs that
are hungry or in distress make a noise that sounds like a smoke
alarm bleeping. If you hear that noise look carefully & find the
babies and call for help
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How can I tell how old or big a
hedgehog is? or does it need help? |
Click on the small image
for a full size picture
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This one is 90 grams
and about 4 weeks old and slightly
bigger than a medium egg
Anything
this size seen out on its own needs to
be picked up straight away and kept warm.
Contact an
experienced carer,
rescue centre or Vet IMMEDIATELY
otherwise it will not survive
He looks plump because
of the spines, but he is very thin and
underweight. See more
pictures and find out more about him
http://www.hedgehoghelp.co.uk/index.php?topic=881.0
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Click on the small image
for a full size picture
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Click for
full size images and more details |
Another frequently asked question is " How do I
know if a hedgehog is thin and needing help or
plump and healthy? "
The hedgehog on the left is dangerously thin and
looks like a sausage, with flat spines, looks
lifeless and needs
urgent treatment
The one on the right is a healthy, well-fed
hedgehog in our enclosed garden having a treat
of special Esbilac milk we use to rear babies or
help to build up recuperating ones. See how she
is plump and round |
Click for full size image |
See HERE for more
pictures and a clearer description on how to see
if a hedgehog is underweight and needing help
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Attention ALL Hedgehog Lovers
Can you make a Donation?
My wife and I do what we can
to help them from
our small one bedroom flat. We have been paying for everything
from our very limited income and have run out of
money. We get no help from anybody or anywhere and pay for everything ourselves
Please don't forget
we are only volunteers who do this because we care for
them.
We can't do this alone
We need your help.
You can donate safely and securely by
using Paypal. Just click on the button below. Any
amount no matter how small is gratefully accepted and
desperately needed
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We are spending between £150 and £200
each month just on petrol picking up hedgehogs and
taking them to and from vets and the wildlife hospital for
emergency treatment.
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Most people won't even give
20 pence towards the costs of picking up a hedgehog.
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We have now completely
run out of money
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We know that many
hedgehogs will suffer because of this but we just cannot cope any
longer
It only
takes £1 or £2 from you to help save a suffering or
dying hedgehog
You can read more
HERE
If you would like to to donate
by mail or other means please see our
contact
page for details of how to help us or get in touch with
us. We urgently need Towels, bedding, food,
cardboard boxes etc. Please try and help us.
Today: 1st January 2009 we have
14 hedgehogs in our care and
under treatment
We deal with between 200 and 250 hedgehogs
every year
We spend a lot of
money on:
- Hedgehog Food ( tinned meat & biscuits)
- Medicines
- Esbilac (special milk for babies & very ill
hedgehogs)
- Electric bills ( heat pads, heating the pens
and the washing machine is always on with all the bedding)
- Running this website is also expensive
We pay for everything ourselves. We need help
urgently.
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If you like hedgehogs
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Want to find out more about them and see
lots of photos or videos
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Just want to chat to other people who
are interested in hedgehogs and other wildlife
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Pop in to our help and advice forum where you can ask any
questions, discuss anything about hedgehogs or other wildlife
and get help and advice http://www.hedgehoghelp.co.uk
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Take a look at lots of videos about hedgehogs including some wonderful close-ups of
hedgehogs feeding
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Take part in discussions and comment about animals and
the environment in
We Care about Animals and
the Environment
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- We built this website because we were
"adopted" by several hedgehogs and want to share our experiences, make you more interested in hedgehogs and other
wildlife. and help YOU look after the hedgehog in YOUR garden
- Lots of the information came from other Hedgehog
help sites and the various books that have been
written about hedgehogs. We have adapted the information in the
light of our own experiences.
If we cannot physically help you, we will try to put you
in touch with a local carer closer to you. Many of the links
on the right or on the links page
have good lists of Hedgehog carers and rescuers in most
parts of the UK.
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Search This site or the web with Google
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When you cannot contact a hedgehog
rescue centre or carer immediately then
Any sick or injured
hedgehog should be taken to a
local vet who should give basic emergency
treatment free of charge.
If you are in the Northeast or East
London areas then the
Goddard Vet Group are the most
helpful with injured wildlife, especially
their 24 hour emergency Hospital at
Wanstead
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If you cannot get to a vet then
contact the
RSPCA on their 24 hour emergency
number 0300 1234 999.
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- Please only contact us to offer a
place if you live very close to us. That means within the
Epping Forest District area ( Loughton, Epping, Ongar), West
Essex ( Brentwood, Harlow and Sawbridgeworth),
East Hertfordshire (Bishops
Stortford), Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering or other areas very close to us.
- If you live elsewhere please contact
your local centre and offer
them help
- Before offering help you need a fully enclosed
garden. By fully enclosed we mean either high solid
brick walls all around or high solid wooden fences
with either concrete or wooden gravel boards sunken
into the ground deeply enough to stop a hedgehog
digging its way out.
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 Alma
was a hedgehog with a missing back leg who needed a safe home. Read about her
here
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Hercules was one lucky hedgehog who has now found a very good home.
Read about him here
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We
URGENTLY need gardens to release healthy hedgehogs
and the babies we have reared.
Read here to
find out what you need to do to help
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We always need safe gardens and caring people to
adopt and care for other disabled hedgehogs
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Support
Tim's Ebay Shop for:-
- CCTV cameras to watch your hedgehogs
- Lots of other very useful things
- Melatonin and other natural remedies for people and animals
See some of the hedgehog videos Tim & others have made using these
cameras:
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Captive or Pet
Hedgehogs
We are noticing an increasing trend for people
wanting to keep captive or pet hedgehogs.
This is not
something we recommend or approve of.
This site gives advice and information about the
European Hedgehog ( Erinaceus Europaeus) which is a wild animal and not a pet.
We don't agree with keeping any wild animal as a pet. We do
accept that there are already quite a few African pygmy
Hedgehogs already in the UK that need help. For advice on keeping pet African Pygmy
Hedgehogs see:
http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/
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