What to do if you find a sick or injured or baby hedgehog or any hedgehog you are worried about:

• As soon as you find an injured or sick hedgehog PLEASE pick it up immediately, put it in a box or wrap it in a towel or jumper or something  and THEN ring for help. If you leave it where it is, it will crawl or run away. For a sick or injured hedgehog every minute matters.

If you are phoning for help:

• For  Essex, East London or North Kent ring The South Essex Wildlife Hospital 01375 893893
• The Hedgehog Helpline 029 2062 3985 can give URGENT advice to find a carer or rescue centre near you in the rest of the UK
• Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital has a 24 hour help and advice line 01844 292292
• General advice can be obtained from BHPS on 01584 890801 during office hours
• A list of carers or rescue centres who might be able to help can be found here or on the BHPS website
• When you can't get help from anywhere else, you can ring us on 020 8508 4056 or 07717 834570

• When you cannot contact a hedgehog or wildlife rescue centre or carer immediately then Any sick or injured hedgehog should be taken to a local vet who will give basic emergency treatment free of charge.
  If you are in the Northeast or East London areas then the Goddard Vet Group  are very helpful with injured wildlife. Their emergency Hospital at Wanstead is open 24 hours
• Only ring RSPCA as a final resort. We cannot rely on them to treat  wildlife and not kill them, including hedgehogs, because  they won't pay to have them treated 

PLEASE NOTE: if you need help or urgent advice or find a sick or injured or baby hedgehog use the telephone, an email might not get read for a few hours and often 1 or 2 days. 
If you do email then LEAVE A CONTACT NUMBER WHERE WE CAN RING YOU BACK

• Any hedgehog seen out in daylight will need URGENT help
• Hedgehogs do NOT lie out sunbathing
• Any cut or wound is urgent
• Any hedgehog with flies on it or maggots crawling on it needs VERY Urgent help
• Any Hedgehog limping or walking strangely needs help
• Anything that looks very thin or wobbly or has bald patches or missing spines
• If you see a baby hedgehog or any small hedgehog weighing less than about 500 grams, that is about the size of a large orange or small grapefruit, at ANY time, whether day or night, that is out on its own, pick it up, pop it into a box with food and water and contact us or your local rescue centre for help and advice.

A young or small hedgehog  that is left out on its own will not be able to survive and will starve to death, by providing them with  food and water they stand more chance of survival. (see diet page )

You can help save numerous hedgehogs by putting a small plate of dog or cat food or cat biscuits in your back garden every night, together with a bowl of water. Put a bowl in your back garden and one outside your front door for the hedgehogs who can't get into your garden. You can make or buy a feeding station to stop other animals stealing the food

Doing this little thing could help prevent many hedgehogs starving to death and dying of thirst