Our little grand hoglet Midnight is still growing. We haven't seen little Storm for a bit so he/she must be living elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Gloin and Elrond went into soft release yesterday in the garden. It was a rather hectic day here as our washing machine door decided to fall off. So that meant I had to do all the fleeces by hand. There was a huge problem though... Brian had called the plumber to fix a leak we had..... Well we were without water for alot of the day and you can't really wash and rinse by hand without alot of water. Besides the two boys moving outside all the inside hogs got new beds too, except Billy and Bert who got to stay in their cage.
This is Gloin. I can't remember alot about him other than he came from Aunty Sue and I don't know his history much. Brian might have his records more as he is the record keeper, I do the hands on. However I did do a poo sample and he had fluke. So we had to get that clear before we could let him go into soft release. He is over 600 grams and will be ready to go by next Monday night.
You can read about Elrond from my earlier blog post. It was touch and go with him for a bit when he first came in, but luckily we got rid of the maggots before they really did too much damage to him. I am still a bit concerned about his hearing. The thing is I had to put so much time in with him he thinks of me as mum. So isn't frightened of me at all and quite relaxed when I am around. So when I go to test his hearing I get not much of a response. Although sometimes he does prickle up when you clap your hands over his head. He may or may not be released within the week. He may have to go to a secure garden or to Aunty Sue's big pen for a bit to toughen him up.
He loves being outside and was making some really happy wifflywoofly whistly type of noises. The kind that just make you smile when you hear them. He was self anointing and digging in the garden.
Like I said he isn't afraid when I handle him and he is uncurled around me. Even when I pick him up. He wants to see what is going on.
Here he is inspecting his new pen. I had to put him to bed otherwise he wouldn't have got his needed sleep.
I went out last night to check on him and he had a look on his face like a little naughty boy with his hand stuck in the cookie(biscuit) jar. He is so comical. I had put some meal worms around in the straw to get him hunting. :) And he loves meal worms. So we can't feed him too many. I will keep you all posted as to his progress.
This is Ratty. He is still gaining weight and still as gorgeous as when he came in. Lovely and dark face and skirt.
And here is Francis. She has improved, but still not gaining as well as I would like. She had a bad infestation on Lung worm and we have given her meds to get rid of the horrible things. And her weight has picked up. But she still isn't quite putting weight on like she should. I have given her a friend in hopes that he will get her eating. As they don't like being on their own when they are little.
And this is Francis' new friend Henry. Brian and I were spending last Thursday helping Sue at the Haven at Tiptree when Sue had a call from a gentle man who was nearer to me. He had a little hog he had found so we said once we were finished and back home he could bring him over to us. He and his young son brought us Henry. Both were really nice and were really interested in helping the hedgehogs. He had already got rid of the fleas for me and had given Henry some Goats milk and some cat food. Henry was in really good shape. They live near a really busy road and he was frightened that Henry could get hit by a car. So we are looking after Henry now. And he is enjoying being with Francis.
Well we were just getting things going and this gentleman called us again..... with another little boy..... So he and his son brought us Billy. We had another chat about hedgehogs and Billy and Henry were reunited(this was before the big move yesterday).
And then the next day he emailed me and they had found another little hoglet. This time it was little Bert. Father and son have now got a new name for themselves - The Hogbusters. :) So all three brothers spent the night together before the big move.
This is for Hogbuster George.. and family too. ;)
This is what a cage looks like in the morning when the hoglets have been up all night partying.
Come on Billy and Bert! Time to wake up so I can clean your cage.
Hedgehogs wake up grumpy too. It isn't just us humans that do that.
While I clean their cage I put them in this box so they don't escape and run through the house. We always weigh and check the hogs in the morning and any needing medicines are given them then. And some are needed in the evening too. Once their cages are cleaned and new bedding put in. I put in a fresh bowl of water in clean dishes and they get a bowl of dried kitten biscuits.
Here is Billy going back to bed. I had to put some paint on them so I would know who was who. Billy has a spot on him. Good day Billy. Sleep well.
And Bert has a stripe.
Sometimes they have to check things out before going to bed.
Good day Bert.
Have a nice sleep boys.
And finally this is our little girl Blossom. She has become a Daddy's girl. She came in on Saturday found out during the day. She had flystrike and by the time she got to me she was covered in fly eggs and maggots. They had started eating her alive. I thought that little Elrond was bad with the flystrike but this poor little baby was really in a bad way. I immediately went into adrenaline rush and panic mode. Brian was such a star. While I was spraying her with F10 Insecticidal wound spray to get the maggots off her and pulling them off he was getting the things I needed. I found that maggots need air. So I asked for some salt water and alot of it. I also wanted it warm to warm her up as she had gone cold. They were coming off of her and wriggling all over the place. Poor Jingles could tell I was upset and he came to lend his support, but I didn't want him getting covered in those horrible things. So he was shooed off. I finally got them all off here, and got her warmed up and some subcut fluids into her. I did stab myself once and hadn't noticed until I saw the blood. She was in a really bad way, and I pulled out all the stops for her. I even put in a panic call to Sue for some support. I hadn't ever had one in that bad before. Anyway she is doing better now. Still early days yet. She has a wound under her leg where the maggots had already started eating. The poor little girl must have been in such horrible pain. When I got a poo, I did take a sample and put it under the scope and she also had fluke eggs in it. So we had to run to Tiptree to get her a jab from Aunty Sue.
Unfortunately the lady who brought her had also found another hoglet, but by the time it got here it was barely alive and it died while I was trying to get the maggots off it. They had already gotten well into the body of this little hoglet and huge maggots were coming out of hole in its leg and out of the ears. It soon died before I could even think. Poor little thing.
So please!!!!!! Anyone that finds a hedgehog out during the day Please pick it up, put into a large box or trug or whatever and get on the phone and get it some help. Better to err on the side of caution. Hedgehogs can go down hill really really quickly so they need to get to a vet or experienced carer as quickly as possible. Sometimes you can't see what is wrong with them and so they need help.
Anyway, that has been our last couple of weeks here.... Oh I did manage to pick some plums from the plum tree too. :) And my green beans have finally produced some beans for us. :) Oh And the repairman came today and the washing machine is now working. :) YEAH!!!!
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