How To Baby Hedgehog Care If You Found One?

If you come across an uninjured baby hedgehog and believe it needs to be rescued, keep a safe distance away from it. It's usually best to ignore them. However, there are a few things you can do to see if the hoglet requires baby hedgehog care assistance.

If you come across a baby hedgehog, act quickly:

•        In immediate danger - for example, on the road

•        Weighing less than 300 grams (roughly the size of an apple) and not being accompanied by an adult hedgehog

•        Sick, hurt, or surrounded by flies

•        Squeaking with eyes closed in the absence of an adult

•        During the day during a period of extremely cold weather (regular ground frost or below freezing for several days)

•        Near a deceased adult

If any of these apply to you, please put them in a box and contact your local wildlife center or a veterinarian.

Here's what to do if you come across an adult hedgehog during the day.

Young hedgehogs weighing more than 300g should be weaned because they are nearly ready to be independent of their parents.

What do young hedgehogs consume?

You can try feeding hedgehog babies, but make sure you feed them something appropriate:

•        Tinned dog or cat food - cat biscuits or crushed dog biscuits work well for hedgehogs.

•        High-quality, specialized hedgehog foods are available from wildlife food suppliers.

•        For very young hoglets weighing less than 300g, soak biscuits in water because they cannot eat dry food.

•        Never give cow's milk to hedgehogs because it can cause diarrhoea.

•        Avoid feeding them bread because it is low in nutrients.

Hedgehog capture and confinement

If the hedgehog can be caught and handled safely:

•        Wear thick gloves because hedgehogs can transmit diseases such as ringworm or salmonella bacteria to humans. You can also use a folded towel to handle them.

•        Pick it up gently and place it in a high-sided cardboard box lined with a towel. Throwing a towel over the hedgehog may also cause it to curl up, making it easier to catch.

•        Don't handle the hedgehog any more than necessary because human contact is stressful for them.

•        If the box is large enough, hedgehogs from the same litter can be kept together.

•        Keep them warm - if a hedgehog gets too cold, they're less likely to recover, so place a warm, towel-wrapped hot water bottle in the box as soon as possible. Make sure the hedgehog has enough space in the box to move away from the bottle if it gets too hot.

Keep the hedgehog somewhere warm and quiet indoors, and provide them with a small amount of appropriate food and water.

As soon as possible, contact your local wildlife rehabilitation center. Because our baby hedgehog care officers may be out of the area responding to other calls, it is often faster to take an animal to a wildlife rehabilitator yourself. If you're unable to transport the hoglet, you can contact us at Hedgy Life!