In a previous thread you mention a common problem of hedgehogs with green faeces. We have just today, End Jan, lost a hedgehog rescued before Xmas (125g). No fleas, doing very well, tripled weight, fed cat food & water, cleaned every day without fail. Kept in garage in a cat box with towel for bedding, box laid on top of towel and then heated pet mat below. Within 24 hrs showed signs of shakyness, lethargy, green faeces and died. Can you advise possible cause and treatment protocol ( if any ). My daughter is very upset at the idea she may have done something wrong or could have done more?

Apologies for the late reply - I have been doing something wrong when replying to messages & they have not been appearing!!
Without seeing a sick animal it is impossible to say what the problem is (I know that this was a long time ago, but for future reference...) A majority of the hedgehogs which are admitted to our hospital need a course of antibiotics for a variety of illnesses & infections & without these, hedgehogs do tend to go downhill pretty quickly. It is best to seek the advice of a wildlife hospital or a vet with wildlife experience so that immediate treatment can be started.
We are always available to give advice to anyone with a wildlife casualty, just email for our telephone number.

I wonder if you could put my mind at ease.Last week at teatime I found a lone female hedgehog up my driveway.I put the little hog in a box to take into our back garden as there is a very busy road at the front of my house and nowhere for her to go that she could hide or feed.
We have a wonderful huge back garden that is enclosed which means no hedgehogs visit of their own accord but have a large pond and because we would need to put ramps down so the hog wouldnt drown we decided to put her in a rabbit run for the night until we could secure the pond the following day.
The run had an enclosed hidey area and the little hedgehog enjoyed a meal of cat food and later on a small amount of scrabbled egg and snails and slugs and seemed bright and lively.
The following morning she was in a collapsed state and very weak.I telephoned the local hedgie rescue lady who said because of foot and mouth she couldn't take the little one in and advised me to keep her warm in a box with a towel but didnt think the prognosis was good.Shortly after the little one died.
I was absoloutley devastated and couldnt beleive that she seemed so perky the previous day and died the following one.
Im just asking if I did anything wrong.The vet was unavailable that morning (Sunday) but if this happened again what should I do differently.
Because she was a young female I did a search for orphans but none were found.
Thankyou

It is impossible to say what she died of, hedgehogs are prone to so many problems & infections etc. She may even have had internal injuries from a trauma.
Have you any idea what she weighed, so that I have an idea of age? Most of the youngsters that are coming in to us at the moment are going on to antibiotics because of infections they have, but until we see them, assess their weight, whether they are eating, what their faeces are like, how they are moving & behaving, we cannot make a decision on the right course of treatment.
Foot & mouth hasn't affected hedgehog carers unless they are in the area of the outbreak i.e. Surrey.
Cat food is fine for hedgehogs, with water to drink. I wouldn't advise scrambled egg but that won't be the cause of death so don't worry.
If you find any more you are welcome to ring us or email us for advice. Visit our website at www.vwr.org.uk for the contact details.

Thanks Caroline for the speedy reply.
I don't know about weight of the hedgie as she seemed to get upset and "hiss" if approached too closely and I didn't want to stress her unduly.
When I referred to my "Natural hedgehog" book it said that the less the claws were worn down the younger the hedgehog is and on inspection they were hardly worn and she seemed to be clear of fleas and mites and on day one a perfect little specimen.
On day two, her eyes were very dull looking and she had a lot of slimy matter around her mouth (Looked like slug remains) and her little gums were very pale.
This was immediatley prior to and during her collapse.
We do not use slug pellets or any pesticides in our garden so I would think that any slugs or snails eaten shouldn't be poisoned

Hi
Maybe you have neighbours who use slug pellets, it is still a fairly common problem even though there are wildlife-friendly repellents available. It may be worth having a word with local people.
From your description I would guess that not much could have been done for her, but fluids would probably have helped, but again that is dependant on getting help from either a rescue centre or a vet, so I think you were in a no-win situation.
Please visit our website & take down our details as you are welcome to ring for advice in the future.

Hi,We have a large wildlife friendly garden that is enclosed so we do not have any visiting or resident hedgehogs.
I wondered if it would be a suitable haven for Hedgehogs that had been rescued with for example injuries, which made them unsuitable for release back into the wild but could live freely in a large enclosed garden with a "Hedgehog house".
I would appreciate your opinion on this as well as if you think it a good idea, the best way to go about this.
We do have a hedgehog rescue in the area but they do not seem to answer the telephone!
Thank you.

I just wanted to reply to the original query. We've had exactly the same scenario here with a young hedgehog that we found about ten days ago (300g). We brought him in and he was bright, active and doing well for several days then suddenly became lethargic, had a bout of green faeces and then died in just a few hours. We followed advice about feeding etc. but perhaps we did something wrong without realising. It's very sad but at least we tried.

This morning I found 2 saucer sized circles of hedehog faeces on the lawn. Nothing in the middle just the perimeter. There was a nearly normal faeces nearby. I feed the hedgehogs every evening, peanut butter, mince, chicken and raisins...not all at the same time! I'm used to finding the normal 2inch faeces but these circles have me puzzled. It is as if their stools were runny and the turned in a complete circle! I took a phot which I could let you see if you are interested.
Can you lay any light on the subject?

kate

When I did work experience at a vets clinic we had a hedgehog brougt in with severely infected le that had to be amputated. It was placed in an incubator to keep warm and then went down hill pretty fast. We learned later from an expert on the species that they should never be 'artificially heated' as it messed up their own ability to regulate their temperature. Not sure why but he said it had something to do with how they go into hybernation they bring their bodytemp down and they apparently do this to recover as well. Maybe it was recovering from something?

Hi
I found a hedgehog in my pond this morning, hanging onto a pot.
I got the hedgehog out of the pond and kept it indoors in the warm.
The hedgehog originally was breathing quite quickly and shaking. Throughout the day the hedgehog seems to be making a good recovery from the traumatic experience. It has eaten some food and slept the rest of the day breathing nice and calmly. I had planned to release the hedgehog as it began to get dark but it just hasnt woke up. Do you think I should keep the hedgehog for another day or so anyway.