Project Prickles. Hedgehog Rescue -Southole

24/09/2026

22/09/2026

I was going to put some cute photos of a few of the many hogs I have in the hogspital right now - but as this is a serious post I thought better cut to the chase. In the last few weeks I have had three hedgehogs, on separate occasions, brought to me for help from HARTLAND. These kind and caring people certainly were right to scoop them up. These particular hedgehogs, were all a good adult size and to all intents and purposes looked like healthy hogs. Until they moved! All three had the same struggle to walk, very wobbly, shaking & falling on their side. One’s initial thought that they might be dehydrated- but sadly not - these were clear case of ‘Metabolic Bone Disease’, (MBD) incurable and fatal as it proved. What causes it? MEALWORMS😡

I can only conclude that someone in Hartland, probably thinking they were doing a kind deed, are feeding hogs mealworms. PLEASE DON’T.
Mealworms have nine times more phosphorus than calcium. Phosphorus prevents their bodies maintaining enough calcium and so the body starts taking calcium from the bones, making them soft and weak. This causes, weak & deformed bones, difficulty walking, fractures, paralysis and death.
It’s wonderful that so many of you are support feeding. Kitten biscuits, cat biscuits, hedgehog biscuits along with a large shallow dish of water is absolutely perfect.
BUT PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
NEVER FEED MEALWORMS
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

02/09/2026

LOTS OF INTEREST BEING SHOWN THIS YEAR! 😁 SEND PHOTOS OF YOUR WONDERFUL CRAFTS BY THE 30th SEPTEMBER TO EMAIL ADDRESS ON POSTER. 🦔🧡

12/08/2026

Please share. We need as many people as possible to leave water and food out to help our native hedgehogs and wildlife

07/07/2026

When lactating, if mums become dehydrated, their milk supply dries up. She will leave the nest and her young before they are independent. The babies are too young to survive alone. This is one of the reasons we are seeing so many babies dehydrated and out in the open.

05/07/2026

So that’s the 23rd baby that came in at 5.30 this evening! Desperately trying to get the rehabilitated adults back out to their finders to make way for the ever increasing babies coming in! No time for photo shoots, it’s just a case of round the clock feeds, toileting,cleaning, laundry and begin again! Forgive me for not being as good as I normally am at updates. Don’t want to jinx it but haven’t lost a baby yet….. so if you have a baby with me… so far so good, but as you know it’s a precarious time. Just off to bed , for a couple of hours of shut eye 😴 before the alarm sounds for the next round of syringe feeds.
To those of you I’ve delivered and released 🦔’s back in your garden this last week and to those I’m releasing this coming week… please keep me updated! This is my greatest reward after weeks of care. I’m very grateful to you all for taking such good care of your returned charges, between us we are making a difference. 🙏🩷