Hedgehog Cabin@HedgehogCabin
Every phone call I've taken this week has broken my heart a little bit more.
So much unnecessary suffering.
Please spread this information, as far and wide as you can.
You may save a life.
🙏
A hedgehog *out in the open* in the day is in serious trouble and needs urgent help.
Always.
No exceptions.
Any size.
Any time.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal prey animals, they have no defences in the daytime, it's deadly dangerous for them.
They are designed to hunt at night, to navigate and catch insects in the dark, occupying a specific ecological niche.
They are not adapted to withstand high temperatures, and their shape means they rapidly dehydrate during daylight hours.
They are nocturnal animals.
So they don't come out in the day simply because they're hungry, or lost, or disturbed, or to move nests, or are pregnant, or for any other trivial reason.
They come out in the day because it's warmer than the night and they are feeling cold.
Deadly cold.
They're feeling cold because they're so sick they're starting to die, and hypothermia is a stage of dying. Blood has been redirected to the vital organs, keeping them alive as long as possible, leaving the limbs feeling cold.
If you see a hedgehog like this, out in the open, in the day time, no matter how 'well' he looks, it is an emergency.
Every minute counts.
DO NOT put them in a box and keep them, feeding them, not calling a rescue for advice for 3 days until their agony and infection is too much for them to bear and they stop moving.
DO NOT feed them then move them under a bush because you think they shouldn't be in the sun, leaving them, utterly defenceless, to be predated alive there.
DO NOT take them to a vet, none of whom are trained in wildlife and will simply put to sleep even viable wild animals.
Please take them to a rescue (never a vet) URGENTLY.
Just Google 'hedgehog rescue near me' to find a list.
More info: x.com/HedgehogCabin/…
