As you can see, darling Gabriel looks like a different hog now.
That frail little dying waif who arrived here just before Easter is gone, and cheeky happy Gabriel now weighs an amazing 1030g.
Now his chest is clear and his breathing is normal I have started giving him treatment baths for his ringworm.
His scabby nose, crusty ears and baldness in his coat of spines, around where it meets his fur skirt, will soon be a thing of the past, too.
Gabriel's history: x.com/HedgehogCabin/…
I forgot to update you on darling Palmer, whose release was delayed due to an eye infection.
As he's a local boy, he was released from an open pen in the lodge here.
You can see him keenly sniffing the air, licking his nose to intensify the scent (a wet nose is more effective at capturing, dissolving, and holding scent particles from the air, which allows Palmer to better analyze his environment).
You can also see him occasionally standing stock still, holding his breath, to intently listen.
As soon as he realises where he is, that he's safe and that there may be some girls around for him to court, he's off.🥰
Godspeed, dear Palmer, till next time.
Just a quick update on poor Gabriel.
This dear little boy made it through the night and got up to eat, and has been eating small and often all through the night and day, which is great.
He gained an amazing 131g.
He's still seriously ill, and needs round the clock potent pain relief, but is now stable enough to start the first of his antiparasite drugs today.
"I don't know what made me look down and stop, I must have been guided by an angel," said dear Gabriel's finder.
He lay motionless in the middle of the main road through Windsor but was still breathing, so she scooped him up and rang a rescue (not me), who told her to bring him in.
Then, despite his ticks and fleas and terrible stench of infection, she held him close to her chest and gave him her body warmth for the 45 minute drive here.
That instinctive act of selfless love probably saved Gabriel's life.
I had no idea she was coming, as it wasn't me she had rung.
But somehow Google maps guided her here, which was so fortunate as I know the original destination rescue, and it's a bad one.
Poor Gabriel was very near death.
Although an adult male who should weigh over a kilo, he was just 550g.
Emaciated.
All head and a wasted little body.
Starving, full of internal and external parasites, and with a heavily infected wound causing him a lot of pain.
He was also covered with hundreds of fly eggs on the verge of hatching into maggots, which would then eat him alive.
After injecting him with warmed fluids and giving him a powerful analgesic and a fast acting antibiotic, I removed the fly eggs and left him to sleep on the warming pad.
This poor darling boy is stable for now, and if he makes it through tonight I'll be able to start his antiparasitic treatments over Easter.
@SuShephard This would be due to you have to travel from Stratford which do not accept E-tickets. Therefore, you will have to purchase your ticket from Stratford station. - Keira
@greateranglia Hi, I need to travel from LST to Hockley but your app is only giving the option to collect the ticket from the station, which is not possible given LST is shut. What are your suggestions please?
@greateranglia Thx. In that case would suggest GA remove LST from their app for the duration of the station closure, as your app allows for a LST to HOC purchase, albeit the ticket has to be collected at the station
@SuShephard Hi there, you will need to give our Customer Relations team a call for this on 0345 600 7245 Option 8. Alternatively, you can email on contactcentre@greateranglia.co.uk (Reply time may be slower via email) Thank you. - Keira
@greateranglia Hi Georgi, yesterday when I booked a run to LSt. The E-ticket option is back now, with the ticket collection option removed. I’ve had this happen at Peterborough, with a ticket bought through the GA app, and they definitely have E-ticket readers at that station.
@SuShephard I will pass this on for feedback and get back to you once we have a response. As far as I am aware, Stratford does not have e-ticket readers on it's barriers as it is a TfL station. When was the last time you were given the option to purchase an e-ticket please? - Georgie
@greateranglia Hi Georgi, from Hockley to Stratford. I’ve had it happen a couple of times before and it’s a right pain not being given the E-ticket option