WILDLIFE MANUAL - Revision history - Brinsley Animal Rescue
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WILDLIFE
MANUAL
Revision history
Rev. Date Description of changes Revised by
1.0 05/02/18 First issue Jon Beresford
2.0 10/03/19 General review and new section on daily tasks David Brocklehurst
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 1 of 20
Contents
1 Aims and Objective ............................................................................... 4
2 Introduction ........................................................................................... 4
3 Basic Principles ..................................................................................... 5
4 Dealing with the Public ......................................................................... 6
5 The Call for Help .................................................................................... 6
5.1 Does the Animal Need our help? ............................................................................... 7
5.1.1 Questions to Ask .............................................................................................. 7
5.1.2 Can we actually help? ...................................................................................... 7
5.2 Advice Prior to Admission .......................................................................................... 8
6 Admission and Initial Assessment ....................................................... 8
7 Hedgehogs ........................................................................................... 10
7.1 Hogs out in the daytime ........................................................................................... 10
8 Birds ..................................................................................................... 11
9 Foxes .................................................................................................... 13
9.1 Handling Foxes ........................................................................................................ 13
9.2 When to Leave Alone ............................................................................................... 14
9.3 When to Rescue ....................................................................................................... 14
10 Routine Hospital Work ........................................................................ 14
10.1 Protecting yourself.................................................................................................... 14
10.2 Pet-Carrier/Cage Cleaning ....................................................................................... 14
10.3 Bedding .................................................................................................................... 15
10.4 Feeding..................................................................................................................... 16
10.5 Bird Care and Issues (for consideration during routine hospital work) ................... 17
10.6 Hedgehog Care (for consideration during routine hospital work)............................ 18
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 2 of 20
10.7 Housekeeping .......................................................................................................... 19
10.8 General Comments (stress, shouting, selfies, taming/imprinting etc.) .................... 19
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 3 of 20
1 Aims and Objective The charity admits most kinds of sick and injured wild animals, as well as hand rearing orphaned wildlife. The manual is aimed at volunteers who are new to wildlife rescue. In conjunction with hands on experiences and coaching, this manual provides volunteers with the basic knowledge for the admission, assessment and basic treatment for wildlife coming into the care of the Charity. 2 Introduction Wildlife rehabilitation is the treatment and care of wild animal and the preparation for release to a successful life back in the wild. There are two main categories of wildlife that come to us, ill or injured wildlife that need diagnosis, assessment and treatment or baby wildlife that need to be hand reared and prepared for release. If a wild animal can be caught by a human, it’s generally not in good shape, in addition they can’t tell us what’s wrong and they will be very stressed. Therefore the odds of a successful rehabilitation are stacked against them, so you have to be prepared and strong as many will die. However it’s important to try, firstly we can end the suffering of those that don’t have a reasonable chance of survival, but some do make a full recovery and are able to be released back into the wild. Most wildlife casualties are the victims of some form of trauma. They regularly have severely infected injuries and shock, not commonly seen in domestic animals. Wild animals however, generally have a greater capacity to cope with these injuries and can recover, if given the chance and the necessary supportive treatment. Yet even the most sophisticated treatment is of no use, if the casualty does not survive long enough to reach help, or if basic steps are not taken on admission. Our ultimate aim is the successful release of all wild animals back to the wild, ideally back to the area where they were found where possible. Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 4 of 20
3 Basic Principles
With wildlife care, there are some basic principles to be aware of, taking these into account will
reduce harm to the animal and greatly increase the chances of a successfully release;
• Look After No. 1 - The most important consideration throughout any rescue is you, never put
yourself or others at risk. Wild animals do not know you are helping them, their natural instinct is
to survive by fighting back and even a dying small animal can be a risk to you. Don’t put yourself
at any great risk, if you get hurt you can’t help any animals.
• “Wild” - We call them wild for good reason, all wild animals suffer when they are captured and
treated, their instinctive behavior is to feel fear, they will fight, try to escape and this includes
attacking you.
• Shock - Sick and injured animals go into shock very quickly, this will kill an animal before anything
other than hemorrhaging. When an animal goes into shock, their body temperature falls, the first
priority in casualty management is to maintain body temperature.
• Stress - Wild animals are programmed to see some other animals as extremely dangerous, top of
the list is humans, so when a wild animal is picked up it becomes severely distressed. Therefore
we must always minimize exposure to humans and the un-natural environment, along with
keeping the animal calm and quiet is essential.
• Pain - Animals generally do not communicate the levels of pain they are in. An important
principle of any first aid is look for symptoms of pain and control the pain.
• Non Destruct Policy – The charity has a non-destruct policy, this details our position on
euthanasia. The policy states that we do not euthanise healthy animals. This does not mean we
do not euthanise, we euthanise if it’s in the best interest for the animal, to prevent suffering or
further harm.
Examples of when we would euthanise a wild animal;
o The animal is suffering and has no realistic chance of a full recovery. We feel that it’s
unfair to put a wild animals through a traumatic experience, if their chances of recovery
and release are low.
o The animal will have prolonged suffering.
o The animal has no realistic chance of being released back into the wild. Only in
exceptional circumstances do we not euthanise wild animals than cannot be released.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 5 of 20• Baby Mammals - If you get your human scent on a baby mammal (not birds), the mother will
reject them and often kill them. The priority is to avoid any handling until you need to. If you
have to handle them, always wear disposable gloves, having first rubbed bedding on them to get
the mothers scent onto the gloves, if you can, don’t let mum see you with her young.
4 Dealing with the Public
Dealing with members of the public doesn’t come easy to everyone and can be quite challenging.
Remember though that you are representing the charity.
o Be polite at all times, but when necessary be firm. Some people will try and influence our
judgment, remember though we have the experience and knowledge and we decide what is
best for the animal.
o Never take abuse from people, we are all volunteers and its never acceptable to receive verbal
abuse.
o People can be quite demanding, they can assume it’s our job, they want to off load a problem.
If we can’t help or we need them to bring the animal to us, explain that we are all volunteers,
we do what we do in our own time. If we can’t help, try and offer advice such as using an
alternative recue or going to a vet.
o Don’t assume the public knows what they are talking about, most don’t. For example, if they
see a bird not flying, “it has got a broken wing”.
5 The Call for Help
When you first talk to a member of the public about a suspected sick or injured animal, it’s important
to note that the majority of people know very little about the do’s and don’ts and how to care for
animals, they often make assumptions which are often wrong.
When dealing with the people, take into consideration who they are and the level of knowledge they
might have, even vets can often give an incorrect assessment of the casualty.
During the contact, do not just assume the animal needs help and that we can offer it, you need to
ask the member of public plenty of questions to try and answer two basic questions;
1. Does the animal need help?
2. Can we provide that help?
If the answer to either question is no, try to offer advice.
If the answer to both is yes, then we should provide advice to care for the animal prior to its arrival
at the sanctuary, the first few minutes or hours can make the difference to a successfully rescue.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 6 of 205.1 Does the Animal Need our help? Some animals are better left in their natural environment where they might stand a higher chance of survival. We receive many calls from members of the public about animals that should not be interfered with, for example fledging birds, they should be left with their parents. Ask plenty of questions about the animal and its condition and make an assessment, does the animal need help and if it does can we help? 5.1.1 Questions to Ask Q - What is the animal? - What is the type of animal e.g. a bird, what species e.g. pigeon, what approx. size is it young or adult?, coloring, markings? Q - Why do you think it needs rescuing? - Describe in detail the condition, (blood, cuts, body damage, feather damage, is it standing, does it smell (infection), are there any flies. Q – Where is the animal? - Where is the animal now?, Where did you find it, do you have it contained? Q – History - What is the history, when and where did you find the animal, how long have you had it in your care? 5.1.2 Can we actually help? Do we have the space and time to take in the animal? There is no point taking on too many animals if we do not have the resources and it compromises those that we already have in. If this is the case, provide information on alternative options such as other rescues, the RSPCA, vets. Try not to allow a situation where the animal remains suffering. If it’s obvious from a conversation that an animal is dying or cannot make a recovery, ask the caller to take the animal to a vets who will euthanise to prevent further suffering (give advice on a safe method of animal transfer that will minimize stress to the animal) Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 7 of 20
5.2 Advice Prior to Admission
Many animals die before they have even reached us or the pubic have interfered, there are a few
simple steps to improve the odds of survival.
• Keep warm - Animals soon go into shock, when this occurs their body temperature falls. An
animal with a low body temperature will die very quickly. The most important priority is to warm
the animal up.
Fill a plastic bottle with warm water and place in the box next to the animal to keep it warm, but
the animal must be able to get away from it if it gets too warm. For small animals put in a box
with shredded newspaper. Do not use damp bedding such as grass.
• Keep Quiet & in the dark - To reduce stress, keep the animal in the dark and away from noise,
including pets, children, turn off the radio and talk quietly. Try to avoid the temptation to over-
assess and handle an animal. Excessive human contact and handling can often reduce chances of
survival.
• Never, Ever Force Feed - If we found an injured human, one would never attempt to force water
or food into them, so why an animal? Animals do not die of thirst or hunger overnight, but they
die very quickly if incorrectly force fed. Force feeding can lead to incorrect food or often, water
on the lungs.
Also the primary focus is controlling body temperature from shock, giving water or food can
bring their temperature down further.
• Voluntarily feeding - Only if an animal is warm and the correct food can be provided, then water
and food can be provided. NEVER give any mammal or bird milk. Only offer the animal food and
water, to take themselves, if the person is absolutely sure what the animal eats, otherwise do
not feed.
6 Admission and Initial Assessment
When a member of the public first brings an animal in, they can expect miracles, be honest with
them and don’t let them influence your decision, ours is based on what’s best for the animals, not
emotions. People will say “are you sure you can’t try”, etc.
The following is a good procedure to follow if an animal is brought in via a container such as a
cardboard box. The approach can be adapted depending upon the situation.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 8 of 20Step 1
Firstly take a quick look at the animal, trying to make the best quick judgement you can, whilst
minimising noise. Determine how critical the situation is. If the animal is cool/cold to the touch,
warm up, this is the primary concern. If the situation is immediately critical such as in significant
distress, consider what quick course of action should be taken such as speaking to Beth/Jon or taking
immediately to a vet. If not immediately critical, which will be in most cases, leave within cardboard
box while the next couple of steps are carried out.
Step 2
Whilst the public are still with you, fill out a wildlife health form, ask them to add their name and
address, record details such as where it was found, any previous history.
Step 3
Whilst the animal is in the quiet warm container, make a plan, including:
1) Where to house the animal once the triage is complete. Prepare a cage/carrier as
appropriate.
2) Ask yourself if you are sufficiently experienced in triaging the animal in question or if another
person would be more appropriate. If another person would be better, place the animal
immediately within the prepared cage/box and inform the experienced person. Remember,
we should minimise contact to just what is necessary.
3) If you do have the experience necessary, decide what you will look for during the more
detailed triage (e.g. broken limbs, ticks, fleas, dehydration, blindness). If still relatively new to
triage, make a list of things to check.
Preparing like this and making a plan will minimise human contact and the stress experienced by the
animal.
Step 4
Methodically and quickly triage the animal, before finally placing within the pre-prepared
cage/carrier. The triage should allow you to make a treatment plan (fluids, vet support etc). Write
the findings on the animal health form. Your ability to triage well will improve with experience.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 9 of 207 Hedgehogs
When should we rescue a hedgehog?
• If they are out during the daytime.
• If they are injured.
• If they have fly strike.
• When they have been attacked.
• If they have poor balance.
• Green poo or have blood in their poo.
• Baby hedgehogs should only be rescued if their mother is injured, died or the nest has been
disturbed.
7.1 Hogs out in the daytime
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals so should not be active during the day. If a person reports a
hedgehog out in the day it is likely in trouble (the exception to this is during the summer months,
when females with young may need to come out during the day to forage for extra food/bedding).
Many hedgehogs that are out in the day come in to us underweight, dehydrated and sadly often
covered in fly eggs and even maggots (fly strike, as seen in Fig 1). Another common parasite is ticks
(fig 2).
Fig 2 Ticks
Fig 1 - Fly Strike
If a person finds a hedgehog out during the day please ask them to get it contained in a cardboard
box, keep them somewhere quiet and put a hot water bottle, that is still comfortable to the touch, in
one side of the box. They should also put in a dish of tinned meaty cat or dog food and water. Kitten
biscuits are also a good option.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 10 of 207.2 Flystrike Fly’s lay eggs on dead or dying animals, these eggs turn into maggots within 24 hours and start to eat the animal alive. Any animal with fly strike needs all eggs removing straight away and treating. If there are maggots consideration must be given to euthanasing, especially if maggots are around orifices as they will no doubt be internal and the animal stands little chance and will only suffer. 7.3 Ticks Ticks feed off animals blood, whilst they do not help an animal and can make them anemic, they are not an immediate risk. They must be removed with a tick hock, to avoid leaving the head behind. Once removed the tick should be killed, they will live for some time and will look for the next victim. Precaution – Ticks can carry Lyme Disease, wear disposable gloves when removing and killing them. 8 Birds 8.1 Handling Birds Several people are worried about doing the bird more harm by actually catching it. The most important thing to remember is to stop the wings flapping by gently picking the bird up with both hands around its body and over its wings. By preventing it from flapping, you will not only stop it from sustaining any further injury, but the bird will struggle less, making it easier to transfer it to a cardboard box. Remember that some birds have very powerful beaks. Birds such as seagulls, rooks, crows, jackdaws and magpies will need to be handled using gloves, as they will use their beaks for defense. Birds of prey will use their extremely sharp claws to warn you off, so be very careful. Herons and gannets will go for your face and eyes, so make sure that you have a firm grip on the beak at all times. The best method of transporting any bird is to put it in a cardboard box or pet carrier with a towel or newspaper in the bottom. Keep the box covered at all times to avoid it escaping and it will also help to reduce the stress the bird. Wire cages should not be used for birds as they will most likely damage their feathers or injure themselves even more. Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 11 of 20
8.2 Found a Bird?
The first thing to remember when you find a baby animal, is that in most cases the animal should be
left alone. Each Spring and Summer in particular, we are inundated with calls from people who find
what they think is an abandoned young bird or orphaned animal. In many cases these youngsters
have not been abandoned.
All too often we are presented with a baby animal that should have been left with their parents, this
is particularly the case with birds.
After a few weeks, birds fledge the nest to become fledglings, therefore they have enough feathers
to partly fly. They often leave the nest and live on the ground for a week or so, still being cared for by
their parents until they can fully fly. Fledglings should not be moved unless they are
in immediate danger.
Remember;
• Baby animals stand a far greater chance of survival if they can be left with their parents, even
when on the ground will be fed regularly as the parent is most likely close by.
• Do not move any baby animal unless they are injured or in immediate danger.
• Watch a young fledglings bird constantly, often their parents aren’t far away and will return
to feed them, but not if your frightening them off!
• Do not think that because the bird appears alone that it had been abandoned, the parent
may just not be visible.
• There is always a period of time just after the youngster has left the nest when it spends
most of the day either on the ground or hopping amongst shrubs and trees. During this time
it does not need to be scooped up and brought inside. Please do not rush in and pick it up,
leave it where it is and watch it from a careful distance.
• If it is in danger from traffic, cats, larger birds, strong sunlight or heavy rain move it to a safer
spot (using gloved hands) nearby so the parents can find it.
• Only if the bird has been alone for more than a couple of hours should you consider stepping
in, but do not attempt to rear the bird yourself.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 12 of 20• However, if it is a newborn (no feathers, eyes closed) get it to a wildlife center as soon as
possible. It needs to be kept warm but do not attempt to feed it or give it water as you could
drown it.
Fig 4 Baby pigeon
Fig 3 Fledgling Jay being fed by parent
Fig 5
9 Foxes
9.1 Handling Foxes
If you must remove an injured fox from an area, handle it with gloves, ideally thick gloves if possible.
Throw a towel o blanket over the fox, restrain its jaw with a muzzle or similar. Put the fox into a
strong secure carrier.
Make a note of the exact location where you found it, foxes are very territorial and need to go back
to where they came from.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 13 of 209.2 When to Leave Alone
• It is normal to see fox cubs during the day wandering about above ground from the age of
about four weeks. Therefore if you find a cub it is quite likely that it is not abandoned and
that its parents or close relatives are not too far away.
• If the fox cub is uninjured, in a safe spot and not in danger from traffic please leave it alone.
• If the cub is in danger such as on an exposed roadside and uninjured move it to a sheltered
safe spot nearby, handling it with gloves if possible to avoid scenting it.
9.3 When to Rescue
• If you find an older cub, with its eyes open and if after leaving it for 12 hours it is still in the
same spot, it needs rescuing.
• If the cub is obviously sick, injured or distressed call your nearest wildlife centre for advice.
10 Routine Hospital Work
The following section describes some of the general duties within the hospital and lists a few
common things to look out for.
10.1 Protecting yourself
All animals can carry diseases, some of which can be easily transferred to humans such as ringworm.
Always ensure the following:
• Wear latex gloves provided (as a minimum) whenever handling wildlife
• Consider wearing more robust gloves when handling animals that can give a nasty bite or
which have sharp talons. These include foxes, raptors (birds of prey) etc.
• Remove your gloves and wash your hands with the anti-microbial/anti-bacterial soap
provided when:
o Taking a break for food or a drink
o After finishing your day in the hospital
10.2 Pet-Carrier/Cage Cleaning
Animal Housing and Animal Transfer
Most animals within the hospital are housed within pet carriers and cages.
Hedgehogs can be transferred into a small pod-carrier on the weighing scale while their larger pet-
carrier is being cleaned (see Section 10.6 for further information regarding weighing hedgehogs).
Birds can generally be transferred into an empty pet-carrier whilst theirs is cleaned. Exceptions to the
transfer of birds during cleaning will be certain birds that are easily affected by stress. Even within
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 14 of 20the same species, birds have varying levels of fear and different reactions to humans. Certain pigeons
will get very stressed when approached and can potentially harm themselves by flying into the side
of the pet-carrier. Options here will be:
• Open the pet-carrier door slightly and slide out the dirty paper, before sliding in fresh paper.
or
• Prepare a clean pet-carrier, containing fresh paper and food, and put it end-to-end with the
carrier containing the bird. Then slide both doors away and the pigeon will, with some box-
nudging, walk into the clean carrier. Then, replace the doors. This takes a bit of practice, but
can be a quick low stress option for the bird.
Other birds that can be very susceptible to stress are small garden birds such as sparrows. If they are
madly flying around their cage, it means they are stressed, which in some circumstances can lead to
death. For this type of bird, sliding paper gently in and out is a good option.
Certain animals also do not react well to eye contact and can fly into the side of their housing if
afraid, potentially leading to injury. One such example is the Little Owl, which can be very nervous.
Avoid eye contact when appropriate.
Cleaning
Simply use the disinfectant and blue paper towels provided.
Soiled paper and paper towels can go straight into the general bin. Straw and hay should be placed in
the blue tub to be put on the tractor trailer for rotting down on the fields.
Tip. The white meatal grid doors for some pet-carriers can quite easily fall off when opening and
closing. It is sometimes better to just remove and put on top of carrier during cleaning.
10.3 Bedding
All animals will need clean newspaper placed on the bottom of their carriers to help absorb
moisture/urine. Only use 2-3 sheets and always remove staples before placing in the carriers.
The following bedding is commonly used on top of the paper for different animals within the
hospital.
Hedgehogs – Tear narrow newspaper strips and scrunch up to create bedding. Shredded newspaper
may also be used, but do not use office/photocopier paper because the edges are too sharp etc.
Sometimes, if a hedgehog has an open wound, a towel may be better than paper. This will avoid
paper getting into the wound. However, the presence of a significant open wound is rare.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 15 of 20Birds – Bedding is not needed, but some birds like to perch, so 1-2 sticks can be useful in certain circumstances. Also, for some birds like Little Owls, they will need somewhere to hide inside/behind. Rabbits - Hay Guinea Pigs* - Hay for bedding and ensure somewhere to hide Chickens* - Straw Chicks* - Shavings (may also need heat lamp setting up) * although not wildlife, they may be within the hospital with injuries, infections etc 10.4 Feeding The below foods and feeding times are used within the hospital. However, sometimes you may need to vary the food to encourage an animal to start eating. For example, a few mealworms can be given to hedgehogs, although they are not considered a good long-term option. Hedgehogs – tinned chicken cat food…night-time feeding Pigeons – ‘Mixed Corn’ from grey bin outside and in tin within hospital cupboard…daytime feeding Seed Eating Garden Birds (sparrows etc) – try on budgie mix in tin within hospital cupboard…daytime feeding Meat Eating Garden Birds (Corvids etc) – tinned chicken cat or dog food …daytime feeding Raptors (birds of prey) – defrosted chicks …daytime feeding for such as kestrels, night-time feeding for such as owls Fish Eating Birds (Gulls etc) – defrosted fish, but sometimes tinned chicken cat food if fish not available…daytime feeding Geese – Grass and layers pellets…daytime feeding Rabbits – Bespoke rabbit food + carrots + cabbage + dandelion leaves …daytime feeding Guinea Pigs - Guinea pig food from black bin in hospital + carrots + cabbage…daytime feeding Chickens - Layers pellets within red tub within hospital cupboard and in large old freezer in external feed room…daytime feeding Chicks - Chick crumb…daytime feeding Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 16 of 20
10.5 Bird Care and Issues (for consideration during routine hospital work)
There are many elements to account for related to bird care. Below are some of the more common
ones.
Transferring and Catching Birds
When transferring a bird, focus on holding the wings in to its body using both hands. Once the wings
are held in, the bird will generally stop calm down and is less prone to injury. Inevitably some birds
will fly past when you first open their housing. Catching the bird is simply a balance of speed and
avoiding harming the bird.
Tube Feeding (Gavage Feeding)
Certain birds will not eat for themselves in the early stages of rehab (or if being hand reared). The
skill of tube feeding will be shown to you by Beth or Jon, but some important things to keep in mind
are:
- Use syringe with blunt nose gavage tube
- Use warm water with Hagen food for pigeons
- Avoid air bubbles as much as possible in the syringe
- Wrap the pigeon in a towel to hold its wings in to the body, making tube feeding easier
- Extend the neck and hold the beak open with a thumb
- Gently slide the tube down the oesophagus behind the trachea (never force it, just gently
slide)
- Go as far as the crop which is at the base of the neck
- Inject food smoothly and steadily, making sure that it is not coming back up into the mouth
(if you see food returning into the mouth, withdraw tube fully and wait for food to be
swallowed before starting again)
Covering up Animals/Birds (Calcium & Vitamin D)
Sometimes, if an animal is becoming stressed while you are in the hospital, covering their carrier
entrance with a towel can help calm them down. However, all animals need Vitamin D in order to
absorb calcium effectively and maintain/develop strong and healthy bones/feathers. This is
particularly relevant to collared doves and some other types of pigeons, where deformities in legs
and weak wings can occur over time. Therefore, never leave animals/birds covered within the
hospital when you leave, especially when they are juvenile.
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 17 of 20Introducing Birds to the Aviary When pigeons and some other doves have finished being treated in the hospital they will sometimes go into the aviary to acclimatise and build strength. When released into the aviary, it is advisable to watch them for a while because there is a chance the other pigeons will attack/kill the newcomer. This is especially important for pigeons with disabilities and hand reared young birds. If attacked, withdraw the bird to the hospital and decide upon the next course of action (possibly letting the bird grow a little more within the hospital). 10.6 Hedgehog Care (for consideration during routine hospital work) Medical Chart When in close proximity to humans such as in the hospital, the increased stress hedgehogs experience can lead to additional issues such as increased worm burden. It is important to keep an eye on the patients and note possible symptoms before they become bigger problems which could be life threatening. When cleaning out the hedgehogs, the below items are important to observe and note on the medical chart. Weight – Record on medical chart at least every couple of days. If the weight is consistently going down, then there could be an issue with worm burden or bacterial infection. If weight going down, firstly check for worms in faecal sample using microscope. It is relatively common to see Capillaria eggs, although other worms will also be found at times (see chart on hospital wall). Not eating – A hedgehog may stop eating due to illness, or may need encouraging to eat using alternative foods. Do not overly worry by one missed meal, but consistently not eating and losing weight could be a sign of a serious issue. Coughing – If a hedgehog is consistently coughing they could have lung worm. Spine loss – This could be a sign of mange or ringworm Hyperactivity – May be a sign of cage stress or Fluke (intestinal worms). The hedgehog will often circle the carrier, tread the bedding flat, and could have bloody feet. Green poo – Green poo may be insignificant and due to such as a change in diet, but it can also be a sign of a problem such as an intestinal infection. If weight is going down as well as green poo, then treatment is almost definitely needed. Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 18 of 20
Injections
As with tube feeding, the skill of injecting hedgehogs with fluids, or antibiotics, or pain relief will be
shown to you by Beth or Jon. However, some important things to note are:
- Keep the hedgehogs as calm as possible so that its skin is relaxed and easier to ‘tent’ (pulling
skin away from body using spines).
- It is suggested to make a pouch in a towel for the hedgehog to put its head into so that it
doesn’t move away whilst injecting.
- Before injecting, make sure there are no air bubbles in the syringe.
- Warm any fluid replacement by holding the syringe under warm tap water before
proceeding.
- When injecting fluids there will be a significant amount of fluid going in, so use multiple
injection points to discharge all fluid.
- Tent the skin on the flanks of the hedgehog and inject into this tent (under the skin). Do not
inject into the spine or hips.
- When injecting, some will say to put the needle in and then draw back on the syringe to
make sure you haven’t hit a vein.
- The quantities of drugs to inject for each condition are on the wall of the hospital.
10.7 Housekeeping
When leaving the hospital try and ensure it is in a cleaner state than when you entered. Wipe down
sides and sweep floors as needed, clean out empty food cans and place on the drainer for recycling,
and generally keep things neat and tidy. All of this will help others within the rescue.
10.8 General Comments (stress, shouting, selfies, taming/imprinting etc.)
As mentioned previously, wildlife are very susceptible to stress and it can seriously affect their
chances of survival. It is therefore important to be sensible and respectful of the animals when in the
hospital. For example, do not shout when in the hospital and avoid running or quick jerky
movements near the wildlife. Also do not take selfies with the wildlife, they may look cute and
cuddly, but when you hold them they will be afraid so minimise handling.
It is also important to realise that we do not wish for the animals to become tame or imprinted. If
they do become tame, it will reduce their chances of survival in the wild. Therefore, although we do
not wish to overly stress the animals, we also do not want to make them over-familiar and totally
fearless when it comes to humans. Hence avoid spending unnecessary time with them. Quick
treatment, feeding and cleaning is the order of the day (they are not pets!).
Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 19 of 20This can be one of the most rewarding parts of volunteering at the sanctuary, but please remember to respect the animals and be humble. None of us know everything, so if you are not sure, please ask. Brinsley Animal Rescue Reg Charity 1135508 Page 20 of 20
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