Poorly, thin hedgehog

A little hedgehog has been brought in covered in ticks.   To have so many is serious.  He’s been to the vet and had an antibiotic injection as he’s not breathing well so could have pneumonia.  The urgent action needed now is to get rid of these parasites.  We have a tick remover, which is a small gadget that gets them off root and all.  If you try to pull a tick off there’s the danger that the sucker part will break off and stay in the skin, it’s likely to cause infection and an abscess if it does.

This poor little chap has ticks in his eyes and on his feet even.  The ticks are still alive when we get them off so we put them straight into a pot of grease, it’s the only way to keep them stuck down.  Then we burn them.  Trying to squash them doesn’t work and we have to be sure they’re eliminated, if they jump on to us, they’ll bite – ticks carry a serious illness for humans with hospital and months of ill health.  If you get bitten by a tick don’t ignore it even if you feel alright at the time.   Go to see your doctor who will advise.

This poor  little hedgie is thin so he has been suffering for some time.  This is the worst infestation we’ve seen in a long time.  If you find a hedgehog always check him for ticks, if you get them off you’ll be saving his life.

We’re doing our best but he doesn’t look very well does he?