Sonny Side Up

When a very sick, sad, emaciated little hog - estimated at 3 months old, was surrendered to Hedgehog Rescue New Zealand in July 2014 little did anyone suspect the drama that was about to unfold. She had appalling mange, lungworm, pneumonia/ or a chest infection and had lost an eye from a dog
attack in the recent past. Her rescuer had been well meaning but the care Sonny (then Sonic) had received was sadly, not ideal and her death was imminent. But Sonny was a fighter and after 6 months of intensive care and therapy with Narelle Sonny was healthy and getting ready for release.

I first heard about Sonny on October 23rd 2013, when we meet Narelle for the first time on the day we delivered Stinky Pete into her capable hands. Narelle explained that she didn't know what to do about Sonny as she had discovered that Sonny was completely blind in her remaining eye. Narelle had been readying Sonny for release when she began to suspect that she couldn't see and a visit to an animal Ophthalmologist unfortunately confirmed her suspicions. The outlook for Sonny's future looked bleak as she had now been in care for over 9 months and was growing depressed and stressed. This is a common problem with Hedgehogs that are in captivity, and is why the European Hedgehog can't be kept as a 'pet'.  Narelle went on to explain that because she was blind, Sonny couldn't be released. In the UK when this sort of situation arises the welfare groups find an enclosed garden to release the hoggie into but here in New Zealand our gardens aren't set up that way - and are generally far too large for a blind hog to cope with anyway. So, the only other option looming for Sonny was euthanasia.

I thought about it for about a nano second then offered to take Sonny, describing what I could provide for her. Narelle was shocked but hopeful! You see, we have an odd shaped side portion of our garden that I suspected would be the perfect size for a release garden for Sonny. It was fenced on 1 1/2 sides, with the house forming another side. We would 'only' need to fence & gate the remaining short sections....oh,  and I would need to trench and bury a 'dig out' proof barrier on three sides- yay! We talked about Sonny on and off for the next few days and I worked out a plan for Sonny's transition and once Narelle was happy with everything we arranged for her to bring Sonny down to us.

In the mean time I got busy and built a lid for one of my dog exercise pens, which would be Sonny's first stage of release.

Sonny's 'Phase One' Pre Release Pen

Her release needed to be handled carefully as she hadn't been 'out of captivity' since she was a tiny baby and of course, she is blind so any changes had to be gradual so avoid increasing her stress levels. Once she arrived; on November 2nd, I cut an opening in her hutch and built a ramp so that she could access the pen safely.

 

"What IS this thing?"

The very first night, Sonny was down that ramp like she'd been using it all of her life and she spent a long time exploring and going up and down the ramp obviously figuring out and mapping this new place.
My initial intention had been for Sonny's Garden to be ready for her within a few months but a few days after she arrived I was suddenly informed that the surgery I had been waiting to have since August was finally going to happen on November 20th.

This complicated things immensely as I knew I would be out of action for at least 3-5 months post op. and I didn't want Sonny to be stuck in the small pen for that long. The solution was to extend her temporary run and Chris and I sorted that out; when he came home on leave 2 weeks after my surgery, by adding another dog pen to her existing pen - Phase Two of Pre Release. This doubled her space and in the mean time I got 'busy' getting over my surgery.

Chris was next home in early March and the plan was to build 'Sonny's Sanctuary' and release her once it was complete - I have a very tolerant and indulgent hubby LOL! In the mean time Sonny had some adventures on the lawn - she rather likes Miss Effie.

Oh, Hello! What kind of Hedgehog are you?

Hmmm This Snail is GOOD!

And she proved herself a stealthy, efficient hunter of snails.

I had decided to move Sonny into her sanctuary (once Posh had been released - vacating her pre release pen) for at least two weeks prior to being set free in the orchard as I wanted her to learn some of the new, larger space without being too overwhelmed and to lay her scent trail along the side of the house, leading up to her hutch. So I dismantled part of her existing pen and added it to what had been Posh's pre release pen in the orchard, moved her hutch and set her up.

Sonny's Phase Three Pre Release Pen

She was confused but soon sorted out the new space. In the mean time Chris came home and we started figuring out just what we were going to do and how to go about it.

In order to contain a HH the 'walls' of an enclosure need to be at least 600mm high, a dig barrier to at least a depth of 300mm needs to be installed and no gaps can measure more than 25mm.

Digging the Trench

I had been thinking about the logistics of meeting these criteria for ages and knew which supplies we needed and what needed to be done. So, Chris and Declan swung into action building the fences and gates and Donna and I got busy digging boundary trenches, then cutting up Cement board before  burying it.

Burying the cement board

Hoggie Colditz Wall!

 When Chris first called me outside to see the completion of the 'Eastern Wall' and gate I have to admit I found it a bit confronting - it looked huge, ugly and well ..... a bit like Colditz! LOL. But, after moving my plants back in front of it and living with it for a while I have decided I rather like it.








 'The Wall' actually adds definition and privacy to the orchard and also reduces the wind tunnel down the side of the house.

Sonny's hutch tucks in nicely behind the wall and is nice and sheltered from the weather.

 At the other end of the orchard I have always planned/wanted a tall gate - mostly to reduce the wind screaming through the gap, so that's what Chris and I built. It isn't quite finished yet but is complete enough to contain Miss Sonny. This will help to shelter both the vege garden and the fruit trees when we get blustery weather. It also further defines this area of the garden and overall improves the look/aesthetic which is a hidden and happy bonus that we hadn't planned on.

 Finally on March 30th; after waiting for nearly 5 months, Sonny was released into her orchard. She has adapted really well and because she is blind I can go out at night, turn the lights on or use a torch and 'spy on her'. It's a lot of fun!

Toodle Pip Tom Thumb

Late on the evening of December 29th Geri's boyfriend's parents arrived on the doorstep with a tiny bundle. And so Tom Thumb came into our lives. He was found in the middle of Thomas Rd, late at night and at this size should still have been with his mum; and nursing, for another 6-9 weeks. So, somehow he had lost his mum, or something had happened to her and he had come out of his nest looking for food. He weighed a scant 95gms and was to die for cute.

 

Tom stayed with us for a week but our allergies went bananas so Declan's parents stepped up to the plate and took over his care. He had no health issues, was simply an orphan and for the most part he had an uncomplicated journey into teenagehood.

On January 23rd; when he was 438gms, Tom came back into my care and I set him up in an outside hutch with a warm bed and a heat pad.

Tom exploring on the grass the day he came back into our care.

He gained at the impressive rate of around 100gms per week and was good and wild by the time he hit 750gms. I released him into the garden on Febuary 9th after tucking him up with some supper in the release box I had made him.

The ungrateful little brat took off as soon as night fell, he didn't even stop for something to eat.

Happy travels little man.

A Woodlands Wanderling finds us

It was January 13th and I was going just a little crazy having been cooped up and on enforced rest since having my surgery in Novemeber. Geri, Declan and I decided to take a trip out to the Woodlands Historic Homestead and Gardens Cafe for lunch.

Woodlands Historic Homestead and Gardens

It was a fiendishly hot afternoon but we decided to go for a gentle stroll in the gardens anyway aka I didn't want to go home yet!

As we wandered down one of the pathways into the gardens Declan spotted - you guessed it, a baby HH curled up in the hot sun at the side of the path. Leaving Declan and Geri to keep an eye on it I went back to the car for the small collapsible animal carrier I keep in the boot exactly for a moment like this.  I scooped the little one up, popped it in the carrier and off we went home with our precious cargo.


We named him Woody and he weighed in at 159gms. Once again, we were heading up to Auckland a few days later so Narelle asked us to bring Woody up with us and said she would arrange a carer for him. We needed the hogs placed elsewhere as Geri and I had had some terrible allergic reactions to them  if they were in the house for more than 24-48 hours.

Woody was a lively wee chap, in fact he was almost hyeractive and seemed to thrive; eating and drinking, pooing and peeing like a trooper. Once up in Auckland he was placed with Lynne, a new fosterer who was very excited to have him in her care. Sadly after a few more days of cheeky busyness Woody suddenly past away. Narelle made the decision to have him autopsied as she had had a few cases very similar to Woody's - presenting with hyperactivity, seeming to thrive and then suddenly dying. Berend; the vet, found that all of Woody's organs were enlarged and there was nothing we could have done that would have saved him. He theorised that Woody had eaten poison - probably slug bait, or that his mother had eaten it and that he had been poisoned via her milk. It was very sad but at least his last days were full of love, warmth, security and good food.

RIP Woody - May your spirit happily roam the gardens over the Rainbow Bridge for ever more.

and they called him Stinky Peeeeeeeeeete .... just because they didn't know.

On October 22nd there was a knock at the door. It was Donna and she told me she'd just walked past a hog (out in the daytime = bad) around the corner. She was just grabbing something to carry it with and would be back with it in a flash.

This boy weighed 430gms on admission and was far too light for his size. Apart from missing his outside toes on both of his front feet, there was nothing obviously wrong with him which was puzzling, however he was VERY smelly which usually indicates Mange although there was no sign of that either.... After we tucked him up with a heatpad and some food and water and I contacted Narelle and we wondered if Pete had lost his toes in a strimmer/weed eater accident - unfortunatley, this is not an uncommon injury.

We had arranged to meet up with Narelle in Auckland the following day so that I could give her some Hog Hospital Boxes I had made for her and when we spoke, Narelle offered to take Stinky Pete; as Geri had named him LOL, for me.

Hog Hospital boxes

So off we went to Auckland the next day with Stinky Pete in tow. Although we didn't know it at the time this was to be the beginning of a new era of 'Hog Trafficking' between Narelle and me.

Although Pete initially did well, he started losing weight and his stinkyness got worse. He also had some white toes and this discolouration started moving up his feet towards his legs. Narelle is an amazing super sleuth when it comes to hogs and she eventually suspected that Pete had a fungal issue. Her vet; Berend, concurred and a biopsy was cultured. The results showed a fungus that Berend had never seen before - and he is very experienced with HH treatment etc. They concluded that Pete had lost his toes not to a strimmer, but to the fungal attack/infection.

In spite of Narelle and Berend's best efforts, Pete wasn't responding to any treatment, continued to loose weight, the fungus was basically killing his feet and was eventually going to move up higher onto his legs so the decision was made to put him out of his misery.

RIP Stinky Pete - may the air ever be fresh and sweet for you over the Rainbow Bridge.

Pebbles - and so it began...

On a sunny afternoon in late September 2013 I got a text from my neighbour and good friend; Donna. She had spotted a little Hedgehog in her back garden and wanted me to come over and have a look. The timing of this event was a bit spooky as just the week before I had told the shelter that I had been fostering kittens for (but had to stop - that's a whole other story) that if they got any small mammals in; including Hedgehogs, that needed care I would try to help them out.

By the time I got over to Donna's she had put some food down for the wee hoggie and we watched as it munched away - it was obviously very hungry. When I picked her up she was feather light and boney. Then, when she rolled into a ball her bottom end was 'pointy' instead of round - indicating a very underweight HH. We named her Pebbles because Donna had found her in the pebble garden.

At this stage I didn't know a lot about HHs but I did know that as a general rule they shouldn't be outside during the day, and that this wee one was too little to be out alone and was seriously underweight so I scooped it her and brought her home. Once I had her settled in a cage with a heat pad, some food and water I contacted Hedgehog Rescue New Zealand.

Luckily for me I had stumbled across the Facebook page for Hedgehog Rescue New Zealand earlier that week (another spooky coincidence!) and I had offered to become involved with their rescue efforts. I guess Pebbles overheard the conversation. Narelle called me and talked me through what I needed to do and what to watch out for. Pebbles did really well for the first 36 hours but late on the second night she went down hill fast and sadly passed away during the night. We have no idea what the problem was, but HHs can be notoriously difficult to save and she was so very tiny, poor baby.

RIP Pebbles. Have a happy time playing over the Rainbow Bridge.

Greetings

I am involved with an organisation called Hedgehog Rescue New Zealand. The founders; Narelle and Jacqui, are passionate about animal welfare with a special focus on Hedgehogs. This blog will follow the the ups and downs, happy and not so happy endings of the hogs that are in my care. Over the next few weeks I'll write up 'back stories' for the hogs that have already passed through my doors since I fostered my first little one; Pebbles, early in the summer of 2013.