Meet Sonny the hedgehog

A couple of weeks ago, on one of the last really sunny day of the year whilst eating his breakfast, my son noticed  a baby hedgehog outside our back door. Realising that it was very young and in need of food I offered it some mealworms and cat food, neither of which he would eat.

 

In a rush, a filled an empty box with dry leaves and brought him into the office where he was identified as being male. He drank some water and gobbled up a few live worms that staff collected from the Avon Wildlife Trust garden, after which he curled up and had a big sleep. Being an absolutely gorgeous creature and surprisingly receptive at being held, we all fell in love with him.

However, the next day he was taken to a hedgehog rescue centre in Stroud as he was only around 4 weeks old and still needed his mother's milk. A lovely lady called Carole is now syringe feeding him with special milk and keeping him on a heat pad until he gets a bit bigger. He has been steadily gaining weight ever since but it's unlikely that he will get big enough to hibernate and survive the winter. I'm hoping to welcome him back soon where I will keep him in a hutch and feed him through the cold months until Spring when he will be released into the wilds of my garden.

There's even been mention of having a girl too which will bring in new blood to the area and create healthier offspring so watch this space...........