Kuniko Vroman's European Adoption Story:
Kuniko Vroman's European Hedgehog, Hogen-Dazs, at The Fylde Hedgehog Rescue Trust.
July 21st, 2003
Hi Kuniko,
My sincere apologies for the delay in getting this adoption to you. It’s so busy here there isn’t much spare time I'm afraid. This is the hedgehog I have chosen for you to adopt. Please get in touch and let me know the special name you have chosen for her.
This hedgehog arrived at the Hospital in a very bad way. She was found lying in a garden suffering from severe shock and by the time she had been brought to us she had completely collapsed. We are not sure what had happened to her, but what ever it was it must have been very traumatic.
She was very unresponsive and her little body was quite limp. She was quickly given warmed replacement fluids by injection, followed by a homeopathic remedy for shock. Although there was obviously something very wrong, she wasn’t showing any signs at all of illness or any injuries. She was carefully wrapped in warm towels and placed in an incubator. I observed her very carefully for the next couple of hours, repeating the homeopathic remedy every fifteen minutes until she became more responsive.
The following morning however, whatever trauma she had suffered had taken its toll overnight. She had aborted her litter of babies. They were all dead. She now needed careful nursing and plenty of TLC to get her over her loss.
Over the following few days, she remained in the incubator and was kept very quiet with the minimum of disturbance. She wasn’t eating which was a worry, and so her fluid levels were kept up. Gradually though she began to make a little progress, and she is now attempting to eat by her self which is a positive sign.
She still remains in the incubator, but hopefully if she continues to progress she will be moved into a recovery unit soon. After this, all being well she will be transferred into a fully enclosed garden for a couple of week’s convalescence, before being released into a safe area back into the wild.
Thank you Kuniko for sponsoring this little hedgehog. I will send you a follow up report to let you know the progress she has made.
With kind regards,
Janis Dean
©2001-2006 The Hedgehog Welfare Society
