Wee Billy isn't that wee anymore - could you help the hedgehogs in our care at the GSPCA
Submitted by Steve on 16:54, 24th Feb, 2016 |
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Every year hundreds of hedgehogs are rescued and cared for at the GSPCA in Guernsey.
Last September as the summer ended and autumn was setting in a 26g baby hoglet was found, rescued and brought into the GSPCA.
Wee Billy when he was rescued was tiny and really needed his mum as he relied on being milk fed and toileted.
Thanks to the team at the Animal Shelter Wee Billy received around the clock care in an intensive care unit and its wasn't long before we saw the weight gain and growth.
With staff bottle feeding Wee Billy and toileting him to start he was soon weaned on to mashed food and later onto dry biscuits and other feed.
Due to his size and the winter weather Wee Billy has had to stay in our care for nearly 6 months, but he is now a young adult and doing extremely well.
Hedgehogs struggle during the winter in Guernsey as not only is food scarce the temperatures rarely drop below 5c which they need it to be before they can hibernate.
We are always appealing for support towards the care of our hedgehogs and some of the items we use regularly are:
Honey
Spikes Hedgehog food (we do sell this at the GSPCA)
Dry and tinned cat food (not fish)
Esbilac (hand rear dry powder milk)
Meal worms
To heat, provide vet treatment and care for the 40 hedgehogs at the GSPCA means we are always looking for sponsors and whether you or your business would like to support the care you can donate below or become an Angel Pen Pal sponsor and to find out more details and download a formplease click here.
There are any other ways to support the care of the hedgehogs like:
Book a table at our Masquerade Ball at the Farmhouse on the 1st April - please click here
All this week you have a chance to see behind the scenes at the GSPCA and also see where the hedgehogs are cared for. Tours are at 2pm on Friday and Saturday and to find out more please click here.
Sarah Ozanne GSPCA Animal Care Assistant said "Wee Billy a hoglet or baby hedgehog was so small when he was found in St Saviors all alone with no mum."
"It is such a worry when we rescue hoglets as we don't know if their mums left them as they weren't well or if something had happened to them."
"Wee Billy was only 26g's when we started bottle feeding him last September and now nearly 6 months on he is over 28 times his original weight."
"We hope to get Wee Billy back to the wild in the near future we just need to ensure the weather and his weight sre suitable first."
Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said "With the end of winter still here in Guernsey and the cold then mild temperatures constantly changing it can be a struggle for those hedgehogs that have had to endure the last few months."
"For a hedgehog to hibernate it needs to be below 5c and as it has been rarely below that here in Guernsey many have to find food and make it through the lean months."
"That means we often help many hedgehogs through the winter and are always appealing for support towards their care."
"There are many ways to not only help the hedgehogs in your garden from putting out food for them to providing shelter you can also donate in many ways including sponsoring one of the hedgehog pens and have a plaque on the door."
"We have a sponsorship called the Angel Pen Pal scheme which is a way you can donate each month to help the many hedgehogs and hoglets at the GSPCA."
"To find out more please pop in, call 257261 or on our web site."
They have relatively long legs - about 10cms (4") and these enable them to run as fast as we can walk.
Their front feet are shorter and broader than their back ones.
The claws on their powerful front feet are particularly useful for digging.
Each night (when not hibernating) Hedgehogs will probably make a slow and apparently haphazard search for food and will travel between 2-3kms (1-2 miles).
They have small bright eyes but cannot see very well. At night they will use their excellent sense of smell and hearing to guide them.
Their weight will be largely determined by the food they get, but most one-year olds will weigh between 450-680gms (1-1½1bs).
Self-anointing is an activity only Hedgehogs do. It seems to be connected with strange smells or tastes that cause them to produce large quantities of frothy saliva. They then spread the foam over their spines by flicking it with their tongue.
If a young Hedgehog survives its early life in the nest and then its first hibernation, it can expect to live for 4 or 5 years longer. By this time it will be getting old but might live to the age of ten.
Generally they lead solitary lives and tend to go out of their way to avoid other Hedgehogs, except during the mating season.
Like most mammals the Hedgehog has a characteristic smell and this will usually warn other hedgehogs to keep out of the way.
In the mating season the male may be attracted by the different smell of the female and commence a rather prolonged and noisy courtship with her.
Hedgehogs do not pair bond - the female raises her young unaided by the male.
At the GSPCA we see more sick and injured Hedgehogs than any other species of wild animal.
The GSPCA when we release Hedgehogs ensure they are painted purple with plastic coded tags attached to their spines and to ensure we can identify them if they return in years to come we now also microchip them.
8 days on and Bonnie the seal pup is doing better than we could have hoped http://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/10-days-and-bonnie-seal-pup-doing-better-we-could-have-hoped
The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus, meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig") is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. Its name is spelled gray seal in the US; it is also known as Atlantic grey seal and the horsehead seal
Grey seal adults may be up to 2.5 metres in length and weigh up to 250kg, with males tending to be larger than females.
Previous seal pups rescued Jethou Bumblebee was 17kg on entry and Hanois 20kg, Eden 18kg and Trinity 15kg which was less than half the 40kg they should have been for their age with Bonnie only 14kg.
Male grey seals reach sexual maturity at 6 years, Females at 3 to 5 years and the latter give birth to their pups in the Autumn and early Winter.
Typically the first British pups are born off the Scillies and Cornwall in August and September and the time of pupping is progressively later as you move clockwise around the British Isles, the latest pups being born off the east coast of Scotland in late December.
All seal pups rescued locally were born early November to late December.
At, birth, grey seal pups weigh about 13 kg. and are covered in long, creamy white hair. A bond is formed between mother and pup at birth, and a mother can recognise her pup from its call and smell. For the first 3 weeks of their lives, pups rarely swim, suckling from their mothers 5 to 6 times a day, for up to 10 minutes at a time. The mothers milk is rich in fat and the pups rapidly put on weight.
The seal pups rescued have all been around two to three weeks when they were brought into the GSPCA.
The mother tends to remain just offshore between suckling bouts and rarely feeds, losing up to a quarter of her body weight before her pup is weaned.
Grey seal pups are weaned after losing their baby coat at 3 to 4 weeks of age. At this point, they weigh 40 to 50 kg; three times their birth weight.
The pups live off these fat reserves whilst learning to feed, which may take several weeks.
The adult females which are called cows become fertile soon after weaning their pups, mating with the adult males which are called bulls, who hold territories during the breeding season and may mate with over half a dozen cows.
Mating can take place on land or in water and pregnancy last for 11.5 months, there being a period of 3.5 months when the fertilised embryo does not attached to the wall of the uterus and its development is arrested ("delayed implantation"). As a result, pups are born at the same time each year.
Grey seals moult annually in the spring, 3 to 5 months, after the end of the breeding season.
In the wild, males may live for about 25 years, females for about 35 years.
We will of course keep you up to date with Bonnie's progress and keep your eyes open for pictures and videos.
If anyone see's a pup with or without a mum we really do appreciate a call so that we are aware of its location and condition but here is some advice.
A healthy pup looks like a big, stuffed maggot without a neck. However, a thin pup looks sleek (but not bony) and has a visible neck, like a healthy dog.
PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE SEAL. They can give a nasty bite, which will become infected by bacteria that live in a seal’s mouths.
Note: Do not allow dogs or other animals to harass a seal.
If a Seal is scared back into the water, it could then be washed out to sea by strong currents and be lost. You should not put a seal pup back in the sea as it may get into difficulty.
If a Seal pup is sick, thin or injured then we would ask you to contact the GSPCA immediately on 01481 257261 day or night
When reporting an injured, sick or abandoned seal to the GSPCA, please make sure you are able to supply the following information:
Exact location; nearest town / village
Position on the beach, and state of the tide
How long you have observed the pup; any disturbance / risk to it; whether the mother has been seen
Any wounds / obvious signs of illness
Length/colour/condition.
Caution:- Handling of any animal either domestic, wild, dead or alive may be potentially hazardous. Obvious dangers include bites, scratches and general hygiene issues. Common sense should be applied in all instances and, if unsure, seek additional advice or assistance. Personal hygiene should be taken into consideration after handling any animal, whether it’s domestic, wild, dead or alive.
To see some of the previous stories follow the links below
Extremely sick and weak Grey Seal Pup rescued at Corbier now at the GSPCAhttp://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/extremely-sick-and-weak-grey-seal-pup-rescued-corbier-now-gspca
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