Wild Hedgehog flea treatment

tlhayton on September 6th 2009, 3:53 pm

We have just rescued a baby hedgehog from being flattened on a busy road and it has fleas. We are quarantining it and wondered what we could treat it with, would puppy or kitten frontline be ok?

enola69 on September 6th 2009, 3:55 pm

not sure

vet told me it would be but think something ivamectin (prob spelt wrong) is more commonly used in wild hogs. Contact dink on here as she will be able to give u good advice. Have read conflicting advice on frontline and wild hogs.

How old is it?
Weight?
pics??????

Biscuitbum on September 6th 2009, 3:57 pm

No! dont use anything for cats or dogs it can kill them!!!! give me a min and il find you some info.

Biscuitbum on September 6th 2009, 3:57 pm

Use that as your bible!!!

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/health.htm

They know what they are talking about, it has to be the johnsons Rid mite POWDER, NOT THE SPRAY AS IT WILL KILL THEM.

Its also called anti-mite, most pet shops sell it and its for birds.

enola69 on September 6th 2009, 4:02 pm

dink says the stuff BB has just posted about!!!!

she will be online soon - just out at mo!!!

Biscuitbum on September 6th 2009, 4:06 pm

are you sure its fleas and not mites?

if its a very young hedgehog it might be better handing it over to a carer or local rescue centre as a lot of things can go wrong with them,

try this for carers

http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/search.php

My male wild hog Laurel had mites and ringworm so he had to be treated with Ivermectin and Imaverol, otherwise it is very uncomfortable for them.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IVERMECTIN-DROPS-0-1-10ml-SPOT-ON-TREATMENT-OF-MITES_W0QQitemZ380152634592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Birds?hash=item5882dcdce0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

It has to this percentage otherwise the dose is too high.

The diet if its a baby has to be goats milk if its still being fed from mum, never cows milk.

I feed mine on a diet of chicken flavoured wet cat food (nothing fish based), chicken and beef cat biscuits, crickets, mealworms, crushed wild bird nuts (not salted) and a small amount of raisins.

tlhayton on September 6th 2009, 7:43 pm

Thanks for all the info, have some bird mite spray but will get some powder. The little chap has tucked into some cat biscuits that we are feeding our APH and it seems to be coping with them. Will let you know how he gets on. He is slightly smaller than an 8week old APH btw.

**dink** on September 6th 2009, 7:51 pm

hiya,

i have just sent you an e-mail Embarassed

if its that small you will need to crush the biscuits and if it is baby age then goats milk will need to be given.
well done for saving it.

At some point i'm going to put a post up with my contact number so people can get hold of me, as its typical that i miss posts Rolling Eyes

enola69 on September 6th 2009, 7:52 pm

hey i let u know about it Embarassed

tlhayton on September 6th 2009, 7:56 pm

Hi Dink,

Just got the email thanks. It is eating small cat biscuits with no problem, it doesn't appear to have any other problem apart from fleas which we will get the mite powder for to treat him. Since we picked him up this afternoon he has gone back to sleep and then woken just now for some more food. We will give our vets a ring in the morning and see if they will give it the once over. Are there any guidelines for weight/size of a normal hedgehog?

**dink** on September 6th 2009, 8:08 pm

enola69 wrote:hey i let u know about it

i know you did hun and am very grateful for that lau

(need a kissy face smiley!!)

okay hog weight, they need to be 600g by the end of september to be able to hibernate safely.
if its spines have a pinched look then its dehydrated, if it looks like it has big feet and a really pointy face then it is under weight (also if it has a pinched bum!)
as a rough guide to what it should be eating, it should gain about 10g a day, if the bowl is empty in the morning add more food as there should always be a little left over.

on this page they have treatments suitable for hoglets
http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/rearing2.htm#drugs you can print it out and take it to the vets with you, there is also a first aid page too.
how big would you say it was in comparison to your hand, that helps establish age

tlhayton on September 6th 2009, 8:25 pm

My husband has just taken some pix and is processing them now and I will upload them soon. The hog is only 75 grams and is smaller than my husbands hand as you will see in the pics shortly.