These hedgehogs became entangled in an anti-bird netting. One almost smothered itself, and the other got inflammation and swelling in its feet, so they had to be kept by us for several days under supervision. The hedgehogs recovered. For three days they ate half a dozen quails, stank up the whole room and annoyed everyone.
After making sure that the hedgehogs were fine and they were healed up, I gathered them together and took them to the forest. I released them next to the pond in which Silva the goshawk likes to swim. Pool frogs (Pelophylax lessonae) and common newts (Lissotriton vulgaris) are spawning in the pond. Pretty cool and interesting but I had little time, unfortunately.
Very important information. This might be mind-blowing to some people!
-Adult hedgehogs should not be given milk! Never! They are lactose intolerant, therefore, if they drink milk they will end up with an upset stomach, diarrhoea and poisoning. Yes, hedgehogs will drink milk, but this does not mean that they can digest it. Small baby hedgehogs can be given real goat milk. Cow and packaged milk cannot be given under any circumstances. A hedgehog's liver will fail from digesting cow's milk.
What can we feed wild hedgehogs with, if the need arises? In nature, hedgehogs feed on small invertebrates (insects, worms, slugs, snails, etc.) and small vertebrates (rodents, lizards, chicks, etc.). They will not turn down carrion, which is why they often climb in garbage cans, looking for scraps. (This is also why you should crush tin cans/steel cans or plastic containers before throwing them in the bins, so hedgehogs and other animals won't get their heads stuck in them and starve to death)
Obviously, you should not give them leftovers, but if you have a mouse in your refrigerator, then you can give it to a hedgehog. Well, or maybe you can put a dead body out there if you need to get rid of it - hedgehogs will be happy with it. Just grind it so it's more convenient for them.
In a pet shop you can buy pet feed - crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, feed them to hedgehogs, and go broke while doing so. The best are chicken fillets, chicken "soup mixes", any entrails that are sold in stores (lungs, heart, liver, etc.). You can give them fish and shrimps too, but not all hedgehogs like them. Soft cat food in bags and canned food is excellent. So, if you need to feed a hedgehog, then do it right and teach others the correct way too.
Hedgehogs are predators. They do not carry apples and mushrooms on their spines and do not store them for the winter. They prey on mice and slugs. Therefore, please protect hedgehogs and do not drive them away. They are a gardener's friend. Well, rabies sometimes, but it doesn’t matter.
#Yoll #rescueanimals #savenature
*The title is a Russian expression - "в ежовых рукавицах" means "with an iron first/whip someone into shape/give someone a hard time" but Nika used it here in a literal way - it literally translates to "in hedgehog gloves"