(Site last updated Sunday, October 6th)

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On the 15th of August, 2002, I discovered we had a baby hedgehog living in our garden.  It was wandering around in the middle of the afternoon and didn't seem to be worried about my presence.  I approached it and took several pictures.  It won my heart immediately.  When Juergen came home, I tried to find it again, but wasn't able. 

The following day, I saw it ambling towards the ivy between our home and the neighbors.  I found Juergen and he was able to see it.  Juergen fell for it  too!  We put some cat food out for it and the next day the food was gone.  Then about an hour later, I found it sleeping in the partial shade under some ivy and about a foot from the cat food dish.  It bothered us that it was walking around in the daylight since they are nocturnal animals.  

We telephoned the local vet and they gave us the name of two local rescuers.  We contacted Frau Kessel who does rescue work in the area surrounding Kempen.  Hedgehogs (in German...Igel, prounounced like "eagle") are protected in Germany.  We contacted Frau Kessel and took it to her for examination.  Frau Kessel had 6 wooden crates in her rescue room with one hedgehog in each (they like their privacy).  She has a veritable clinic set up, complete with microscope!  She examined some feces and determined it had no worms or internal parasites.  She sprayed it with flea spray since EVERY hedgehog has fleas.  She saw that it was a female....so at once we had to rename it!  Juergen had named it "Eddie The Igel" (after the famous ski jumper, Eddie the Eagle).  Now that we know it is a "she", we changed the name to Edwina.  Frau Kessel explained that we needed to care for her to get her to the ideal release weight before hibernation this fall.  She only weighed 198 grams and release weight is a minimum of 650 grams. 

We need to feed her and care for her until she reaches this weight.  She must put on around 10 grams each day.  Frau Kessel described how to make a good food...100 grams of hamburger fried with one egg and one tablespoon of oatmeal.  She gave us some form of vitamin oil and calcium to supplement the food.  She was somewhat concerned with her breathing so she gave us a tablet of Baytril to crush and mix with 30 ml of water and advised us to administer 2 ml each day in her food.  This is a broad spectrum antibiotic.   We must bring her back in 3 weeks so Frau Kessel can check her over.  She is overwhelmed in the moment with 6 in her "clinic" and 4 more in her barn.  We were up for the challenge.  Edwina is a sweetheart!

But, we both had to learn how to touch her....no gloves.  She needs to get used to our scent.  Her spines are not real sharp, but hedgehogs have a tendency to jump a bit when touched and that is a little unnerving.  You must put one hand (palms up) on each side of her body.  Her tummy is very soft and after she is picked up she unrolls and her nose starts to wiggle.  She is really adorable.... 

Juergen built a beautiful wooden box for her (see pictures on the next page)...with a separate sleeping box inside the larger enclosure.  He had an old cupboard with finished wood.  They like security in a separate sleeping room, so the smaller box goes inside.  We stuff crumpled newspaper inside it for her to cuddle and nest in.  Juergen cut a "mouse hole" type door for her to go in and out.  We then put velcro on the top edge and stuck screening on the complete top to prevent the flies from getting inside and in her food.

We will post more pictures and tell you of her progress as the days go on.  The three above pictures were taken the first day I found her in the garden.  

It is Sunday, the 18th of August.  She has gained 35 grams so far and that is super!  She sleeps alot during the day and we get to spend a little time with her at feeding time which is around 9 or 10 p.m.  Boy, does she poop alot and they are like little piggies....we need to keep fresh air circulating in the garden building because it gets a little stinky!  But with that face..who couldn't put up with a little stink? 

We had seen an adult hedgehog about 3 weeks earlier lying dead in the street.  We had picked it up off the street and buried it in our garden.  We think now that it quite possibly had been Edwina's mom.  This is the reason we are caring for her - so that she has a better chance of surviving the hibernation and winter with more weight gain.