Click here to read the stories of Buddy and Marco
Rescuing hedgehogs has filled a void in my life that I was unaware even existed.
To rescue a hedgehog is not for everyone. One never knows what shape the hedgehog will be in nor what sicknesses it may have. One doesn’t get to pick and choose the healthy, friendly ones but must accept them as they come. The rescued hedgehog may be friendly, mean, sick, healthy, deaf, blind, crippled- one just never knows until it arrives. To a hedgehog rescuer, it doesn’t matter. Each hedgehog that comes in will be loved and cared for as deeply as the others.
There are many things to prepare for in becoming a hedgehog rescuer. You must be prepared to handle large veterinarian bills. Odo has $500.00 in veterinarian bills plus what I paid to get her out of the pet store. Frodo tips the money scale at $1,200.00 in veterinarian bills so far but I paid nothing for her. Marco has had $650.00 in veterinarian bills so far plus the adoption fee. This is not counting medications, time spent nursing a sick hedgehog, food and other things involved in hedgehog rescues. Add in housing, bedding, toys and treats for a total cost estimate.
To raise money for adoption fees, veterinarian fees and travel expenses, I have sold my extra car, my boat, some of my tools, my generator, my compressor and other things. There never is enough money. The next thing one must be prepared for is spending all of your time loving and nursing a sick hedgehog. Hedgehogs get lonely and frightened when they lose their homes or come from an abusive situation. They require much attention and encouragement. I have given up camping trips, parties, social gatherings, etc… to stay at home with a new hedgehog that is frightened out of its wits. One must be prepared to spend all hours of the night watching over a new arrival to ensure that they are going to be ok. Hedgehogs are active at night and sleep during the day so one must adjust their schedule to compensate.
One of the last things that one must be prepared for are tears. Tears are going to be a constant companion to a hedgehog rescuer. It can become very stressful and discouraging to receive a hedgehog that is simply too far gone and does not respond to any act of kindness. This unfortunate hedgehog must receive the same love and care as another hedgehog would. This can be a great strain on the heart but that hedgehog must know as much love as can be provided for the rest of its life. There will be tears when a homeless hedgehog comes in that is in such bad physical shape that its chances of survival are slim. A hedgehog rescuer accepts a rescued hedgehog and provides for it until it dies. Hedgehogs can live up to six years so this is a long time commitment.
I am not the same person I was before I started doing hedgehog rescues. Sometimes I can’t help but to lie in bed at night and wonder what would have happened to Frodo or Marco if I hadn’t been there. I wonder if Odo would have survived without my intervention. I wonder if Ruby might have gone to an abusive home instead of being placed with me. What if I had not been there for each of them? This is the thought that keeps me awake some nights. There have been nights that I have cried myself to sleep because I cannot be there for every hedgehog that needs me.
To those who are doing hedgehog rescues now, I applaud you. You know all of that which I have previously stated. You know how much love it takes to do this. You have sat and cried at the condition one of your new arrivals was in. You have sat for hours in a veterinarian’s waiting room, hoping for the best and fearing the worse. You have felt the anger creeping in when someone tells you: “I just don’t want it anymore. It’s not what I thought it was going to be. I just don’t have time to care for it.” You wonder why this person didn’t think of this before getting a hedgehog? Why did this person not do any research and preparation before getting an exotic animal? You have watched in amazement as a hedgehog that came in all huffy and mad grows under your love and attention to become a beautiful little gift from heaven. You have wept in bitter frustration as a hedgehog just doesn’t accept any love and everything you have done to help it become friendly fails. You have experienced all of these things and more, as have I.
No, to do a rescue of a hedgehog is not for everyone to try. It’s not always peaches and cream. For every success story, there are two failures.
Yes, there are many downsides to hedgehog rescue. More expenses, more tears, more work. But there is an upside too. The knowledge that you have saved a hedgehog, given it love, and given it a true home. If you think hedgehog rescue is right for you, contact me.
Click here to read the story of Ruby
