Case File

A wild hedgehog was brought to the Nailsea practice a few weeks ago, having been found stuck on a sharp bit of garden fence. With hedgehog populations steadily declining since the early 2000s, it’s vital we look after them, so we took him in to have a better look.

He had an anaesthetic so we could take some x-rays and examine the leg. Although it was incredibly swollen, there were no broken bones. The x-rays showed ‘growth plates’ still present within his bones, meaning he is still a growing boy, which made it all the more important to do everything we could to get him back out into the wild.

On further inspection, there was a deep puncture wound with lots of swelling and infection. We cleaned and sterilised the wound and treated him with antibiotics and painkillers. The swelling improved and he seemed a lot more comfortable. He even started coming out of his shell (so to speak!) during his hospital stay!

Once he is fully recovered, he will be re-habilitated back into the wild, where hopefully he will thrive.