Hedwig's Hotel Hedgehog Rescue, 53 Stucley Road, Bideford (2026)

07/06/2026

*Edit-also looking for a volunteer for Friday's from 12pm, message Tina Hawkins if interested 😊

This is Franklyn with 3 of her babies feeding.
Franklyn gave birth in Rescue and so far she is a brilliant mum 😍

The babies have started venturing out of the nest and are also eating royal canin puppy starter mousse.

We currently have:
17 adult hogs,
3 juvenile hogs.,
4 babies with mum,
And 10 orphan babies who are hand fed every 2 hours.

So that brings us up to 34 hedgehogs in our care.

With this in mind, we are getting low on food we need cat food in jelly and puppy starter mousse.
If you are able to donate any please do, your donations of both supplies and money make us able to continue what we do.

Our Amazon Wishlist, bank and PayPal details are on the pinned post at the top of this page and on our website.

Any donations are very much appreciated. 🦔

03/06/2026

Another release today.

This is Basil, he was found by one of our volunteers in their garden looking not quite right and out in the daytime.

He has capillaria which he received treatment for.

As you might be able to see he's a proper little character.

He was quite unhappy with the care and Hotel room, in fact in true rockstar style he trashed his room every night. He regularly tipped over all of his dishes and spilt everything.

We will miss him however we will not miss cleaning him out 😂

This video is when he was in his box just before release taken by our lovely volunteer.
We are getting busier now with poorly hogs and babies.

Franklyn is still doing well with her litter and they have started venturing into the food area to enjoy their royal canin starter puppy mousse.

Please donate if you can, a monthly donation of £1 would help these spike cuties more than you think and is less than a coffee ☕ details of how to donate are on our pinned post on this page and on our website

27/05/2026

We have had a bit of a rough week here,
Sadly the babies from the previous video didn't make it 😢 they passed very quickly after each other so that could be an indication that they had some kind of illness. They only had a 30% chance of survival but that doesn't make it easier.

We had another surprise birth, we didn't think she was pregnant as she was quite small. Unfortunately she wasn't ready to be a mum 😢 we don't check maternity hutches until the babies are at least 10 days old so that we don't stress out mum. Sadly on inspection, all 5 of her babies were dead. It didn't look like she had attacked them but she possibly neglected them or they were poorly.

The finder has named her Delores after a horror film character and after hearing the plot the name sort of fits.

On a happier note, Franklyn and her babies are doing great 😍

This is Delores.

We are getting busier and any donations are gratefully received.
Please donate if you can.

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

19/05/2026

A bit of an update,
We have been busy organising the residents ready to go home 🏡

These are just a few,
Elizabeth
Mr Prickles
Mr Pebbles
Charlie
Dale
Chip
Diamond
Emerald
Amber

So although there haven't been many posts, we are busy.

We currently have 3 who are possibly pregnant, we can't actually tell without scans, obviously that would be expensive at a vet and sadly we don't have a ultrasound scan machine so the best we can do is keep them here until a due date has passed.

We do this because we don't know for sure if babies will come or how far a pregnancy might be. For example if mum gives birth a day after being released, she might not have time to make a suitable nest.

Please donate if you can to help us to help them.
A monthly donation of £1 would be incredible if all of our followers were able, this would cover our monthly costs and veterinary bills.

You can donate by:

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

Details for our amazon wishlist and physical donations are on the pinned post at the top of this page.

19/05/2026

Fabulous donation from a local group who raise money for various organisations throughout the year.
Thank you West Quay Fundraisers

12/05/2026

Just a little video of one of our little guys getting the hang of lapping on his own.

11/05/2026

Hedgehog awareness week has now finished I hope you found some of the information useful 😊

Now to introduce you to some of our new residents.

That's right, baby season has started.

Sometimes it's difficult to identify the gender of a hedgehog, it depends how well they uncurl. Hence Frank who on Friday we discovered that he had given birth. Now known as Franklyn, she is a mum to 5 bundles of joy. She was in an incubator but we had to move them all into a double hutch with a privacy door so they can be left alone. Obviously we had to do this extremely carefully and quickly. We haven't checked inside the nesting area but are hoping she's a good mum. (photo 1)

Our next babies were found by a dog, mum was originally with them but must have been frightened away. Sadly after several hours she didn't return so we collected 4 babies. We estimate them to be around 10 day old and the smallest was 44g and the biggest 50g which is pretty small. Their eyes and ears are not yet open.
They are however taking their specialist formula well and have put on some weight. (photo 2)

Babies cost a lot to feed as all of the food is very specialised to give them the best start we can. We all know they'd be better with mum but we need to do our very best to help them.

On that note, please donate if you can, baby food is not cheap but if several people can donate a bit, it will mount up to enable us to order the baby food.

You can donate via:

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

09/05/2026

Hedgehog awareness day 7

Fly strike.
When you see a hedgehog out in the day, it usually means it is ill and needs help.

The only exception is a mum who will be out foraging for food while the babies sleep but they will be moving with purpose not slow or lying down.

Fly strike is basically when a fly lays eggs on an animal.

If a hedgehog is slow or not moving it makes it an easy target. Wounds are illness will attract flies.

Once the fly lands, they can lay hundreds of eggs. The eggs look like tiny grains of rice and are attached with a substance that is sticky and glue like. See the photos below.

The eggs hatch into maggots. Maggots will find their way in through any open area such as eyes, ears, mouth, ge***al areas and open wounds. Once inside they will feed and basically eat their way out.

Fly strike can be removed and maggots can also be treated depending on the internal damage. The hedgehog will be in pain so medication is given.

Although we usually say to keep a hedgehog warm if found, this is the one time that we would say not to. Heat can accelerate the hatching process and the eggs are easier and faster to sort than maggots.

It is now time that flies are getting more common due to the weather warming. It is vital to get help as soon as possible.

The guy in the photo made a full recovery and was released.

Please donate if you can details are below and our amazon wish list is in the pinned post at the top of this page.

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

08/05/2026

Hedgehog awareness week day 6

Today I'm going to do a post on internal and external parasites.

FLEAS. Many people think that hedgehogs are covered in fleas. In 7 years we have on ever seen 3 hedgehogs with fleas and 1 of them only had 1.
Hedgehog fleas are species specific, this means that they will NOT live on your pets. If they do get on a cat or dog they will literally jump straight off.
Unfortunately because people think they are covered in fleas, it can prevent them wanting to touch them to get help. 😔

TICKS. Ticks are common in hedgehogs. This is due to them being so close to the ground when walking around.
Adult hedgehogs can be OK with up to 10 ticks, however as a lot of the ticks will be around the back legs and tail areas it's difficult to tell how many they have until they are in rescue or the vets.
Ticks can also be a sign of underlying health issues.

MITES. Mites are tiny arachnids, they live on animals and eat the dry skin. They will then defecate. This then dries and gets hard. In extreme cases, this leaves the hedgehog unable to move and it forms a layer that looks like concrete.
The effects can be seen in photo 2

LUNGWORM. Hedgehogs can get lungworm from eating slugs and snails, just like your pets can catch. We test faecal samples which is the only way to find them. Symptoms can be coughing and weight loss.

CAPILLARIA. This is a round worm that can be transmitted through dirty water bowls and other sources. Again only found under a microscope.
Photo 1

THORNYHEAD. This is another type of worm and as the name suggests it has thorns that attach to the intestine. It can be painful and faecal samples don't always show them.

FLUKE. Another worm. These can sometimes be seen in the faecal without a microscope. They are around 1cm long. They cause pain which makes the hog hyperactive.

These are not all the things but the most common.

As always, please donate if you can, any amount or item from our amazon wishlist is very much appreciated.

To donate you can use the details below or through the pinned post at the top of this page. 🦔

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

07/05/2026

Hedgehog awareness week day 5

Lets talk babies.
A female hedgehog is pregnant for up to 35 days.

They do however have quite a unique system that allows them to hold in the babies if they don't feel they are safe or have an appropriate nest. Quite clever really.

Another thing that's very interesting is that for each litter, the hoglet's can all have different dad's. The male doesn't have any involvement it's all down to mum.

The babies are born with their spikes but they are under a membrane. After a few hours the spines come through.

If mum feels that there is something wrong with a baby, she might just leave it and not feed it to give the others a better chance. It has been known that she will also eat them. She can also eat them if she thinks they are in danger. Mums will also take them for a walk and if there is one that again she doesn't think will do well she will just leave it somewhere, a bit like the hansel and gretal story.

The babies will start venturing out of the nest at around 4 weeks of age. This is when mum will teach them how to forage. At this time, the babies are still taking mums milk in addition to eating the bettles and bugs. This is their weaning stage. The hoglet's are independent at 6 weeks of age.

It is now baby season, when in Rescue, hoglet's need a specialist diet, they have royal canin puppy mousse, royal canin mother and baby cat biscuits and royal canin baby dog formula.
This is one of the most expensive times for hedgehog rescues.

Please donate if you can. A £1 monthly donation from each of the people who are on our page would cover the running of the rescue every month.

Here's how to donate

Bank Transfer Donations

Bank Name = Lloyds
Business Name = Hedwig's Hotel
Sort Code = 30-98-97
Account Number = 64154863

PayPal Donations

Paid to
[email protected]
Or via
https://www.hedwigshotel.co.uk/donations/

You can also donate via our Amazon wishlist on the pinned post at the top of this page.

Hedwig's Hotel Hedgehog Rescue

07/06/2026

03/06/2026

27/05/2026

19/05/2026

19/05/2026

12/05/2026

11/05/2026

09/05/2026

08/05/2026

07/05/2026

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