I doubt it, Candace - he is a wild hedgehog, the ones kept as pets look quite different, and are originally from Africa, not New Zealand!
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Benson is considerably bigger t han the pet pygmy hedgehogs you see in here in Canada. The NZ ones are the same as the wild ones in the UK. They are great to have in your garden as they love eating insects , slugs and snails:)
Yes same as uk,think the British settlers brought them here,yes we don't have pet hedgehogs in nz,he did not eat much at all yesterday so bit worried,but tempting him with roast chicken tonight so here's hoping,he just sleeps all day and night,I know they are nocturnal ,but he hardly moves,I don't like having him in captivity,but he needs help,I hope he gets better soon so I can release him.,feel mean really, but he needs to stay with us until we get his third injection and is well again.
Guess who ate almost all of his roast chicken tonight, yep all gone, YAY success.
here is another pic of him.
Maybe he's filled himself up and is getting lots of sleep to heal. Get well, Benson!:love:
Yes maybe u are right candace,he ate all his chicken last night and some biscuits so made up for it,he is so cute when I take him out to clean his cage all curled up and sleepy but he uncurls and starts sniffing my gloves ,I am getting quite attached as you do,will be hard to let him go,but would be cruel not to,hate having him caged,but necessary to get those jabs and give him the best chance,worried he will feel the cold when I release him as so warm in the cage even heats the hallway,still he needs the warmth while sick.
He still looks pretty crusty but that awful smell has gone ,he just smells like caged mice or rats do,and I clean the cage daily.,so that must be a good sign,hoping the bacterial infection is clearing up.
Oh, what good news! Bless you, Carole, for all you are doing to bring this beloved creature of God back to good health.
Get well soon, Benson/Bessie! :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:
Yes pat he seems to be doing ok so far,so good,booked in for second injection on Thursday,seeing my vet this time,much happier with that,as I trust his opinions 109 per cent,just worried when we do release him he will be cold as now used to such a warm environment,might get vet to check and see if benson is a Bessie,I looked online and had a quick look but was hard to see,I think he is a she myself.
Well off to vet tomorrow night with benson,eating drinking ok,but he is not looking great,has lost a few spines this morning I found on the bottom of the cage when cleaning,I am no expert but I don't see improvement,will have to see what my vet says,maybe I will have to make the hard call and let him go to the rainbow bridge,be gutted if I have to,so fingers crossed he has good news,I'm concerned about the stress he is under being in captivity and also having such a warm cage then having to release him to the cold,but he is wild and I will not or cannot keep him as a pet that would be cruel,I do worry so
Aww poor Benson/Bessie!
Bless you for taking care of him, Carole, how nice! I hope the little cutie improves :love:
Does he try to bite you or anything?
no never bites or anything ,in fact is a very good lil thing, considering what is happening to him,he always goes in to a tight ball when i take him out for cleaning his cage, and put him in the cat cage,but then he uncurls and starts sniffing my gloves, so cute.
He is a very easy lil thing to take care of, apart from making his cage an absolute mess,he just sleeps all the time. He dined on roast chicken, banana, avocado and cat biscuits again last night, all gone, except for some biscuits and some that ended up outside the cage,but yes the hedgehog rescue lady, said they thrive on avocado, which are rather expensive to buy, but hubby loves them, so treat for them both, besides benson eats only such a little bit.
How cute that Benson and your hubby both like the same treat - avocado! They can have all mine, as I am allergic to them. I hope he's doing better, maybe he lost a few quills because new ones are coming in?
yes i hope you are right, i tend to worry too much , i could be well off with my findings, and benson may well be on the mend for all i know, mind you vets don't know that much about hedgehogs to be frank, but still they can tell if there is an infection and if it is getting better , and mange etc, so just have to wait and see, will update when i have seen my vet . Yes well i don't enjoy avocados, they are horrible tasting to my taste buds, but i know they are really good for you.
Sending along all our good wishes and prayers that Benson's vet visit goes well. And again, God bless you, Carole.
:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:
P.S., I love avocados too!
It is with much sadness i tell you Benson was put to sleep at the vets tonight, it was the best thing to do, my vet said it would not be kind to keep him going, he was loosing all his spines, and would soon not be able to move around, and would be completely bald, even with all the best care in the world, his chances were not good,it was very hard to do, but i knew in my heart it was going to happen, i had seen how bad he looked, and it would have been cruel to let him go on this way, at least he was loved and cared for in his last week and did not suffer like he would have in the wild, he would have been blown by the flies and that would have been a terrible death for him.
And yes he was a boy, i actually got a good look today before i took him and thought he was, vet verified he was a BENSON, RIP little boy, you shall have a place in my pet cemetory along with my ash,ellie-mae,sooti and zara.I could not bare to leave him there, he deserved to be buried in style along with my other beautiful animals.
Yes i am very sad, crying and gutted, but i know it was the right thing to do.