Hedgehog Rehabilitation: Common Injuries and Recovery

Hedgehog rehabilitation involves managing a range of common injury types, and understanding typical presentations helps members of the public provide appropriate initial triage and support.

Key Facts

Road traffic injuries are the most common cause of hedgehog rehabilitation admissions, typically causing internal bleeding and fractures
Garden strimmer injuries cause severe external wounds and amputations, particularly to the legs
Entanglement in garden netting, plastic rings, and litter is a common cause of deep wire cuts requiring surgical debridement
Fly strike (myiasis) — maggot infestation of wounds — requires urgent treatment as maggots can kill a hedgehog within hours
Lungworm infection (Crenosoma striatum) and internal parasites affect significant proportions of hedgehog rescue admissions
Release criteria include minimum weight, absence of infection, normal behavioral assessment, and seasonal appropriateness

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehogs requiring rehabilitation are often in significant pain and distress from their injuries. Fly strike in particular is an extremely distressing condition — maggots digest living tissue and cause intense pain and physiological shock. Rapid identification and treatment is the most important welfare intervention in such cases. The welfare of rehabilitated hedgehogs requires not only treatment of injuries but also appropriate pain management, nutrition support, and species-appropriate housing that minimizes stress while enabling recovery.

What You Can Do

Never attempt to treat fly strike yourself — remove the hedgehog from flies, place in a secure box, and contact a rehabilitator immediately
Check any hedgehog found in distress for maggots — part the spines to inspect the skin beneath
Remove garden netting and leave it tidily away from ground level to prevent entanglement
Clear garden litter including plastic rings and rubber bands that hedgehogs become trapped in
Support hedgehog rescue centers which provide essential rehabilitation capacity on entirely voluntary funding
Become a hedgehog carer yourself — many rescues train and support volunteers to care for convalescing hedgehogs