Wild hedgehogs face significant disease challenges including lungworm, ringworm and salmonella. Understanding these conditions helps garden supporters and wildlife rehabilitators provide appropriate care.
Disease in wild hedgehogs is frequently secondary to underlying welfare problems: malnutrition, dehydration, habitat loss and cold exposure compromise immune function, allowing parasites and pathogens to overwhelm the animal. A sick hedgehog found in daylight is almost always in distress and requires urgent veterinary or rehabilitator assessment. The welfare priority is identifying and treating the underlying cause alongside the presenting disease, and releasing recovered animals into suitable habitat.