Marjory McPrickle - Hedgehog Rockstar

A short while ago an injured hedgehog was found on our reserve. Our site maintenance volunteer team noticed the little creature whilst they were working on some fencing and decided that her injury was severe enough to warrant an emergency trip to the vets. On close inspection it was noticed that a fishing hook was stuck in her side and that it would need to be carefully removed.

The team left her with the vets to be treated and returned a week later to check on her progress. The hook had been removed and she'd been given a course of antibiotics. She was definitely a lot more perky too! The vets explained that she was healthy enough to go back on to the reserve, but that she was a little underweight for this time of year and that if possible it would be good if someone could look after her and feed her for a few days.

Last night she stayed with me and i must say, she's pretty lively! Her bedroom for the night was a big box in my conservatory and her evening meal was a well chopped-up packet of chicken flavour catfood and a couple of worms. She seems to have a bit of a rockstar streak in her because soon after i left her i heard noises from the conservatory that sounded like she was trashing her bedroom! When i  went to have a look she had upended her water bowl, walked food all over her blankets and ripped up her newspaper carpet.

I checked in on her again before i went to bed and she seemed to have settled down so i closed the lid on the carboard box, taped one end shut (leaving the other un-taped so that she would have plenty of air) and shut the conservatory door. This morning i opened the box lid to find the room re-trashed and Marjory missing....

When i looked more carefully around the conservatory, i noticed a puddle on the floor and little footprints leading towards my tennis raquet in the corner. When i peeked behind the raquet i found Marjory clurled up and sleeping off the previous nights rowdy behaviour. I have no idea how she got out of the box, which i thought was pretty secure, but i managed to get her back into it and drive her back to work this morning. She must have got the munchies on the way though because at one point i heard chewing noises and looked over to find a little nose poking out from beneath the blanket and onto the food saucer i had left in.

So Marjory is tucked up safely at the RSPB office at the moment. We'll keep you updated on her progress and let you know when her band, the White Spikes, are touring the area. If anyone has a spare packet of cat food lying about (chicken is her favourite) then we're sure Marjory would appreciate it. You can drop it in at the visitor centre during opening hours (10am-4pm) and we'll pass it on to her.