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Mammal✓ Protected species

Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

✓What to do NOW

  1. 1A hedgehog found during the day is almost certainly in trouble — it is strictly nocturnal
  2. 2Pick up with gloves or a thick cloth (spines penetrate skin)
  3. 3Place in a box with holes on sides and lid, soft cloth on the bottom
  4. 4Keep warm: 22–25°C (lukewarm hot-water bottle wrapped in cloth under half the box)
  5. 5Offer a shallow bowl of fresh water — they are often dehydrated
  6. 6If there are flies around or visible egg/larva clusters between spines: emergency myiasis — urgent vet needed
  7. 7Bring to CRAS within a few hours

✗NEVER do this

  • ✗NEVER give milk — causes severe diarrhoea, dehydration, and death
  • ✗Do not give bread, biscuits, fruit, or vegetables
  • ✗Do not keep at temperatures above 25°C (hypothermia is a problem but so is excessive heat)
  • ✗Do not release even if it seems "alert" — the cause of its daytime distress must be assessed
  • ✗Do not put in water to see if it can swim — pointless stress

⚠ Important note

Myiasis (infestation by blowfly larvae, Lucilia sericata) is very common in injured hedgehogs found in summer. Within days, larvae can penetrate deep tissue. If you see flies hovering around or white granules between the spines, it is a surgical emergency — act quickly. In winter: a hedgehog found outside hibernation at temperatures below 5°C is hypothermic — warm gradually and contact CRAS immediately.

⚖ Legal protection

Protected by Law 157/1992.

Also known as

European hedgehogcommon hedgehogbaby hedgehog

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