My hedgehogs are riddled with fleas.

[mrs.chappie]

Poor little things, they're scratching like crazy. Any of our many animal lovers on AB got a suggestion to help the little wee things?

[B00]

Pet hedgehogs??

Anyhoo....aren't all hoggies riddled with fleas anyway? I'm not sure de-fleaing them will make much of difference to them, but i imagine the powder you can get for small rodents would do- can you get close enough to 'pooof' them with it?

[ELVIS68]

Try giving them a "haircut"

A flymo usually does the trick

[mrs.chappie]

Howdy B00.

They're not exactly pets - but three of them come to my patio every evening, do a bit of a tribal dance to decide who's the leader, and then get stuck into the dish of worms I supply every night.

Poor little things can't stop scratching, but I think you're right, most hedgehogs have fleas. You can buy some powder to sprinkle on them, but I guess it might scare them away, they are timid creatures.

[B00]

How cute! Have you tried giving them dog food (or is it cat food?), apparently they're supposed to love it.

If they're too timid to approach, I don't think there's owt you can do for em.

How's you anyway?

smacks Elvis- tisn't big and it isn't clever ya know ;-)

[ELVIS68]

Apparently hedgehog fleas aren`t the same as dog or cat fleas and only live on hedgehogs

There is a specific powder to treat them with as any normal flea powder kills the hedgehogs

[Ice.Maiden]

Chappie - hedgehogs are riddled in them. If you ever manage to see a baby one, and pick it up, you'll see its spines on the move - and between them......well, don't hold one for too long!!! I did, and a mass of the little blighters jumped out all over me. i ripped my blouse off in the middle of the road!!!!

[ELVIS68]

http://www.hedgehogs.org.uk/page3.html

[mrs.chappie]

I'm good thanks B00. You too?

I've given them cat food before, but they absolutely love mealworms. It's amazing the amount they get through at one sitting. They're costing me a bloomin' fortune though!

I know there's probably nothing I can do for them, but it is so sad to see them taking a couple of steps, then stopping for ages to scratch, then plodding on again, and stopping to scratch .........

Hey Elvis, you are a bad, bad boy. BTW, did you ever find that water bill?

[mrs.chappie]

Thanks Ice.

We've had many hedgehogs (I give them mealworms which they find irresistable!) but the current three are by far the worse as far as being infested is concerned.

They must be so uncomfortable and it's so sad to see them (aint I a big softy).

Thanks for that link Elvis.

[B00]

Yeah you're a softy, but then again I am too.

i remember once hearing dull thuds on my front door one night, opened the door and theres a hoggy!!!

Had to wrap him up in a towel and take him out the back door to grassy bit there as I live on a main road, Gawd know how he managed to cross the road in the 1st place without becoming roadkill.

[ELVIS68]

Mrs chappie, no they fitted a water meter here just after we moved in, but my neighbour who isn`t on a water meter pays a lot less than �35 per month

[mrs.chappie]

B00, I've sometimes got up in the middle of the night to refill the dish for the hedgehogs - once it's empty they kick it around and make a right noise. They know I'll go out and refill it for them!

The little dance they do is hilarious. They spend ages shuffling around, deciding who's gonna be "top dog".

[mrs.chappie]

Elvis �35 a month seems like a hell of a bill to me. Ours is about a tenner a month!

[ELVIS68]

I posted a question on here a few weeks ago about Starlings flying into my patio doors, it happened 2 days on the trot

The first one was dead as soon as it hit the floor, the second one was laying on the floor somewhat dazed

Someone suggested they were probably blinded by the reflection of the sun from the doors but i`ve since had another one do it on a cloudy day, that one died as well

[terambulan]

elvis68 the starlings see their reflections in your glass, cover the glass and save the starlings.

HEDGEhogs, foxes, badgers and most other wildlife will submerge themselves in ponds to drown/rid their fleas.....hence they must remain as wildlife.

[stonekicker]

i would probably just leave them unless you get specific stuff as it could be poisonous...i once picked up a baby squirrel that had fallen out of a tree and was covered in fleas in minutes!!! i waited until i got home before stripping off in the garden (lord knows what the neighbours thought!) and left my clothes out there for a week. all wild animals are covered in them and i guess they are used to it!

[LoftyLottie]

You could buy one of those backscratcher things for them Mrs Chappie and help relieve their itching ;o).

Seriously, they are best left well alone - hudgehogs are notorious for being riddled with fleas.

Glad there are other softies around!! x

[LoftyLottie]

hudgehogs!!

[B00]

pmsl- I rather like the name hudgehogs!

[Annlinda]

British Hedgehog Society ( really good website)recommend using Johnsons Rid Mite or Johnsons Head to Tail Flea Powder
Hope this helps.