A baby hedgehog with barely any signs of life has been released back into wild after making a full recovery.
The hog was brought into a hedgehog sanctuary cold, starving and struggling to breath.
It was motionless and had already uncurled itself and thrown its head back – a sure sign it was about to die.
No one thought it would survive – until the hog’s nose twitched.
Carer Sally Key, of the Hedgehog Welfare charity in Nottinghamshire, slowly warmed up the male hog and treated him with subcutaneous fluids and a steroid injection.
Over the next three hours Star did not improve.
He was given two more doses of medication – including anti-biotics.
The hog started to curl into a ball and was left overnight with food and water.
By the morning he had managed to eat a mere 10 grams of hedgehog biscuits.
Sally said: “We didn’t give Star much hope until I saw his nose twitch.
“Over the next four days he improved then went into a relapse.
“He lost some of the weight he’d gained – we really thought this was it.
“But again, he rallied and by day ten we thought we might be through the worst.
“Star continued to gain weight – he was now more than 600 grams – and was housed outside to acclimatise himself to the winter weather.
“A month after he was brought in, he was released back into the wild.
“It was a tremendous to see him waddle off into the undergrowth – a great sense of achievement.”
