Meal worms and Calci worms are fatal to hedgehogs
Project Prickles, as many of you know, is a hedgehog rescue centre in Welcombe, run voluntarily by the brilliant and remarkable, Gay Kite. Gay’s expertise and knowledge is extraordinary and her dedication is amazing. She has spent years running the hogspital, saving adult hedgehogs and hoglets, including giving hand feeds every 2 hours through the night for very sick and young animals. Gay often has large numbers of hogs to care for at the same time, for whom she provides huge quantities of daily care
Gay has recently written this urgent warning from Project Prickles’ sad experience
“In the last few weeks I have had three hedgehogs, on separate occasions, brought to me for help from HARTLAND. These kind and caring people certainly were right to scoop them up. These particular hedgehogs, were all a good adult size and to all intents and purposes looked like healthy hogs. Until they moved! All three had the same struggle to walk, very wobbly, shaking & falling on their side. One’s initial thought that they might be dehydrated- but sadly not – these were clear case of ‘Metabolic Bone Disease’, (MBD) incurable and fatal, as it proved. What causes it? MEAL WORMS I can only conclude that someone in Hartland, probably thinking they are doing a kind deed, is feeding hogs mealworms. PLEASE DON’T.”
“Mealworms have nine times more phosphorus than calcium. Phosphorus prevents their bodies maintaining enough calcium and so the body starts taking calcium from the bones, making them soft and weak. This causes, weak & deformed bones, difficulty walking, fractures, paralysis and death. It’s wonderful that so many of you are support feeding. Kitten biscuits, cat biscuits, hedgehog biscuits along with a large shallow dish of water is absolutely perfect.”
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE NEVER FEED MEAL WORMS
When HNS spoke with Gay, she pointed out that calci worms are also fatal to hedgehogs. Unfortunately, hedgehogs love calciworms and meal worms so will eat them when they get the chance, but both will kill them.
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