Patrick the hoglet is doing so well after ringworm

We are happy to share that Patrick, the wee hoglet who came to us from Lochgelly with ringworm, is doing so well, bless his heart.

Patrick came to us on 13 July after Jo spotted him moving very slowly in the Lochgelly Centre car park. Thank you so much to our volunteer Rhona for going to collect him and bring him to the rescue.

Poor Patrick had thick scabs covering his skin, which were pulling his hair tight. This must have been agony when he walked. The scabs were also on the sides of his head, pulling his hair and skin tight. His spines were falling out too, which was so much for a little hoglet weighing only 199g to go through.

Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes a hedgehog to lose all their spines and hair. The infected spines need to come out before new spines can grow once the infection is cleared. A hedgehog in this condition will not survive in the wild, as they have no protection from predators.

The good news is that Patrick is already showing some new spine growth, so he won't be naked for too much longer.

We are also campaigning for small animal warning signs to be introduced in Scotland. These signs have been used in England for three years now, and we would like to see them made available to councils in Scotland where there are high populations of hedgehogs and road deaths. The petition currently has just over 800 signatures and can be signed online through the Scottish Parliament petitions website.