Munchkin’s Walk on the Wild side

There’s a worrying trend emerging where unloved exotic pets are simply dumped into the wild. For a hedgehog unused to finding its own food while exposed to cold conditions that it’s not designed to survive, this can be as good as a death sentence. And that’s before you throw predatory animals like cats and dogs into the mix. This is exactly what happened to Munchkin. Luckily, she’s a tough little nugget and managed to hang on in there until help found her.

Initially, she was taken to a wildlife hospital. From her fiery attitude, they thought she was an albino or white wild hedgehog (these do exist – Google “Alderney Blonde hedgehog”), certainly not a vulnerable abandoned pet. I hear one or two of the staff are carrying around little permanent reminders of Munchkin’s dental records! Fortunately, news of this little white biting hedgehog reached NEHR, and, correctly suspecting she was an APH, they offered to take her into their care. Tiff Swatton, an experienced owner, was chosen to take on the challenge of taming this wild beast:

“They said she was a biter, and more wild than the wild European hedgehogs they had in. But once we got her into the car and she showed her face for the first time, we knew she’d be perfect”.

It took four baths to get Munchkin completely clean, and it’s thought she had managed to fend for herself for around four months, judging from her emaciated state. Quite a feat of survival, all considered.

Just over a year later, Munchkin’s shed all the aggression that she needed to survive life outdoors, but is still a cheeky little miss. Favourite hobby? Stealing smelly socks! She’s not much of a wheeler, though. Unsurprisingly, she prefers to explore!

PigAdvisor New Home Review:

Don’t know what all the fussing’s for. Lots of these daft humans DELIBERATELY go on long walks and eat less ON PURPOSE to lose weight. So I’ve no idea why they keep fussing over me. They really are odd creatures. And they have absolutely no idea how long it took me to anoint all that filth all over myself! Can’t say I liked the cold much, though. Luckily my own new human isn’t shy with the central heating controls!

I will admit, I’m a hedgepig of habit. So it took me a while to get used to the food here. It’s much better than slugs and spiders, but hey, sometimes a girl just craves some junk food. Don’t judge me.

All in all, pretty good to be an indoor hedgehog again. Did you know there are hedgehogs out there that are actually MEANT to be outside? They’re enormous, and, dare I say it, pretty darned handsome? Shocking manners though...