If you discover a hedgehog with maggots, it's a critical emergency known as "fly strike" that requires immediate, decisive action. This condition is life-threatening for hedgehogs, and quick intervention significantly improves their chances of survival.
Immediate Action: Contact a Professional
The very first step is to urgently contact your local wildlife rescue center, a hedgehog hospital, or an exotic animal veterinarian immediately. Fly strike progresses rapidly, and professional care is essential for the hedgehog's survival. They can guide you through immediate first aid and prepare for the animal's arrival.
Essential First Aid: Removing Maggots and Eggs
While waiting for professional guidance or transport, you must begin the process of removing the fly eggs and maggots. This is crucial because even a small number can cause severe damage, and they multiply and burrow quickly.
Preparation is Key
- Gather Supplies: You will need saline solution (such as contact lens saline or a homemade solution of 1 teaspoon salt in 1 pint of cooled, boiled water), a soft cloth or cotton balls, fine-tipped tweezers, and potentially a small, soft brush or an old mascara wand.
- Ensure Safety: Handle the hedgehog gently. You might want to wear gloves, both for your protection and the hedgehog's.
The Removal Process
The primary goal is to remove every single egg and maggot.
- Flush and Irrigate: Gently flush the affected areas with saline solution. This helps to dislodge the eggs and maggots, making them easier to remove. Pay close attention to any wounds, orifices (eyes, ears, nose, mouth), and around the base of their spines, as flies often lay eggs in these hidden, moist areas.
- Manual Removal:
- Use fine-tipped tweezers to carefully pick off individual maggots and eggs. Be extremely gentle to avoid harming the hedgehog's delicate skin.
- For hard-to-reach areas or smaller clusters, a small, soft brush or an old, clean mascara wand can be effective for gently sweeping them away.
- Thoroughness is Vital: Continue this process until you are absolutely certain that every single egg and maggot has been removed. Missed eggs will hatch quickly, and the problem will resume.
Timing of Warmth
It's natural to want to warm a sick hedgehog immediately, but with fly strike, the timing of warmth is critical. Sick hedgehogs need urgent warmth, but this cannot be given until all the eggs have been removed. If the hedgehog is warmed before the eggs are removed, the heat will accelerate the hatching process, causing the maggots to emerge faster and begin feeding on the hedgehog, exacerbating the trauma. Only after a thorough removal should you provide gentle warmth.
Post-Removal Care and Next Steps
Once you have removed all visible eggs and maggots:
- Provide Gentle Warmth: After complete removal, place the hedgehog in a warm, quiet, dark space. A box with a hot water bottle (wrapped in a towel to prevent burns) placed under half the box can provide warmth.
- Minimize Stress: Keep noise and disturbance to a minimum.
- Transport to Professional Care: Transport the hedgehog to the wildlife rescue or vet as soon as possible. They will be able to provide further medical treatment, including antibiotics if necessary, wound care, pain relief, and rehydration, ensuring a full recovery.
Remember, prompt action and professional assistance are key to saving a hedgehog suffering from fly strike.
