# Meet "Tripod", the hedgehog



## LaFoto (Apr 30, 2010)

This is "Tripod", the hedgehog we're nursing just now:







Upon returning from the pool on Wednesday, the headlights of my car caught him while he was sitting in our carport, and Sabine immediately cried out: "Oh, look, a hedgehog! What's wrong with him? Look, he's not walking all right, he's limping, he's lame. I must look!" And sure enough, "Tripod" only had three little feet left to him, the forth was missing and there was a wound. Not a recent one, but it was wet and oozing and Sabine wouldn't have left him out there for nothing in the world. We called the vet even at night, but she suggested we feed him on something (egg was all I had at the time as Mia only eats dry cat food) and only come round on the following morning.

Her colleague was on duty and he gave "Tripod" a penicillin injection and cleaned and disinfected the stump a little and then suggested we keep him (or her, we're not to know...) indoors for about a week and feed him as he'd certainly be at a disadvantage with regards to chasing his own food outside just now. 

So here we are with yet another hedgehog, and he is NOT tame at all, but always HUNGRY. That's a good sign, I should say, we keep disinfecting the stump with what the vet gave me, but when this morning I gave him the chance to "stretch his legs" a little (the moving box is not THAT large...!) and let him walk around the kitchen, his stump began to bleed again, so he might be better off in his cardboard box lined with newspaper shreds, kitchen paper towels and leaves.

For those who can stand "ick" (and believe me, that stump is not a LOVELY sight, but it isn't THAT bad, either), don't click the link.
Those who are curious (and have the stomach to click it) you can see why he is now called "Tripod":

http://www.fastpictures.com/images/AnniRocS/tripodthehedgehog2.jpg 

Once we can be sure he can walk all surfaces without the stump starting to bleed again, we let him walk free, might continue to offer him cat food outside, but he's a wild animal and should remain being wild animal!


----------



## Josh220 (Apr 30, 2010)

That is so cool. My girlfriend and I are the same way, we love bringing home stray/injured animals. 

Great shot! Good on ya for taking care of it. It's a cute lil' bugger.


----------



## cnutco (Apr 30, 2010)

'Sup Tripod!

I hope it works out...


----------



## myfotoguy (Apr 30, 2010)

Nice photo of "tripod", and thanks for the story along with it.


----------



## ottor (Apr 30, 2010)

There's a corner in Heaven for people like you - those that not only "Care", but "Act"...

My neighbor would have run over him while shouting "Two points"... I'm sure somewhere there's a place for him also....


----------



## Sbuxo (Apr 30, 2010)

ottor said:


> There's a corner in Heaven for people like you - those that not only "Care", but "Act"...
> 
> My neighbor would have run over him while shouting "Two points"... I'm sure somewhere there's a place for him also....


:lmao::thumbup:


----------



## Derrel (Apr 30, 2010)

That is a touching story. It's nice to hear about such things. I wish little Tripod a full and speedy recovery.


----------



## corralup (Apr 30, 2010)

Thank you for saving the little critter.


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Apr 30, 2010)

Good for you guys!

My wife and I tend to do the same thing. Also take in unwanted birds and had so many of them some times we started calling ourselves the zoo 

In spite of the mess it creates (let's not mention the vet bills) I can't wait to see what kind of animals we start getting once we are settled in Europe...


----------



## LaFoto (May 1, 2010)

Well, thankfully the vet treats wild animals that people care for for free, so there are no vet bills coming up for Tripod. 
The way he "walks" suggests that letting him run back into the wild might not be such a good idea after all. But we'll wait and see. While his stump looks a lot better today, much less swollen, the skin covering it still is very thin, very pink, very delicate, so it's to be the big moving carton for yet another couple of days to come, all lined with old newspaper shreds and paper towels. 

Here's a newest one of Tripod, taken about 20 minutes ago:


----------



## Josh220 (May 1, 2010)

Sonic the tripod. 

Do you think you may have inherited a new pet if it cannot fend for itself? (It's unlikely that it can any longer, even after it heals).


----------



## LaFoto (May 1, 2010)

We might have, indeed, but if that should become the case, we'll need to build him a kind of enclosure out in the garden, so he's got some more room in which to roam about. So he is back out in a natural climate, with sunshine, rain, wind, the smells, earthworms that he might be able to chase in said enclosure (in addition to the cat food we'll keep offering him). We'll see. For as long as he coughs in the way he does, I keep him indoors.


----------



## Wino (May 1, 2010)

Hi LaFoto,

Clearly your kindness knows no bounds. In my long life I've seen many three legged animals, it's amazing how quickly they adapt. The muscles in the opposite leg get stronger, and the animal alters its posture to compensate for the missing leg.

Your vet is most probably giving you good advice about housing, feeding and cleaning it (male or female?), but may I refer you to: British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Good luck with it.

As for the second pic, really nice, what a face, lovely eye and highlight. Keep 'em coming.


----------



## lvcrtrs (May 1, 2010)

Tripod looks to be coming along in the second photo.  Clearly your care is appreciated.  I am curious though, if he/she is not tame, how were you able to safely secure him?  Best wishes in your angel work.


----------



## myfotoguy (May 1, 2010)

Another really nice photo. That second one is so great, maybe frame it when the day comes that you no longer have this visitor with you.

Thanks for caring for him/her!


----------



## LaFoto (May 1, 2010)

We now know that Tripod is a woman.
She finally allowed us to "check her out". 

And while you don't normally see hedgehogs (other than those poor flattened ones in the middle of the road  ), and at the most hear them rustling through the undergrowth and old leaves in the evenings, I believe that once they do come out and present themselves to us humans in the way Tripod did, they sort of ask for our help. Whether it be medical care or food or both or something else. When they do show themselves, they are in need.

And that is probably, why my daughter could pick her up and she did not try to limp away (apart from the fact that limping away must have been painful!). With hedgehogs, you must not be afraid of touching those pricks, though, of course. When they roll themselves into prickly balls, they ARE quite prickly!


----------



## c.cloudwalker (May 1, 2010)

LaFoto said:


> Well, thankfully the vet treats wild animals that people care for for free, so there are no vet bills coming up for Tripod.
> 
> Here's a newest one of Tripod, taken about 20 minutes ago:



Wow, lucky you. The most we've ever gotten were discounts. Plus avian vets are fairly rare in the US so you don't normally have much of a choice. I'm wondering how that is in Europe but since we are close to the capital, we figure we'll find one...

Really like that new image. Would like it even more if you cropped the blue on the bottom.


----------



## Wino (May 7, 2010)

Hi LaFoto,

How's Tripod doing?


----------



## LaFoto (May 8, 2010)

Thanks for asking, Wino.
Well, for one, we now know that Tripod is a girl/woman (age forever undetermined). 
And she's still with us. But today she no longer lives in the mover's box, indoors, but my daughter went to the DIY for material and built her a new enclose that gives her a lot more space to roam around, and one that we could set up outdoors, on the verandah. 
The stump is healing and not healing, as it seems to itch, and she keeps scratching the new skin open with her claws. Silly girl... we can explain and explain that she shouldn't, would she listen? Understand? No. And she had a severe cough, so we're now still treating her with antibiotics (no injections, a powder that can be mixed into her food), and we keep cleaning the stump with the disinfectant.

This is her, NOT wanting the lovely "dinner" my daughter had collected for her in the garden (easily spoilt with the tasty cat food, now earthworms seem to be too plain...)






Mia, the cat, meeting Tripod (and being somewhat suspicious as to the softness - or not? - of the "fur")






And a total of her






And her new home






We put the old screen door with its broken hinges on top as a protection from above.
I haven't taken any new photos ever since we moved her outdoors into her new home.


----------



## Wino (May 9, 2010)

Well done. She's looking good in the pics. I wish I could read your cat's mind.


----------



## Fedaykin (May 10, 2010)

She's gorgeous! I wish there were hedgehogs here...


----------



## Wino (Jun 7, 2010)

HI LaFoto,

How's Tripod doing?

Is she going to be a permanent member of your family, or do you plan to release her one day? I suppose that as she has a foot missing she will be better off with you.


----------



## LaFoto (Jun 26, 2010)

Sorry, Wino, I can only reply to your question now, as I was away on vacation from 7 - 21 June, then had to prepare a garden party, then had to fight the remains of said party, and now...

Well. Mrs Tripod is NOT well.
Actually we're fearing for her life.
It's not the foot - or stump. That one's healing nicely, actually.

It's her infection of her respiratory tract. She is very ill with that. 
She started out coughing hard when we first had her and she got a 10-day antibiotic treatment to fight that. She ate nicely (and did "the other thing" well, and in large quantities (ugh)) and all looked well.

Then, while we were away, my daughter informed us by phone that she was deteriorating, eating a lot less, coughing up blood, and having not only a nose that ran clear mucus, but sticky, yellowish mucus. 

This is the stage we're at just now. 
The vet said: OK, one more antibiosis, we got the medicine and syringes and have to apply the doses subcutaneously now ourselves. And inhalation treatment (she's been sleeping, and sleeping soundly, for hours on end now in the transportation box for the snakes, top covered, with a glass of hot water and some eucalypt or menthol oil thing in it, and I do hope all our efforts will bring success.

If not, then - so the vet said - it is more humane to put her to sleep than try on and on and on with a critter who might have a chronic lung disease. 

Keep your fingers crossed!
I'll post a new photo just a little later. (Not her nose! That's not a nice sight just now).


----------



## LaFoto (Jun 26, 2010)

Here she is, photo taken last Tuesday:






She no longer needs to walk with the bandage. A bit of aluminium spray will do the rest. 

If only the nose ... !


----------



## LaFoto (Jun 29, 2010)

Just in case you're still around, Wino, this is to let you know that the life of our Mrs Tripod ended this morning at shortly after 11, with the vet's help. 
What life she had in the end was no longer a hedgehog's life, it was suffering, and sad as it may be, this had to end. She lost more than 150g of weight within three days ... could no longer eat, only sleep.

She was in "intensive care", inhaling in the snake transportation box, and getting a new round of antibiotics, and nothing helped, so on Sunday she was like this:






On Monday like this (she could still drink but hardly ate anything anymore):






And this morning, my daughter and I were in one mind about not waiting even a day longer. 
Hedgehog heaven must be better than her life was down here where she was starving and could hardly breathe.


----------



## caveman (Jun 29, 2010)

Lovely shots and well done for being so caring for the little darling. If it wasn't for his spikes he'd be soooo cuddly :hugs:


----------



## pmsnel (Jun 29, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear you had to let Mrs. Hedgehog go. At least she didn't have to suffer somewhere hidden under a bush. You did a really good job!

It's nice to know that there are still people caring about the little creatures living around us.


----------



## Wino (Jun 29, 2010)

Hi LaFoto,

So sorry to hear the sad news. My hat is off to you for the care you gave her.

Wino


----------

