So. Now it’s official. We have a hedgehog in our garden. 😊 To be honest, I didn’t really expect it, because the garden is located in the courtyard of an old apartment building right in the city center and is almost completely cut off from the outside world. Plus, the gardens are separated from each other by chain-link fencing. So a hedgehog would really have to try hard to find its way into the garden. Unfortunately, I found the little guy (Holger) lying on his side, twitching, in broad daylight. Otherwise, he actually looked pretty healthy to me. No coughing, no obvious maggots or parasites. However, he’d apparently been lying there for quite a while, because there was a nice little hollow scratched out in front of him—surely from trying to get up—and the spines on his back were already flattened. I immediately placed him in a large plastic tub (approx. L) on a table so he’d be safe from the cats for the time being. Then I covered him with dry autumn leaves and set a small bowl of clean water and a few earthworms right in front of him. After doing some research, I learned that I should have covered him with clean materials like newspaper and that it’s better not to feed him right away, since many of them die from the food, especially if they’re hypothermic. Then the phone calls started. Wildlife rescue centers are apparently mostly staffed by volunteers and weren’t really reachable that afternoon. Eventually, a message came in via WhatsApp saying we could take him to a specific veterinary clinic a few towns over. They were even still open. So off we went. As expected, they didn’t have much hope left for Holger, but if anyone could help him, it would be a vet who, for once, knows about hedgehogs (usually vets don’t even accept them). For the future, I now know that I’ll garden in a more hedgehog-friendly way, and the hedgehog den I improvised under the pile of leaves last fall will be properly expanded. It was also interesting to see a hedgehog up close for once. Holger might be my little Timmi, but since I’m completely clueless when it comes to hedgehogs, I still think it’s best to have the pros take a look and trust them. Even if it took a full two hours before he finally got to the vet. In the meantime, by the way, we’ve heard all sorts of theories about the cause. They ranged from being hit by a car and disoriented to vitamin deficiency and even an abscess. By the way, he seemed much calmer and more at ease in the tub; I think he drank a little (because I didn’t place the little bowl that close to him). He kept checking to see what was going on, and then covered himself with leaves. I’ll probably never find out how the story ended, though. It was still an educational experience.