Mr Toffee Retires

You may have noticed the lack of photos posts and updates so far this year, Mr Toffee is doing well but is now in retirement : ) Last year he started to go blind and over the past 9 months of so he has been slowing down, he doesn't run in his wheel very much or have play time and is often sleeping. Mr T is 4 and half human years old which is the equivalent of 75 in hedgie pig years, he is an old man now. Africian Pygmy Hedgehogs have an average life span of 3-5 years so he is in the winter period of his life. And what a good one he has had, lots of adventures and fun, being spoilt rotten and having everyone who meets him falls in love immediately ^_^

Toffee did lose some weight at the start of the year but he seems more than happy living on a diet of worms which of course any pygmy hog would love! He is spoilt and has an unlimited amount of meal worms and wax worms at his disposal : ) At the end of last year poor old Toffee did have an incontinence issue which I hope are now gone.

Mr Toffee in oils ♥

His lil' whiskers are getting tatty, and his eyes are both glazed over with blindness and although I still take photos of him (especially when he is in a active mood and gets into mischief!) he doesn't look like the model hog he once was. Luckily I have dozens of beautiful photos to remember his youth by, the last 3 years have been wonderful and I hope we have more time to enjoy together : ) Here is an oil painted version of my favourite photo of Mr Toffee, I hope you like it : )

Tiddlywinks Wildlife Hospital

After seeing the appalling collection of decorative calenders available over Christmas and some feedback from his fans I've designed my own Mr Toffee Calender : )

If you are interested in purchasing one they are £12 each including O&P with all profits goign to Tiddlywinks wildlife hospital. I also have key rings available in 2 designs: Photographer and Meadow at £3 each : )

Spineless hedgehog

Spud looks a sorry sight! He is a spineless wild British hedgehog currently in the care of Tiddywinkles hedgehog sanctuary in Buckinghamshire, he has been with them since August 2008. Every day he has a bath and baby oil massage, he has very dry skin and on his back there is no hair or spines at all. I love how you can see the muscles used for rolling up!

They don’t know why he doesn’t have any spines or why they do not grow back but it is possible to grow them, one or two have appeared under the skin but were in growing and had to be removed. He lives a healthy life and is now infamous, but I hope he grows his spines back, a hedgehog is nothing without his spikes!

Mr Toffee's troubles concluded

Claire our local vet checked his teeth, which are fine as well as removing the lump and fixing the wound with 6 stitches. The lump has been sent of to be tested for malignant of benign cells.

Here is a photo 12 days after the surgery:

As you can see Mr Toffee is well on the mend now, the bruising is fading the wound is nearly healed. I'm very glad to report he is back to his old self, eating properly and running in his wheel. I think the whole ordeal has made him more appreciative of me and home, a few days ago he fell asleep on my lap (out in the open, he usually hides somewhere for a nap) while I rubbed behind his ear, like a cat lol I hope this is the case as he has seemed to be very well behaved...for example when I clipped his nails, he only pulled his foot away once and didn't huff at all - which very rare especially when clipping nails!!

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Mr Toffee's troubles

Mr Toffee my 3 year old male African pygmy hedgehog developed a fatty lump on his shoulder/behind his ear just before Christmas, he had some swelling and has also been behaving a bit strangely and not eating or running in his wheel as much as usual. My local vet - Claire - removed pus and gave him some antibiotics as it was slightly infected. Over the next week the bruising did go down but some swelling on the back of his neck increased and the lump returned.



This photo also shows the swelling on his chest and around his legs but doesn't show the swelling across the back of his neck. Claire our vet referred Mr Toffee to a specialist exotic vet in Warick and we found out the cause of Mr T's troubles....he is fat >_<> It was a surprise to me as he can still roll into a tight ball, which apparently means he is trim. How wrong! He weighs 682 grams, the average for a male his age is 500-600grams. I'm going to change his diet to one much lower in fat and no worms till he reaches his target of 580grams!

The specialist vet suggested a lot of expensive treatments for my middle aged hog, worrisomely the bill will nearly reach £400 . After seeking advice from our local vet, she Claire is going to remove the lump on Tuesday and send it off for testing for malignant or benign cells. She will also check his teeth and clean them if necessary and she'll do it all for a fraction of the price. Of course money is not the object, I'm glad our local vet can treat him, but it sure helps!

Everyone suffers from post christmas flubber and most try out a new years resolution healthy eating/diet plan, Mr Toffee is no exception

ps did you know Mr Toffee is the human equivalent of 53 years old?

Brillo the hedgehog

Brillo the hedgehog enjoys a carrot

This is the cutest thing ever; hedgehogs can have a very varied diet, including carrot, egg, minced beef chicken and peas. In fact they can eat most fruit and veg. And not forgetting the obvious bugs, fresh crickets and meal worms, hmmm yummy! I wish Mr Toffee would eat anything other than cat food but he's a fussy old man and set in his ways! He does like his worms though, he has a few as a treat, what self respecting hog would turn his nose up at meal worms ;)

My own pet hedgehog Mr Toffee:

Yozhik and WHS

Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS) is a disease found in hedgehogs that is closely related to multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans. The disease is prominent in the domesticated hedgehog, some believe it maybe genetic but there are many theories.

As with MS, WHS slowly degrades the hedgehog's muscle control. This first appears as a wobble while the hedgehog is attempting to stand still, then more and more as he walks and move. As the dieses progresses he will have trouble walking and moving, and start to lose his gross motor skills. Over time, the hedgehog will lose control of all muscles; he will be in considerable pain and discomfort.

There is no known cure for WHS and diagnosis can only be confirmed with an autopsy. Common treatments for MS have shown similar effects in hedgehogs as they do in humans, like vitamin E, which hides the effects of WHS, but does not slow the disease. A resistance to vitamin E will form and the effects of the disease will continue. It is a fatal disease and many owners choose to euthanasia their pets before the symptoms make the hedgehog uncomfortable (in pain).

I have only recently heard of this disease and considering my immense research on APH before and after I adopted Mr Toffee I am surprised it slipped by me. Luckily for Mr T and I there have been no known cases of WHS in Britain, and APH have been breed here for 15 years. That maybe why I haven't heard of it before now, and I'm glad to hear there are no known cases within the population, which means if the disease is genetic that there is little if any chance of Mr Toffee or other UK hogs suffering from it. *Phew* I was quite worried there for a moment! The first time I heard of WHS was after watching a very sad video on you tube, a touching tribute to Yozhik who died of WHS and I highly recommend taking a look (warning it's a tear jerker).