I had an exciting day at home in Craigellachie on Friday.
In the morning we found a very large hedgehog sitting on our garden path. It didn't seem particularly bothered by our presence, although it did enjoy the saucer of milk my wife brought out for it. We went out for the day and returned to find a new born baby hedgehog in exactly the place where the mother had been.
A call to the SSPCA was made and a very helpful lady suggested we put the
baby in a box and give it some sugar water using a cotton bud to keep it
hydrated, while they arranged for someone to come out. We fully expected the
mother to return for it soon, so we left the box, with one side removed to
allow easy access, in the garden until it became too cold, at which time we
took her inside. 
It was then we realised that the white stuff in her mouth which we'd thought was dry milk, was actually fly eggs and so we spent an hour with a tooth pick removing them to allow the baby to close her mouth.
When the lady from the SSPCA arrived she noticed the mother was stuck in a hole in our fence, so using a hammer and saw we dismantled the fence around her so we could get her out. This revealed a second baby.
We have no idea how the baby arrived on the path but were pleased that our efforts had saved not only that youngster but also a 2nd baby and the mother, who would have undoubtably died had we not managed to free her.
Unfortunately, it's not a happy ending for the babies as we had a call the following day to tell us that although the mother had recovered well from her ordeal and was due to be released back into the wild, she had eaten both the babies overnight. We had nicknamed the baby Lucky, but I guess that was
a poor choice of name after all.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the lovely lady from the SSPCAwho came out to help rescue them. This organisation does a fantastic job with little recognition for their hard work and dedication.
