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Woman Nurses Hedgehog Who Lost Quills Back to Health

A woman based in New Zealand documented Nugget the Hedgehog’s journey back to health after she found the small mammal back in May, missing its quills because of mange.

British expat Hollie Warren told Storyful that when she first saw Nugget on May 25, she was walking home from work. She searched “rodents in New Zealand” on the internet because she couldn’t tell what species the critter was.

“I got closer and noticed it had a couple of spines on its back, so I figured it must be a hedgehog,” she said, adding: “I just couldn’t leave her by herself in that state. I’m not sure a lot of people could.”

Warren said she took Nugget home and called a rescue center. “I didn’t contact a vet, because hedgehogs are classed as pests over here, so the vet would [probably have recommended] putting her down.”

Warren offered to foster the hedgehog and was shown how to give Nugget oil baths to help with dry skin and promote quill growth after she was treated for mange.

She told Storyful that Nugget would be released into the wild in the summertime, once her quills were fully grown in.

“Nugget’s road to recovery has been quite special. She’s gone from what looked like a rock full of dirt, to a pretty little hog with freshly grown quills,” Warren said. Credit: Hollie Warren via Storyful

Video transcript

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