ROUND HOG DAY
BY MICHAEL PRINGLE michael.pringle@trinitymirror.com A HEDGEHOG who blew up to the size of a beach ball after developing “balloon syndrome” has been released into the wild.
The prickly character – named Zeppelin by animal welfare workers, after the famous German airships – had grown to more than three times his normal size.
The Scottish SPCA allowed Zeppelin to return to his natural environment after 253 days at their rescue centre in Fishcross, Clackmannanshire.
The animal welfare charity were called in to help after the hedgehog was spotted by a member of the public in Shotts, Lanarkshire, last July.
The mammal had a circumference of 30 inches and vets believed he had been hit by a car.
National wildlife rescue centre manager Colin Seddon said: “Our animal rescue officer Louise Hume got a bit of a shock when she went to pick him up. He’s one of the largest hedgehogs we’ve taken into our care.
“Zeppelin has been recovering at our centre in Fishcross. He has suffered from ‘balloon syndrome’. It’s likely he was clipped by a car, which punctured a lung and caused air to become trapped under his skin.”
Vets released Zeppelin, and other hedgehogs, in Perthshire over Easter after he received treatment from vet Romain Pizzi to allow excess air to escape from his body.
Seddon added: “Zeppelin had a difficult time recovering. The hole we made in his skin kept healing faster than his punctured lung.
“We had to put plastic in with his spines to ensure the excess air could escape as the poor guy kept re-inflating.
“Thankfully he made a full recovery after his ordeal.”