Heather's Hedgehog Hotel in Chatteris officially opens

Chatteris local, Heather Johnson, has been taking care of hedgehogs for two years but has now received an official license from the National Hedgehog Preservation Society earlier in January.

The same month, she opened Heathers Hedgehog Hostel and Heather said “the phone never stops!”

Heather keeps detailed medical records for all of her hedgehogs (Image: Archant)

She is currently caring for 10 hedgehogs but in total she has taken care of 58 hedgehogs this financial year and has “lost count” of how many she’s saved.

She said: “I find out what's wrong with them, either it's apparent visually like fly strike or an injury or ringworm, and do a microscopical exam on a sample to see if there are any parasites like lungworm then treat it.

“We have had more babies this year than I have ever experienced.

Some of the plastic housing the hedgehogs are kept in while they're being treated (Image: Archant)

“That is partly a good sign because it means numbers are going up, but it's also heartbreaking because many are here because of human interaction which has disturbed mum's nest causing her to flee.”

After their treatment is finished, Heather releases them back into the wild.

“Hedgehogs are territorial so we try to send them back with their original finders so that they can be released into the exact spot in which they were found.

More plastic housing hedgehogs are kept in during treatment, though there is also one incubation chamber (Image: Archant)

“They remember the area and where their food sources are.

“I had a particularly bad case with a dog bite for example, so he was released locally in the wild area where we knew there were other hogs are living.”

Heather also brings her pet African Pygmy Hedgehog, Dumbledore, out to schools and Scouts groups to educate children.

Once the hedgehogs are well enough to leave, they are placed into this outdoor housing to reacclimate to the climate (Image: Archant)

“We did talks on how to spot them, what to feed them, what their diet is like, life cycles, hibernation etc," she said. "How can we tell if it needs help or when to leave it alone.”

She continued to talk about how she once brought Dumbledore to Swan House where he saw each resident independently.

"There was one resident who never normally spoke, telling me her whole childhood on the farm. All because of a hedgehog," she said.

Heather has a Facebook page you can find here: www.facebook.com/hedgehoghostel