A hedgehog had to be popped with a needle after he blew up like a balloon with too much air beneath his skin.

The poor little guy looked like a beach ball when he was brought to vets at the beginning of June, unable even to put one of his legs on the floor.

His condition was literally known as ‘balloon syndrome’. It sounds like something you’d treat in Theme Hospital (along the lines of Bloaty Head) but although rare, the condition is real.

Gas collects beneath the skin and can’t escape, meaning that the treatment is to be ‘popped’.

The hedgehog, named Monty after the Montgolfier brothers who invented hot air balloons, had blood on his nose when the RSPCA found him stumbling around in circles in Doncaster.

He was taken to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, in Nantwich, Cheshire, and put under general anaesthetic to have the air released.

Balloon Syndrome can be caused by a traumatic event, like an injury, or underlying infection.

But Monty is back to his healthy self again now, putting on weight and eating plenty of cat food, mealworms and dry biscuits.

He should be released back into the wild in two to three weeks.

Lee Stewart, manager at Stapeley Grange, said: ‘You can certainly tell the difference between what he was like when he first came in, compared to what he is like now.

‘It is rare that we get hedgehogs with balloon syndrome, particularly this severe, so it has been interesting to watch his progress.

‘It will be great to see him returned to the wild.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Jen Mills

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