Aninal Opportunity: Derek the hedgehog is losing all his spines because he’s stressed

Derek the Hedgehog has stress-related alopecia (Picture: Masons)

This poor rescued hedgehog is losing all his spines.
It’s happening because Derek is suffering from stress-related alopecia.
The little critter, who should be covered with thousands of spines to keep him warm and to protect him, is believed to have lost his prickles because of his traumatic childhood.

Hopefully his spines will grow back (Picture: Masons)

Lynne Garner, 49, who runs Herts Hogline, is hoping her hedgehog will regrow his natural coat so he can roam free again.
‘He’s a fighter and we really want to get him 100 per cent by March so we can release him back into the wild,’ she said.
‘He has a very strong personality. If I try to handle him he curls up and bounces around trying to hurt me with his spines but instead I just get hit with a little ball of warm, soft skin.’
Derek was found wandering in a back garden in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertforshire, last September.
‘He was smaller than a hamster at the time but he had an infected wound the size of a 5p coin that we think might have been caused by being pecked by a bird,’ Garner added.
To reduce his stress levels the hedgehog needs a larger, heated area to roam.
Lynne has spoken to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and other groups in a bid to find a more permanent treatment for Derek.

He was rescued when he was young (Picture: Masons)