Rescue - 16th June, 2023
Rehabilitation - 20th June, 2023
Rescue
Whilst we were rather late to the party where it came to receiving our first badger cub, this year, it seems we're making up for it now!
With seven of the varying-sized stripy ones quickly eating us out of house and home, Bramble is one cub that we are all routing for! Named after being found under a wooden pallet in a children’s playground, Bramble joined our growing cub numbers, just over a week ago, but she arrived in quite the sorry state.
Initially reported to be unable to use her hind legs, our experienced rescuer headed over to collect her. Once back at the centre, it was quickly evident that Bramble was lethargic and dehydrated - the opposite of what any healthy badger cub should be like; she was also sporting two rather bloodshot eyes. During her full vet assessment, she showed good response in both her hind legs; we suspect that due to her low energy, she was just too weak to walk, rather than being unable to.
Rehabilitation
Bramble was given supportive fluids, as well as being offered a restorative mousse to help get her strength up. It is important, when new casualties arrive at the centre, to give them some time to de-stress in a quiet space, taking into consideration that Bramble was now in a strange place, with lots of new smells, and experiencing things she’d likely not encountered before.
After some close monitoring and additional fluid support, the following day, a blood test was carried out to try and get to the bottom of Bramble’s lack of energy and typical cub feistiness. Our vets discovered that not only was she anaemic, but she was also suffering with a tapeworm burden.
Once on a treatment plan to get her iron levels up and rid her of the nasty parasites, we were able to place her with a similar-sized cub, to help reduce stress levels, and also give her a bit of company, something our young casualties respond almost immediately to.
Though Bramble is now stable, another blood test will be carried out to check how she is responding to treatment and, hopefully,she’ll soon be on her way to a full recovery!
