Meet Nelson, the completely spikeless and bald hedgehog who can be found at the Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue in Norfolk, UK. This tiny fellow is shy and vulnerable and needs human protection to survive. Without spikes, he wouldn't last long in the wild, being a very easy catch to predators. But Nelson doesn't mind staying at the sanctuary at all! There, the cute hedgehog enjoys a good life, plenty of TLC and regular SPAs with oil massages…
‘‘We will likely never know what caused him to lose his hair and spikes,’’ Tonia Garner, the manager at Foxy Lodge told Metro. ‘‘He’s a mystery but to have survived into adulthood he must have had prickles, and his health is very well other than the fact he is bald.’’
Volunteers at the wildlife conservation sanctuary guess that Nelson's condition is due to stress-related alopecia he got after experiencing some sort of trauma in the wild. All of his spines fell out without growing back.
Staff was hoping the spikes will reappear, so every day they massaged the little fellow with almond oils to stimulate growth. Unfortunately, this didn't help. They still include massages into hedgehog's care routine daily, because Nelson seems to enjoy his SPA sessions - it keeps him warm and his wrinkly skin soft and smooth.
One positive thing is that Nelson's lack of spikes makes this adorable animal even more cuddle-able than regular hedgehogs!
Meet Nelson, the spikeless bald hedgehog
Without spikes, he wouldn't last long in the wild, being a very easy prey to predators
‘‘He’s a mystery but to have survived into adulthood he must have had prickles and his health is very good other than the fact he is bald,’’ Foxy Lodge told Metro
But Nelson doesn't mind staying at the sanctuary at all! There, he enjoys good life!
The bald hedgehog gets plenty of TLC and regular SPAs with oil massages…
‘‘We will likely never know what caused him to lose his hair and spikes’’
Nelson's lack of spikes makes this adorable animal even more cuddle-able than regular hedgehogs!
