Bet you didn't know animals are capable of having alopecia.
In fact, it's quite common. Ferrets, for example, who reach middle-age typically suffer from alopecia whilst dachsunds are supposed to suffer from it quite regularly. For hedgehogs, however, it's a different story.
Derek the Hedgehog, who's currently residing in Herts Hogline, is currently suffering from alopecia brought on by stress. Lynne Garner, who runs the animal shelter in Hertfordshire, says that Derek "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."
In order to help with Derek's recovery, they're trying to find a much bigger area that he can roam in and begin his recovery. According to Lynne, he needs "a large heated area (an escape proof heated greenhouse with an earth not concrete floor would be ideal) where he could spend the next couple of months."
Derek's plight, however, hasn't gone unnoticed, with many people and animal shelters coming forward with offers of help and support to Herts Hogline and Derek himself.
Here's hoping he gets the sorted, the poor little mite.
Via Facebook