Hedgehog with ‘balloon syndrome’ deflated by Scottish animal activists

We’re happy to inform you that a Scottish hedgehog suffering from ‘balloon syndrome’ has been released back into the wild.

The rotund hedgehog was spotted by a member of the public back in June 2017.

He had a circumference of 76cm at the time, measuring 24cm wide.

The poor fellow was collected by the team at the Scottish SPCA, who brought him to the National Wildlife Rescue Centre for treatment and called him Zepplin.

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As we learned from a press release on Wednesday, Zepplin remained at the centre for 253 days.

Colin Seddon said he was one of the largest hedgehogs ever brought in.

“Zepplin suffered from balloon syndrome,” he said.

“It’s likely that he was clipped by a car, puncturing a lung and causing air to become trapped under his skin.”

To deflate him, the staff had to puncture his skin.

But the method didn’t go according to plan.

“Zepplin had a difficult time recovering,” Seddon said.

“The hole we made in his skin kept healing faster than his punctured lung.

“We had to put plastic in with his spines to ensure the excess air could escape as the poor guy kept reinflating.”

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Eventually, Zepplin recovered and was released in the Perthshire area over the Easter long weekend.

His story is now going viral after the SSPCA posted photos of the inflated hedgehog on Facebook, feauring on sites like the BBC.