This unfortunate hedgehog blew up like a balloon

I know this really does sound like fake news, but a hedgehog who the RSPCA said had "blown up like a beach ball" has been diagnosed with...balloon syndrome.

The spiky lil’ guy was found wandering round Doncaster by a member of the public, who handed it in to the RSPCA. We don’t know if it was rolled or carried.

It was so big that they suspected it might be pregnant.

ae36503eaeaaeb70c222bd3eafe8201d-1556689611-SmUc-column-width-inline — A normal, non-ballooning hedgehog

In actual fact, it was suffering from the aforementioned balloon syndrome, which occurs when gas collects under the skin of the hedgehog.

“It's the worst case of balloon syndrome I've seen,” said RSPCA inspector Sandra Dransfield. “This poor chap was almost twice its natural size, literally blown up like a beach ball with incredibly taut skin.”

And there’s a happy ending: after treatment, which involved X-raying him, pricking his skin to release some of the air, before he was administered with antibiotics and pain relief, he’s been released back into the wild.

(Images: Rex/RSPCA)

Emily Reynolds is a freelance journalist and author specialising in mental health, tech, science and gender. Emily has also written about music, dating, TV and pretty much anything else you can think of. Emily worked at WIRED for a year, writing news and features and appearing on the weekly podcast, and regularly writes for the Guardian, NY Mag, the Observer, New Statesman, the BBC and more.