Family Life

The 'World's fattest hedgehog,' Arbuckle goes on a strict diet

Meet Arbuckle: he's an overweight hedgehog who has tipped the scales as possibly the heaviest hedgehog on record.

Arbuckle weighs in at five lbs (2.3kg) and has been put on a strict diet.

After chowing down during the winter, the extra feasting means he struggles to walk or roll into a defensive ball.

Experts believe he could be the fattest of his kind in the world.

via GIPHY

He's now under the supervision of The New Arc, an animal rescue centre in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Staff got a surprise when he was handed in on Tuesday evening, as they've never seen a hedgehog so large.

Arbuckle is now tucking into a low-calorie diet which is being supervised by the team.  

He seems to have broken their record, as he is the heaviest hedgehog they could find on their system.

Taking to Facebook, Keith Marley explained how Arbuckle got his title of world's fattest hedgehog.

"He was handed in by a young man who had been looking after him over the winter.

"It's fair to say this chap had been doing it a bit too enthusiastically. When he went to release it, the hedgehog wouldn't go.

"He put it down to him being reluctant to leave, but in actual fact, Arbuckle can't really move very well on the grass, he's so fat.

"He gave us a shout and we were rather surprised. We've looked on the Internet and we have found nothing as extreme as this case."

The animal is roughly four times the weight of an average hedgehog for this time of year, added Mr Marley.

It is believed that Arbuckle will now be dining on dried biscuits.

This will give the animal that full feeling without him gaining any more weight.

via GIPHY

He will also have to work for his food.

"He'll get a limited amount of food each day and it will be scattered around his cage so that he has to exercise to get it, as opposed to waddling along to his bowl and helping himself and then going back to sleep again," explained Mr Marley.

Possibly the most relatable story we have written to date, all we need is someone to put us on a strict diet too.

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