Wildlife – Small Mammal Care
We need your help to look after the small mammals in our care, primarily hedgehogs.
Why we need you
We need your help to look after the small mammals in our care, primarily hedgehogs. You will undertake a variety of duties including preparing and supplying food to adult hedgehogs, as well as general cleaning of cages and maintaining the food prep room. This will be a huge help to our team at the Wildlife Centre.
How much time do you need to be able to give?
A minimum of 8 hours per month – for example two half days per month.
What will you be doing?
- Assists with the cleaning of casualty accommodation – primarily be in hedgehog enclosures and will include handling the casualties. A volunteer many undertake these duties unsupervised once fully trained
- Assist with the care and feeding of hedgehog casualties as directed by the staff and must wear appropriate PPE at all times
- Assist with cleaning and upkeep of outdoor accommodation
Stock replenishment and maintenance duties – volunteers must be prepared to work outdoors - Accompany and assist a member of staff with the release of a recovered casualty
- Assist with general cleaning of the centre, including laundry, corridors and dishes
- Undertake any other reasonable general duties as directed by the centra management team, provided full training has been provided.
- Volunteers will not initially be involved with any other species in the small mammal section, this is due to the stress levels and complexity of caring for the other species which are handled by experienced members of staff only.
- Volunteers will not attend to casualties requiring medication or veterinary treatment unless specifically asked to do so by an appropriate member of staff.
What skills do you need?
- You should have a keen interest in small mammals, especially hedgehogs
- You should be gentle, caring and compassionate
- You should have a high degree of attention to detail and the highest standards of cleanliness
- You require to work flexibly as part of a team
- You should be happy to work as part of a team with staff and volunteers
- You should be willing to develop and maintain good relationships with staff, volunteers and representatives of other agencies
- You should be willing to undertake all training necessary to the role
- You must take care of your personal health & safety and that of others in the centre
What will you gain from being a volunteer?
This is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience as part of the team at our National Wildlife Rescue Centre. You will be a valued member of our volunteering family, and a much appreciated part of the Scottish SSPCA team.
Role Profile
| Volunteer Role | Wildlife (Small Mammal Care) |
| Volunteer Manager | Centre Management Team |
| Where you will be based | Other |
Current Opportunities
For a full list of available vacancies in your area, please visit our volunteering portal:
Find out more or join the volunteering waiting list
Please send us a message from the General Enquiries form on our Contact Us page, selecting ‘Volunteering’ from the dropdown menu.
Support us from £5 a month
It costs us £63,000 every day to continue the work that animals across Scotland depend on. Our work is only possible because of the generosity of people like you.
