# Help possibly hurt hedgehog



## tysonmarion (Jan 4, 2012)

So i gave my hedgehog some of the ultra bites, and i woke up last noght with some scratch marks on his shoe box that looked like blood, then i cane home after work today and its completely red, it kinda looks like blood, but could it be the snacks, like theres a decent amount of it around the cage, has anyone used these bites, is it sonethkng in them or os he cut, is he hurt or something, please help! 
I just got him yesterday, he is 4 months old from a small petstore but thier really good with thier animals, i help out there sometimes


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

DO NOT FEED HIM ULTRA BITES!!!!
If it is this, http://www.petco.com/product/14408/8-in ... llas-.aspx , it has raisins in it, which are poisonous and will lead to kidney failure!
Do you see where there could be any bleeding?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Does your hedgie have a wheel? if so does it look like there might be any blood on it? Have you checked him over carefully including toes? There's no way for us to say if he's hurt or not since we can't see him. Where exactly did you see the red? You say its all over "it" but what's it?? 

The Ultra Bites are dangerous and shouldn't be fed, either return them to the store of if you can't do that, then throw them out.


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## tysonmarion (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks for the fast reply,I havnt held him after I saw the the reddish color,ultra bites contain cranberrys it says,maybe that is the cause but i just looked at his wheel,and there is reddish color on the side of the wheel going around,its hard to say if its smeared dumpings,or if its blood. Now i know not to use these ultra bites. Here is a picture of somethingthat was in the cage..

http://imageshack.us/content_round.php? ... ad&newlp=1


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

What kind of wheel does he have?


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Also, the sides of that container need to be covered... they could have caused the cut, too.


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## tysonmarion (Jan 4, 2012)

I just had him in my hands,one of his nails is torn off,what do i do!!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

oh geez...if it is bleeding still apply light pressure to it with a tissue or something momentarily then see if you can dip it in flour to stop the bleeding if it won't after applying a bit of pressure. It probably hurts him a lot so careful  

I've not had this happen before so just taking a guess at what I would do. Hopefully someone will come along to advise further.

Likely you will need to remove the wheel so the toe can heal and keep it very clean with foot baths for a while.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Looking at your pic it "appears" the nail is right there stuck on the side


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## tysonmarion (Jan 4, 2012)

Should i take him back to the place i got him from, they told me everything to buy and it looks like they really didnt know what they were talking about. I did some research and they gave me a metal wheel, maybe his foot got caught in that, they also gave me those snacks mentioned in the first post so maybe he isnt as healthy as they told me. I will go there tomorrow with him and see what they have to say, and for now i took out his wheel and put his old house( a shoe box) which had blood on it also. But should he bleed that much, is ge going to die of bloodloss? There was a quater sized blood puddle on the floor where i set him down after his soak. It doesnt look like its letting up and he constandly is scratching things with it. Will he loose all blood?!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Did you wrap it and apply some pressure to it / dip it in flour?

CALL the on call/after hrs vet near you .....they will advise you over the phone at no cost and tell you what to do and/or let you know if it an emergency.

It's been hours and he is still bleeding....that can NOT be good. 

I would not take him back to the store personally...obviously they are idiots.


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

if you soaked his foot...it will bleed even more as water allows it to continue to flow uninhibited. You have to do something to stop the bleeding like dip it in flour / cornstarch or that bleed-stop stuff ( nail rips bleed a lot and often look worse than they are due to the amount of blood)


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Hedgies should NEVER EVER have a wire wheel for this exact reason. I wouldn't go back to the place you got him. If they told you that a wire wheel and treats that lead to kidney failure are good, what are they going to know about this problem?
Call the emergency vet.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Dip his foot in flour or cornstarch and cuddle him in a cloth and hold him still. If he won't stay still while on you, put him back in his cage and turn bright lights on so he will stay in bed and stay still. The bleeding should stop once he is calm and not moving around. As mentioned, do not put him in water because you want the area to clot to stop the bleeding. Foot and toe injuries bleed a lot and there can still be small dots of blood showing an hour or two later. If it's still bleeding heavily, he needs to see a vet. 

Having this happen doesn't mean he is unhealthy, just that the people at the store are idiots and don't believe a word they say.


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

I hope your new little hedgie is alright.  I'm sure that must have hurt a lot.

Everyone seems to have covered how to stop the bleeding pretty well. Since you are taking out the wheel, I would take the opportunity to replace it. The only pet store brand wheel that is available is the Comfort Wheel. It's a little noisy, and the grooves collect poo like no other, but your hedgie shouldn't be able to rip is lil nail off. Most people here will recommend a wheel by Larry:

http://www.carolinastormhedgehogs.com/s ... wheel.html

I actually just ordered mine.  I would think the smooth surface would be better for your lil one, with his nail being so fragile as it grows back in. Just make sure you don't use any wire wheels or the Silent Spinner (the crease down the center can catch hedgehog nails).

Here is a link to one of our threads about acceptable treats for hedgehogs:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14383&p=126828&hilit=raisins#p126828

I'm sorry you got such poor advice from the pet store- that is kind of a recurring theme it seems like. Just make sure to read up on the forums here. There is a ton of reliable information. If you ever have questions, make sure to post them. We would be happy to help you and your hedgie out!


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