# Internal Bleeding



## Meganharvey (Aug 10, 2012)

Hey everyone,

I know that I post alot, and I am a crazy hedgehog mommy, but on Friday I was holding my Hedgie and she started frothing red all over me. I recently took her to the vet with a little bit of diarrhea and the vet told me to watch her and to see what happens. She has been eating normal and everything and I came home on Friday to find that she had lost a substantial amount of weight and that she seemed lethargic. Then she frothed the red all over me. I am pretty sure that it is blood. 

I took her to the emergency vet that night and she had an x-ray which the vet said was inconclusive and she looked pretty normal except for a bit of gas. 

I noticed while examining her that she has a huge purple and black bruise on her belly and a cut on her head. There is nothing in her cage that could cause these injuries except for her maybe jumping off her wheel or something. She is an albino hedgehog. 

I am almost positive now that it is internal bleeding because she has black poops and she is throwing up a dark brown sludge. She is still running on her wheel at night and she is still drinking water. 

Is there anything that can be done to stop internal bleeding or will I have to put her down? 

Thanks for everything. 

Megan


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## SouthernSweet (Jul 25, 2012)

How on earth did they get a bit of gas from red froth?
Try having the stool tested for blood. It does sound like something's not going right. It sounds like a GI problem of some sort.
Try taking her to a specialized vet if you can.

Does anyone else have access to your hedgehog? Can she climb on anything in the cage? If she can she may have fallen and bruised something.


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## Meganharvey (Aug 10, 2012)

Well they gave her an x-ray that is where the got the gas thing from. 

And I have an appointment for Friday. That's the earliest I can get in. The Emergency vet told me that she may have something wrong with her liver. 

And no. I once caught her in her food dish, but that isn't high enough for her injuries. The huge black and purple mark on her stomach is what is worrying me. 

She is also very wobbly, but they told me not to jump to conclusions and think it's wobbly hedgehog syndrome. 

I just want to know if they find it to be internal bleeding, can they do anything?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

If it has been over a week of bleeding internally, the prognosis is not good. And it would be exploratory surgery to open her up and see if they can even find where she might be bleeding from. Which will be extra dangerous because she is already anemic and it's not like we have hedgie blood donors like dogs and cats.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

> She is also very wobbly, but they told me not to jump to conclusions and think it's wobbly hedgehog syndrome.


From what the vet is saying, it sounds like you need to find a different vet. WHS does not cause purple bruising on their stomach, red froth and the other symptoms you have described. She is wobbly because she is a very sick little girl.

If it's not internal bleeding, its probably a tumour. Poor little girl.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

I would urge the vet to squeeze you in sooner. You really ought to call them and tell them that it is an emergency situation and you are afraid your hedge may not make it to Friday! I am sure they could probably squeeze you in or call if there is a cancellation. I don't think waiting till Friday is a good idea from what you are saying...best of luck to you and I really hope it is something that can be fixed.
-Susan H. :|


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## Meganharvey (Aug 10, 2012)

Thanks everyone. I am pretty sure it has been longer than a week. 

I think it has been almost 2.. Since she had sludgey diarrhea and everything. They are a very busy vet being one of the only exotics vets in the city.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Personally, I would either go back to emerg, or find another day vet who are willing to see her. And also ensure that they have blood staining abilities and able to look at a blood smear in-house.

I would then have them gas her, then see if they can feel a mass. Though whether they can or not, I would opt to have them do a fine needle draw anyways at the bruise spot. (Obviously, there are already xrays, so can get the gist of basic anatomy there, and if it's close enough to the surface to show bruising like that, I doubt they would have to go too deep). Whatever they pull out, have them make 2 or more slides and make a smear, then stain. Look at the stained one in-house and see if it's blood, or something that contains cancerous cells. 

If it looks like it's just blood. it's very likely that she's bleeding internally.
If the clinic isn't sure what is going on, they can send the rest of the samples to the lab, and then forward the results to your exotic clinic.

Of course, this all sounds doable in my head, whether it can be done or not is a completely other story. Though I'm sure you're just sitting and watching the clock/calendar wondering what you can do. Though at least this way, you could possibly get some answers on what you should do next. And if it ends up being some weird sample, then you are a step ahead by having it sent to the lab, and get results sooner.


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## Meganharvey (Aug 10, 2012)

Thanks. There are very little vets in the city that deal with small animals. The only reason I didn't do anything like that at the emergency vet is because they had no capabilities. I also know the exotic vet doesn't have a lab, so any samples will have to be sent to a lab. 

I also know they don't like to operate on hedgehogs because of their small bodies, so if it turns out to be internal bleeding, they may not be able to stop it. 

I am just trying to wrap my head around maybe having to put her down, and trying to be comfortable with that idea if it has to happen.

Thank you for all the help and advice and I will let you know what goes on.


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## Eiramnoaj An (8 mo ago)

Same observation with my hedgie. At home he started losing appetite may 10 we force fed him after a week cause he cant stand alone anymore
Because his too weak. I started giving him dextrose and egg and mashed cat food alternately but still has diarrhea. On the 3rd week we started giving him ivermectin diluted in water and lactose free milk. He was able to gain a little strength able to walk and roam again but he only has solid poop with a bit od watery poop. Then we finally found a an exotic vet to check on him. It was very expensive with consultation labs and medicines I paid 3.4k for everything. Vet told me Too much gas can cause internal bleeding in hedgehogs because of to many bacteria and parasite living inside their stomach...unfortunately our vet still miscalculated the dosage of the medicines he gave and he gave 6 kinds of medicine/vitamins/supplement to treat. Asked the vet if I could mix it with water so he could digest it easily cause my instinct says and I know my hedgie. But he said no it must be taken in pure dose. He gave a 0.012-0.015ml dosage of the meds but my hedgie still become very ill. His meds are like lethal injection and because of that after the first dose he become very weak as he just stayed laying on the left side of his body. And the most lethal that made my hedgie very ill is the simethicone to release stomac gas wherein he started to have bubbling saliva and breath difficulty until he died 2hours after 2nd dose of his medicines. . I was able to revive him by doing cpr and able to regain heartbeat but he would never breath alone again...He was alive again again for another 2 hours by pumping air through his nose and throat... but my hands are tired and he would never breath alone again... and thought it is time to let him go. When he expired his entire belly become blue purplish green maybe because of the gas. It may looked like bruise but again it was difficult I still miss him regretted to follow my instincts...vet misjudged our pets ....we fully know our pets so follow your instincts😭😭😭


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## Eiramnoaj An (8 mo ago)

Eiramnoaj An said:


> Same observation with my hedgie. At home he started losing appetite may 10 we force fed him after a week cause he cant stand alone anymore
> Because his too weak. I started giving him dextrose and egg and mashed cat food alternately but still has diarrhea. On the 3rd week we started giving him ivermectin diluted in water and lactose free milk. He was able to gain a little strength able to walk and roam again but he only has solid poop with a bit od watery poop once then every poop is watery. Then we finally found a an exotic vet to check on him. It was very expensive with consultation labs and medicines I paid 3.4k for everything. Vet told me Too much gas can cause internal bleeding in hedgehogs because of to many bacteria and parasite living inside their stomach...unfortunately our vet still miscalculated the dosage of the medicines he gave and he gave 6 kinds of medicine/vitamins/supplement to treat. Asked the vet if I could mix it with water so he could digest it easily cause my instinct says and I know my hedgie. But he said no it must be taken in pure dose. He gave a 0.012-0.015ml dosage of the meds but my hedgie still become very ill. His meds are like lethal injection and because of that after the first dose he become very weak as he just stayed laying on the left side of his body and Pooped blood after that he never pooped again. And the most lethal that made my hedgie very very ill is the simethicone to release stomac gas wherein he started to have bubbling saliva and breath difficulty until he died 2hours after 2nd dose of his medicines. I was able to revive him by doing cpr and able to regain heartbeat but he would never breath alone again...He was alive again again for another 2 hours by pumping air through his nose and throat... but my hands are tired and he would never breath alone again... and thought it is time to let him go. When he expired his entire belly become blue purplish green maybe because of the gas. It may looked like bruise but again it was difficult I still miss him regretted to follow my instincts...vet misjudged our pets ....we fully know our pets so follow your instincts😭😭😭


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