# Hedgie not eating, lethargic



## annalisen (May 2, 2010)

My hedgehog Tallulah has been acting strange for the last week or so. I noticed on Thanksgiving when she turned down a piece of turkey, which is shocking. After that I kept a close eye on her and noticed she wasn't eating very much. For a few days I just figured she was being weird; she'd been gaining weight for a month or so, so I thought that if she wasn't pigging out as much it probably wasn't a terrible thing. But the last two days or so she's actually eaten almost nothing. I let her run around my bedroom floor a couple days ago and she seemed moderately active, but when she's in her cage she doesn't run on her wheel or even leave her house much. I took her out yesterday and today and she mostly just wanted to burrow and wasn't active at all either time. She also seems to be breathing a bit heavily.

I might be overreacting about her activity levels as she's always been a snuggler more than anything. Mostly I'm really concerned about her eating. I noticed today a pronounced pinched look around her waist that she's never had before (she's always been somewhat of a big girl). I'm not sure what's going on, it's winter and I live in a basement, but I keep the heat going most of the time and she has a heat lamp in her cage; I don't have a thermometer but it's always plenty warm in there. I'm taking her to a vet on Monday but if anyone has ideas in the meantime about what's going on it would help me stress a little less. She's about two and a half years old, I haven't noticed her losing many quills, and though she's not pooping much (due to not eating, of course) the poops she has made seem normal!

Any help would be much appreciated. We thank you! 

Anna & Tallulah


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You need to make sure that the temperature in her cage is around 75*F and that it stays steady, if you don't have a theromstat controlling the heat or a thermometer to keep an eye on the temp you don't really know what it is. She could be cold and trying to hibernate. You said her breathing isn't right? that means she could have an Upper Respiratory Infection. If she hasn't eaten much in a couple of days you need to start syringe feeding her food and water right away. Fatty liver disease can start setting in after only a couple of days of not eating. She needs to see a vet as soon as possible.


----------



## annalisen (May 2, 2010)

Thank you for your reply!

I've definitely witnessed hibernation attempts before and this is very very different. I did hear that hedgehogs are prone to respiratory infections; do you think this would prevent her eating? I will definitely try to syringe-feed her tonight, is there something special I should feed her, or just mash up her kibble with water? Thanks again for your help!


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Yes, URIs can cause them to stop eating. It was just covered in class the other day! URIs affect their senses and to the point they can't smell at all. Once they start losing their sense of smell, they will stop eating.


----------

