# Hogs is sick :(



## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Well....Pearl is doing well...but Hoggle is not now. Last night he ran on his wheel and was doing fine...but I noticed he was pooping in his house which is unusual. Then this morning there was a lot of poop  It was brown and mushy.....but I just checked him again and there was more fresh poop ( I had cleaned his cage ) and it is yucky brown....green....and a ball of pink mucus. I am taking him to the vet tomorrow


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Sending you healing thoughts your way <3 I hope Hoggle gets better soon~


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Thank you  I need good thoughts. I am tired from constantly fussing about Pearl...and now i'm sad that Hoggle isn't feeling good. He has never been sick before. he is running on his wheel though...that is good...and he drank water...that is good...but he hasn't eaten and food yet. I am hoping he will. It COULD have been meal worms that made his tummy upset...but i've never seen his poop look so gross and weird before


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Poor Hogs  I'm thinking of you guys and sending good karma!!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I hope the vet visit goes well & he feels better. Poor little guy.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

Hugs to you and your honey-pog....hope the vet visit goes well and that he gets better soon. Hope it is something not serious!

Kathy


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Thanks you guys. He ran on his wheel all night, but only ate 10 kibble, and he drank enough water....but his poop is really really green now. Poor hogs. Only 25 more minutes until the vet opens.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Has your hedgehog eaten any fruits/veggies or meat? Sometimes when the GI system is moving too fast you will get a nasty runny stool, that may be brown and green at the same time as well as undigested food. I have one that loves watermelon, however if she eats too much it goes straight through her... Meaning I will find a soft stool that contains bits of red in it. The red is undigested watermelon.

I have another that cannot eat waxworms. I will find a white mass in that hedgehog's stool. They just pass through undigested.

Take a stool sample with you to the vet.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Nope no change in his diet  We were gone over the weekend and a friend took care of him and they didn't give him any new food or change anything. That is the only change I can think of, the fact we left and came back. The weird part is though his poop started off brown when we came back, but it was in his hut which he never does, and progressively got greener and greener. I purposefully didn't feed him any mealworms because I know it makes at least half his stool green. He is acting oddly though.  Poor poor hogs. I feel bad for his upset tummy.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

I took too pieces of his poop and put in a ziplock bag to bring.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

So we went to the vet  Poor Hoggle got poked and prodded. He got scruffed as well. He didn't know what to think about it. But then they brought him his medicine and he wouldn't eat it when the vet tried to feed it to him, but when I did he ate it up and wanted more  Good boy.  Lets hope he gets better. Poor poor hogs.


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

I'm sorry Hoggle got scruffed and poked and proded but I'm glad he took his medicine from you and I hope it makes him better.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

What did doc thing was going on?


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Aww, it's cuz he loves and trusts his mama!!


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

I am very sad for Hoggle  he really is feeling terrible    I am glad I took him to the vet. He has vomited a few times   I hope he gets better with his medicine.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

If you post what the vet thinks is going on and also the name of the medicine, I'm sure people can give you good advice to make him feel better.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Well the vet checked him all over, he checked his stool for parasites, so he is treating it with baytril ..... hoggle ate it the first time...he kind of ate it the second time and threw up in the after noon....and then he threw up all last night     I couldn't help him. He only drank water last night and didn't eat any food. His throw up looks terrible. The one I saw this morning had blood  I was up with him until 1 a.m. and woke up at 6. In that time period he had thrown up blood once. I cleaned his cage so he wouldn't have to lay in patches of sickness. I have to wait till 9 to call the vet and ask them if I should give him the medication still or do a different one. I am so sad and scared  And I have the first job testing interview in 7 months this afternoon...and I have to be on my A game because it is for a dispatch job. Fortunately when I took him out to change his bedding he was being curious and not just laying there. I think today is going to be a very emotional day for Hoggle and I


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

sorry my brain is not working right now  - the vet gave him baytril for a GI infection


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

Praying for your day to go smoothly and your sweetie to get better.

Keep the vet informed on his reaction to the medication. Maybe one of the breeders will help you here with what else to do. They will prolly tell you to start syringe feeding him and making sure he is getting enough water as well...

I am so sorry.

Kathy


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It may be a reaction to the baytril. Even flavoured it is nasty tasting. Did you mix it with food when you syringed it to him. He should have something in his tummy when being given meds as it helps sooth the stomach to not be empty.

Perhaps the vet will change antibiotics.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Baytril is a strong broad spectrum antibiotic. It can be upsetting to the system. I would discontinue its use until you talk to your veterinarian. Your vet may prescribe some meds to settle his stomach or change the dosage or give a new antibiotic in its place. Mine prefers to use clavamox over Baytril, and then go with the stronger stuff if needed.

Also, if he is vomiting a lot and cannot stand up, he is likely dehydrated. Pinch the skin on his back, does it stay pinched for very long? Normal skin should snap back into place quickly. Also look at his eyes, if they are sunken in, he is dehydrated. Try to get water into him, if he cannot hold it down, get him into the vet's office. Ask to have him sub-q'ed with fluids. If you are comfortable with syringes, ask if you can bring a supply home. One note though, sub-qing can be difficult as it causes a strange sensation as it goes under the skin. I've had hedgehogs who are otherwise weak suddenly find a lot of energy to try to get away.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

I am going to call the vet in 15 minutes when they open. He did drink water last night but threw it all up. What was strange to me is I gave him his meds yesterday at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. and he didn't start vomiting until about 9 p.m.  and he vomited like 6 times  I haven't given him his meds just in case the vet tells me not to. I am not sure if I can get him to eat anything. I will try soaking his cat food in water to see if he will take to that. I did put some gerber chicken sticks crushed up in his cage to try and eat....and I also gave him the option of some soft cat food. He refused all foods last night. I do not blame him. I wouldn't eat if I wanted to puke all night either.  When He vomited when I gave him the meds he ate it back up...which was weird....but again that was at 6 p.m. The vomit he was doing last night was no chance of eating it back up...it just came out and he walked away....which again I don't blame him. That would be sick  He really wasn't feeling well  I took him out and held him for a while. and I put him back in....he had thrown up a lot before I held him. I turned on the light to check what color the vomit was just in case we needed to get to the emergency vet....but it was just kind of brown ish.....but this morning one was green and bloody. When I turned on the light though...he usually goes running into his hut.  and he just laid down. he didn't even tuck in his head. This morning I found him burrowed under his fleece liner....he didn't want to be in his house. I think it was too stinky for him. I cleaned his whole cage and he is sleeping under some fleece strips right now. I will check for dehydration right now. I do have some very small syringe needles just for this situation....to rehydrate him. I have never done it. Is there a post or instructions some where on how to do this?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Your vet will show you how to inject and tell you how much lactated ringers to give. Do you also have a fresh bag of lactated ringers on hand? If not, you can get a bag from your vet. Its pretty cheap. I picked up a fresh bag recently for about $6.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Yeah I am going to see how he does tonight. Today has been a long busy day and I just got home. He took his medication this morning, the vet wanted me to try, and he threw a lot of it up. I just gave him his second dose...and he hasn't thrown up for 15 minutes. That is good. He is still fairly hydrated and his skin is sliding back to where it should be. I will be helping him drink water tonight if I notice that he isn't. I'll start with the syringe with some water. I'll keep you guys updated on him. Thanks so much for your support. I was/am still very scared for him.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

How did he do last night?

It's completely understandable to be scared for him. As many years as I have had hedgehogs and as many problems as I have encountered or seen on these forums, I still get very scared for them.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

I don't think Hoggle threw up at all last night. Nor did he throw up his dose of medication. He did drink water in front of me on his own and he didn't throw it up in front of me. I was up with him for a long time. I don't see any signs of throw up when I woke up. On the down side, he didn't eat a any food that I can see. I did give him a little dish of softened cat food but it looks like he walked through it rather than eat it. I am going to wake him up in 30 minutes to give him his medication and try to see if he will eat something. And i'm going to have him drink more water if he doesn't eat anything. Poor hogs.... I will update this probably this afternoon to see how he does.


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

Ok! I just gave Hoggle his medicine today and he ate it up without throwing up  he drank water from a syringe willingly....and he ate a piece of tuna because I was eating some and he was curious and heck... he hasn't eaten in 2 days i'll let him have some. And then I decided to try to present him with some dried cat food...he didn't want it. So I tried the soft stuff....and he ate it  He hasn't thrown up at all and it has been about 30 minutes since this all started. Maybe we are on our way to recovery!! I am hopeful.


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

Yay! That's great news!  I hope things keep improving and I'm sending good thoughts your way.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

Oh, I love hearing good news! I hope he continually gets better and better.......  

Kathy


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## beehivehedgie (Feb 13, 2011)

OK! It has been a few days and I have good news to update! Hoggle ate ALL 35 pieces of food last night AND drank a ton of water out of his water bottle AND pooped and peed in his litter box!  GOOD BOY! He is doing much better!!! HIs poop isn't green... he hasn't vomited since that one day he was just doing terrible....and he is doing much better now! Running on his wheel....raising his quills at me again (For him, like many others, this is the norm when I pick him up...while he was sick he WANTED me to hold him. Broke my heart.) I am so happy Hoggle is back to his fiesty hungry poopy self!!!!! He still lets me hold him...but at least he puts up a little fight when I wake him up now  YAY! He is still on his medications and I think I am goign to give them to him until it runs out. If any of you have experience giving antibiotics to your hedgie and have advise contrary let me know  The vet forgot to tell me when.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Standard antibiotic run is for 14 days. I'm surprised they didn't add the length to dose on the bottles of meds. I'd call the vet's office and ask them to look in your hedgehog's record to see how long the medication was supposed to be given. Occasionally veterinarians will dose for a longer run.

Do not stop giving before the end of the dose run though. If you stop too soon there may still be some bacteria that could regrow and cause a relapse. 

I'm thrilled to see that your little one is doing so much better though. I refer to that wanting to be held as the "sick hedgehog mellow". Its one of those behavior changes that greatly concerns me and I've seen some new owners see this change and think their hedgehog suddenly trusts them more, when in fact its a symptom of a very sick hedgehog. I'd much rather have a sassy, defensive hedgehog who feels well enough to tell me off when they don't want to be touched.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

So glad to hear he's doing better!!!!
Yay!!


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