# Upper respiratory infection + dehydration.



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Hi everyone,

Col. Mustard is sick and I had to take her to the vet this morning, but the regular doctor who has more experience with hedgehogs wasn't there so she was seen by other doctor, and I just want to make sure we're on the right track to get her back to her feet. 

Background: female, 16 months old (give or take, she was adopted when turning 1 year old), eats a mix of Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck, Wellness Healthy Weight and Harmony Farms Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe, + treats (mealworms, chicken, eggs, bananas.) I have her in a C&C cage with fleece liner, she has a CSW, I have a CHE set up and temperature and light schedules are always consistent. She was treated for upper respiratory infection when we first got her in July/August. 

Col. Mustard was just fine, healthy and happy as usual prior to this events.

On Wednesday evening I gave her a bath and she managed to snort a lot of water up her nose, so we were on URI watch over here. 

On Thursday I noticed she had a runny nose and was sneezing a little. I also noticed decrease in activity and appetite, but she did ate a little and ran on the wheel for a while.

On Friday I had a long day at work and got home only at 10:30pm, to find Mustard acting very lethargic. I also thought she had drank little if no water at all all day, so I gave some water with a syringe. 

This morning I woke up to find she barely ate last night and did not wheel at all, so I took her to the vet.

Vet said she has an upper respiratory infection and was dehydrated. She put her on antibiotic (Doxycycline) twice a day for two weeks, gave her subcutaneous fluid, and sent me home with Prescription A/D food. She told me to watch her and if by Monday or Tuesday she hasn't shown any sings of improvement, that I should take her in again. 

Does this sound right? I'm just worried that it seems she got very sick so quickly, is this normal? Can they get so debilitated in just 2 1/2 days? 

Any input would be very appreciated. 

Thank you,


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Anyone?


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

yes, i do believe that things progress very quickly in hedgehogs. please keep us posted!


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

For what you've described, it sounds like good treatment. Hedgehogs can go downhill in a matter of hours because they hide their symptoms so well. That's one reason I get upset when someone posts "Bob has been like this for a week, what should I do?". Typically the answer is call the crematorium because a week is too long to recover from. 

It's imperative to get quick treatment when your hedgehog is sick. It sounds like you've done that. Now your part is to provide supportive treatment while letting the medicine work it's magic. 

Offer a second bowl of water with chamomile tea with mint and sweetened with a bit of honey. Simply make a cup of chamomile and mint tea, sweeten it slightly, cool it and put it in another bowl. Offer wet fruits like watermelon to keep up hydration. Keep a very close eye on her weight and feed her whatever she'll eat to keep her weight up. 

Good luck.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Thank you for your replies! 

HedgeMom, I feel the same way when people postpone to take their pets to the vet, and that's one reasons I wanted to share what happened to Mustard, so people could see that you have to act fast. She dehydrated so fast, I can't imagine what might have happened if I had waited until Monday when her regular vet would be there... But anyways...

She still isn't drinking any water so I've been using a syringe to give her small amounts of water throughout the day. I'll try the tea, that is a very good idea. 

I have her on my lap now and still she shows some lethargy but at least I don't think she is too dehydrated anymore, when I pinch her skin it goes back in a second, before it was taking very long to do so.

She ate some of the Hills A/D food, I'll try to find something else she would eat. 

I'll keep you guys updated, again thank you for your help and support!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Watch her temperature. When they are sick they can get cool easier than normal. A heating pad under part of her cage will give her a warm area if she wants it, without heating her whole cage more than normal. 

It's a rare hedgehog that doesn't like A/D and once she catches on to syringing, she will probably look forward to it. :lol: You can put some kibble in bed with her because very often they will eat in bed even if they don't want to get up to eat. You could even leave a tiny dish of the A/D in bed with her or close by.

I am glad you got her to the vet as quick as you could. You are a great hedgie parent.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

She's sleeping on me now and she feels toasty warm. I did get the temperature in her cage a couple of degrees warmer than normal. 

Considering how debilitated she is, how long coul it take until I start seeing some improvement? I'm so worried because she still seems to have no energy at all... 

Thank you, Nancy!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Antibiotic can take a few days to work so you may not see much change for a couple of days. As the vet said, if there is no improvement by Monday or Tuesday she needs to go back. 

Poor girl. Sending hugs and prayers to her.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Update:
Last night Col. Mustard ate about 1 teaspoon of the Hills A/D food. I left some kibble in her igloo and she ate it. 
I offered her tea sweetened with a tiny amount of honey but she didn't want to try (she's very picky about trying new things) so I left a separated bowl of water with a little bit of honey in her cage and she drank a lot of it overnight. She also ate some more kibble too, so she's definitely less debilitated than before. 
I have a question though, I'm afraid if I keep offering sweetened water she wont drink regular water once I stop adding honey to it. Should I stop offering it now, or should I offer it again tonight since she's still a little weak?

Thank you,


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'd keep offering it until she is better. You can worry then about weaning her off it. 

I'm glad her appetite has picked up. Sounds like she is improving.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Oh, I am so glad she is doing better! Thank you for the update.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

How is she doing?


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm sorry I haven't updated, had a pretty busy weekend picking leaves and staking fire wood... :roll: 

Mustard is doing better! Her stool was very soft for the last couple of days, which was concerning me a little bit (although she didn't have diarrhea and I thought soft stool could just be caused by stress and antibiotics, please correct me if I'm wrong), but this morning I cleaned her cage and her poop is pretty much back to normal.

She's been wheeling a little and seems much more active. She's also eating her kibble and drinking water. She's been eating about 1/2 the amount of kibble she usually does, but I've been complementing her diet with Hills A/D. 

I want to say THANK YOU for everyone who replied here, you guys really helped me! Col. Mustard says thank you too!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

She sounds like she is doing wonderfully. Good job!

Antibiotics can cause a their GI system a lot of stress. Soft stool and green stools are not unheard of. Since her stool is returning to normal, I wouldn't change anything you are doing. However, just as information, you can supplement with probiotics (acidolphilus) given mid way between antibiotic doses to help the GI out.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> She sounds like she is doing wonderfully. Good job!
> 
> Antibiotics can cause a their GI system a lot of stress. Soft stool and green stools are not unheard of. Since her stool is returning to normal, I wouldn't change anything you are doing. However, just as information, you can supplement with probiotics (acidolphilus) given mid way between antibiotic doses to help the GI out.


I was wondering about probiotics, but wasn't sure how I would give it to her... I'm not too familiar with commercially available probiotics (we eat yogurt or kefir twice a day here so no need for supplements), is there a liquid form of it? Mustard isn't a big fan of plain yogurt, can I syringe feed her a little bit of it daily until she's better?

Thank you!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I typically just use the powdered acidolphilus and sprinkle it onto some kibble or some other favorite treat (apple, watermelon, etc). However, I have had hedgehogs that were only eating via syringe feedings and would either add the powder to the syringed food, or if they accepted it I would add a little plain yogurt to assist.

Just make sure you give it to her between antibiotic doses and not at the same time. The antibiotic will kill off any good effects from the probiotic if they are given too close together.

Look in the human supplement section for a high count acidophilus. It should be kept cold.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Had to take Mustard to the vet again today (Christmas Eve... so much fun.)

She was fine yesterday, I know she was... It's not that I don't pay attention to my hedgies, I have her out every single night for at least 1 hour, I check on her every morning before I go to work and every afternoon when we get home we check on her too... still, little stinker is good at hiding symptoms. 

Woke her up this morning to clean her cage and she greeted me with huge bubbles blowing out of her nose. I took her out and she was acting lethargic and sneezing, I looked at her food bowl and she only ate 8 kibble and ran less than 1/2 mile last night, so I rushed her to the vet.

Vet said that most likely the antibiotic used last time hadn't got rid of the bacteria, so now we are trying a different one (last time we had doxycycline, this time we're trying Enrofloxacin -- Baytril.) Our regular Mr. Awesome vet wasnt there, so we were seen by the other vet. I also picked a can of Hills A/D. 

I'm really beating myself up right now. So upsetting that she's sick again despite all my effort to keep my hedgies healthy and happy.


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## abrowndog (Nov 26, 2010)

I don't have a single good word of advice to offer because I know nothing, but I will beg you to please stop beating yourself up. You sound like a VERY good hedgie mommy to me and I can't name someone who seems to love their babies more than you.

It sounds to me that you are doing everything you can and only time will heal her. It sounds like she is steadily improving and you are doing a great job.

Merry Christmas. You and your CM will be in my thoughts.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Thank you!

I do everything I can for them, I have CHE set ups for both my hedgies, I monitor the temperature like a vulture every minute I'm home, I think I have them on a good diet, I have a 12 hours light schedule for them, and I give them LOTS of love, and still she's sick. It's frustrating. I feel bad for her, I just want her to get better soon. 

Hopefully the Baytril will be a definite response. If not, I'll take her in again and ask for a test to determine if it's some resistant bacteria. 

Merry Christmas for you and your family too.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

You are such a good hedgie-mama! I can't imagine Mustard could be in better hands (Or Pete). I hope that she gets to feeling better soon & that this time it works for good.


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## michelle91 (Mar 30, 2016)

hi there first time hedgehog owner here  i noticed a few days ago she was sniffing alot, and once in a while a sneak would come out, i called the vet where we got her from shes said thats fine, she might be stressed new home changed food, different bedding( its the same as the pet stores). so she said watch out for marney (hedgehog). still sniffing alot she got a bath today 100% she didnt get water up her nose now her one said she plug with white cloudy muces. i have vet tomorrow can anyone help til then thanks


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Hi. Welcome and you need to start your own thread with your questions or they might get lost and always look at the date of the original post before posting on a thread.


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