# Help needed with potential food allergy!



## Mommatobe (Apr 5, 2012)

Hello everyone,

So early this year my Emma was sick with what at first was assumed to be some sort of gastroenteritis potentially caused by mealworms later to be discovered to be caused by anorexia due to an ear infection ( at least that is the conclusion her vet and I came to after discharge from one ear being noted after adding a second anti-biotic and her starting to eat within 24 hours of starting additional meds). Anyway, here we are about 2 months later and for the last couple of weeks I have noticed Emma's skin is "extra" dry ( bathing with Aveeno baby and application of oils does not help ). I at first thought maybe she was going through her one year quill a couple months early but the last two nights she has barely ate ( I started force feeding this morning ) and I noticed discharge from both her ears last night. She has an appointment to be seen tomorrow to do cytology smears from her ears as well as other testing on her skin. I did notice this weekend that a few of her stools were softer then normal and did have some mucous in them as well. Basically I have a feeling I am dealing with a hedgie that has a food "allergy". I currently get her food from her breeder and to my knowledge the foods in it are mainly chicken based. I am wondering if anyone else has or had a hedige with a food allergy and what novel protein / hypoallergenic foods you used as I may have to make my own "allergy" mix as early as tomorrow night and would really appreciate some help with picking foods that work well together. 

Thank you in advance for your help and I will let you all know how Emma does this time around...


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Awww, poor girl...so many problems! An allergy would make sense to me too, with all of those symptoms, but someone else may have a more experienced opinion. I've not dealt with allergies in hedgehogs (and not sure how common they are), but my ****er spaniel is allergic to chicken and has some other issues besides. Some proteins that I've found that are less likely to be allergens are lamb, duck, rabbit, bison, and venison - basically anything that's not one of the most commonly used ones like beef, chicken, and turkey. Lamb may be an iffy one too, it's worked for my dog, but I know it tends to be a more common one too. You may have to look into dog foods to find some more different proteins, I don't think cat foods use a lot of uncommon proteins. You might also try looking for some grain-free foods, just in case. Good luck!


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Take a look at Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck Limited Ingredient Diet: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/produc ... at+Formula


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## Mommatobe (Apr 5, 2012)

Thank you both for your quick responses. Had a little bit of time to do some research ( Emma was very co-operative for her feeding tonight ). Have found a couple so far that look good but going to talk to her vet tomorrow too about what she recommends then go from there. Just dumbfounded as to what else it could be other then allergies. I don't see how else her ear infections and GI problems would be explained, especially now with the skin component. I have said it before and I will say it again, she is lucky she is sooooo cute!


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## Mommatobe (Apr 5, 2012)

So just got back from vet with Emma. She had to be anesthetized to have a thorough exam. Her ears were full of infection! And skin was extremely dry ( was not that bad this morning when I had her out to force feed her ). Her vet is pretty sure it is a food allergy so we are placing her a high quality mix of kitten and senior food and antibiotics for two weeks. She has a recheck when meds are almost done to see how her ears and skin are then most likely another recheck once off meds for a couple weeks to a month. Her vet doesn't want to try novel protein foods yet but after rechecks if no to little improvement or if problems come back after a couple months of being clear we will revisit diet options at that point. I am hoping she improves soon, worried about her poor ears the most and hoping she will not loose any of her hearing. She still responds very well to me when I talk to her and other sounds so hopefully caught the infection early enough. Will keep you all updated on how she does.


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

Good luck with Emma. Hopefully all will be well.


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