# Concern about hedgehog poop



## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Hi all. I am new to this forum but I could really use some advice. I adopted a hedgehog in September (my little Regina) and she is the most wonderful baby! I got her from a licensed breeder. BUT I started noticing a few months ago that occasionally she would have a little bit of blood/mucus in her poop. Every time I noticed, I would say "if this happens again soon, I'll call the vet." But then it wouldn't happen again for a while. I read online that sometimes constipation can cause a bit of blood. Her stool was not a dark tarry black, which I had read happens with internal bleeding. However, it started happening more often, so I took her to the vet along with a stool sample. The vet said she looked physically fine, but they ran some tests on her poop and saw that she had some bacteria that shouldn't be there. The vet prescribed an antibiotic, which I gave to Regina twice a day for ten days, and the vet said that it might take 5-7 days for the blood and mucus to disappear from her stool.

I finished giving Regina her medicine about two days ago. Last night, when I checked on her, she had pooped even more blood and mucus than I have ever seen her do. The blood was bright red. I got worried, but it was late, so I decided to call the vet this morning. Again, this morning, she had pooped bloody mucus on her wheel. I called the vet and am waiting to hear back from them, and I put aside a stool sample in case they want me to bring her in again, but I am worried.

Little Regina is so cute and wonderful, and I hate to think that anything is wrong with her. She was eating normally up until about two days ago, when she did not eat her breakfast until late at night (she usually gobbles it right up). And last night she only ate a few pieces of her food.

Now, I should mention that sort of around the time she occasionally started having these poop problems, I was gradually switching her to a new food. I had been giving her the breeder's mix of dry cat foods, but I switched over to feeding her Wellness Indoor Health cat food. I worked it into her diet slowly, and now it is her sole food. I have tried giving her meal worms, but she doesn't like them. I also tried giving her banana, but she ignored it.

So my questions are: has anyone had a similar experience? What do you think could be causing the blood and mucus? Could it be food related? Should I switch back to the old food? Or is there something I should specifically ask the vet to check for? Could it be related to cleanliness? I clean her cage completely every week to week and a half, and usually bathe her then too. Should I changer her liners/hedgie bags more often? She runs on her wheel and gets it kind of poopy-ish, so I clean that about every day or two, depending on how dirty it got. I have sometimes noticed her stepping in her water bowl as she waddles around; could she have gotten bacteria from drinking it? I change her water twice a day.

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm worried about my baby. I was hoping that the antibiotics would clear it up, but they didn't. I just hate that I don't know how to fix it.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'd switch her off the Wellness. Although some hedgies are just fine on it, it frequently causes digestive upset. You can slowly mix in another food and hopefully she will switch off it easily.


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Nancy said:


> I'd switch her off the Wellness. Although some hedgies are just fine on it, it frequently causes digestive upset. You can slowly mix in another food and hopefully she will switch off it easily.


Okay, I will definitely do that. I'm switching her back to her old food. Should I still phase it in slowly?


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

Yes, always switch food in slowly to avoid tummy upset.  Hope she gets better soon!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

What was the breeder feeding? Hope she gets well soon,sending healing thoughts and prayers your way!


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

LarryT said:


> What was the breeder feeding? Hope she gets well soon,sending healing thoughts and prayers your way!


I'm not sure exactly what foods, but it was a blend of five or six different cat foods meant to control weight--when I first bought Regina, she was a little chubby (450g) and liked to steal her siblings' food (she's a greedy little hedgie ). I ordered more of the blend a few days ago, and I will ask them what exactly is in it. But she seemed to like it and have no problems while she was on it.

I took her to the vet again yesterday and they are running a few more tests, so hopefully in a few days when the results are in I will have a better idea of what's ailing her. She ate well yesterday and was pretty active during playtime, so that made me feel better.

Thank you all for the answers/support!


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Hope all the tests go well and that your little sweetheart is okay!!  

Wellness is a very rich food and some little hedgie tummies just can't handle it so *hopefully* that was most of the issue, if not all of it.

Get well soon Regina!!!


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Okay, I have an update on Regina's poopoo issues!

The vet called me today to say that the fecal culture was back from the lab. Regina doesn't have salmonella or anything zoonotic, which is good! BUT Regina has a LOT of clostridium in her intestine, so she has to stay on the antibiotic Clavamox for two weeks. Originally the vet had looked at a fecal sample and seen clostridium, and given Regina a different antibiotic, but that wasn't effective, so now she's on Clavamox.

Thankfully, I've noticed less blood in her poop after starting this new antibiotic. Her poop is sometimes tinged slightly green, but that could be from the antibiotic and the fact that I'm slowly switching her off the Wellness cat food and back to the breeder's mix.

She's eating pretty well and being her usual active self! When I woke up at the ungodly hour of six this morning to register for classes, Regina was booking it on her wheel, and of course ended up with poopy feet. And she just had a foot bath yesterday! The silly girl... There has been no change in personality, either. She sat on my lap in a blanket last night while I watched TV, and she was her usual friendly self, letting me pet her and occasionally peek in at her. She was even pretty well-behaved for a photoshoot!


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## hedgieluvr (Aug 22, 2011)

I know it's 3 months later. I just want to ask how much were the tests.. I'm planning on having them done to Beau soon


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Hmm... I think the test was about $140ish. That's just for the tests, not including the vet visit, antibiotics, etc... I think in total that visit was about $260 for everything.


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