# Sick hedgie- cloudy eyes!



## torbito (Apr 1, 2014)

I have a female that’s around 4 years old. I’ve had her for a few months and she’s been relatively healthy, although not very active.

Recently, though, I realized that she had been losing weight and now she has gotten very skinny. I feel terrible that I wasn't tracking her weight more carefully and didn't notice sooner that this was happening. I don’t think that she’s run on her wheel for a week or two and she seems a little shaky as she walks. Mostly she just sleeps. I started trying to force feed her watered down baby food. Today she ate quite a bit, which was exciting, but she still didn’t seem interested in drinking until I dribbled it into her mouth with a syringe.

She’s always had plenty of food available (dry kibble made for hedgehogs that the breeder sold me), but I’m trying to offer her a much bigger variety in an attempt to restore her weight and health. She seems to like the baby food I’ve been giving her these past few days, and I often give her banana, crickets or hard-boiled egg for snacks.

The weirdest thing though, and what I don’t understand at all, are her eyes. She’s never had great vision, but they’ve suddenly turned a cloudy white color in the middle (more on one eye than the other). And it wasn’t a gradual thing, it happened almost overnight and has been that way for two days now. The first day she didn’t seem to blink at all while I watched her and held it open, but didn’t seem to see anything. Today, she’s blinking a lot and holding them half shut. Is this a sign of something else going on? An infection or illness? Should I give her eye drops? 

Thank you so much for any help or advice! 

P.S. I will try to take a picture of her eyes to post soon. Right now I just want to let her rest.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Sounds like she's going blind, there's a lot there could be going on - please take her to the vet for a checkup.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Agreed, it's time for a vet visit between the weight loss and the eyes. Definitely keep feeding her, as much as you can get in her each day. Aim for at least 24-28 ml, if you can. 

What temperature is her cage? Do you have a heating set up for her? I would bump up the temperature a couple degrees. That'll rule out any possibilities that the shaky walking is connected to hibernation attempts, and sick hedgehogs need to be kept warmer anyway. Get her into the vet as soon as you can to be checked out. Good luck, and let us know what you find out.


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## torbito (Apr 1, 2014)

Just to get an idea, although I'm sure it can vary widely, about how much does a visit to the vet cost with a hedgehog? And does anyone know of a good vet for hedgehogs in the Seattle area?


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Can you give us a little more history on your hedgehog? You say you have only had her for a few months? Who did she belong to before?

As for vets, I am sure there are several exotic vets in the Seattle area. I would recommend you look online or call around to find one. A wellness visit will probably cost somewhere between $80-100 I would say, maybe a little more…you can ask though when you call. Nonetheless, she needs to see a vet in order to find out what is going on with her.

Please let us know what happens,
Susan H.


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Have you checked the vet listings under your state in the vet forum on this site? 

Also the Hedgehog Welfare Society has a vet listing too.


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## torbito (Apr 1, 2014)

Update: She seems to be perking up a bit now. She's been eating on her own (though I'm still forcing a little extra water on her with the syringe) and she finally had the energy to use her litter box today. Her eyes are still white, but less so. Perhaps it was dehydration? 

Her cage temp is usually around 74*, give or take a few degrees closer to or farther from the ceramic heat emitter. During the winter, I had a couple of hibernation attempts and became familiar with the causes/signs, so I don't think her wobbliness is from that. She seems steadier now, though still weak. 

I got her from a breeder in the area- she's a "retired" hedgehog who had several (3 or 4) litters of babies. I assume that can be pretty physically demanding and that mothers of multiple litters tend to have shorter life expectancies. 

Thanks for all the help! I've been looking into vets in the area and hope to be able to take her in soon.


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## valgalk (Jun 22, 2018)

I realize this is an old post, but I have a 3 YO female hedgie with the same symptoms! Did you ever find out from a vet what it was?? Trying to decide if I should book an emergency visit or if a visit can wait 4-5 days...Thx in advance!


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please don't plastic on old threads, it's against the forum rules. The original poster hasn't been on the forum for 4 years. You need to start you're own thread with your question.


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