# Hog not pooping and eating :(



## Toast23 (Sep 10, 2014)

Hi, 

First post and I hoping if someone can help me. My hog (Toast) is a year old and we haven't had any problems with him so far but the last week he hasn't been eating or pooping some nights. Literally nothing in his cage will have moved when I check on him in a morning, food untouched, poop free wheel and it's the same when I come home from work so I know he hasn't been out in almost 24 hrs. I've tried him with some varieties if food both wet & dry cat food and meal worms but he seems to be off everything. I'd say that in the last week there would maybe be 3 - 4 nights where this has happened. 

Anyone know what might be wrong? I'd take him to the vet but I don't want to look silly saying my hedgehog doesn't eat or poo... But only sometimes. He's never done this before though and that's what's worrying me  

Thanks


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## MandyA (Aug 28, 2014)

It's never "silly" to take your hedgehog or any other pet to the vet if you know or feel like something is wrong. Im no expert with hedgies because I've only had mine for a week or so. 

Have you tried to syringe feed him? 
Is he drinking water? 
Is he acting normal other than not eating or pooping? 

If I were you I'd go ahead and take him to the vet. Even if he tuens out to be fine it'd give you peace of mind and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Hope your hedgie starts doing his business and eating soon.


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## gracefulchaos01 (Mar 19, 2014)

Actually calling the vet and saying your hedgie won't eat or poo is a good way to get in to the vet pretty quickly. It's serious business. A couple of days like that can be very dangerous and needs to be addressed quickly.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

What temperature is his cage? Do you have a heating set up? How about a regular light schedule of at least 12-14 hours of light during the day?

At this point, I'd say it's vet time, as well as time to start syringe-feeding him to make sure he's getting enough. Hedgehogs shouldn't go more than a day or two without eating, so it's important to syringe-feed them if they have something going on where they're not eating. 

And like Mandy said, it's not silly at all to take him to the vet for this. It's good that you've noticed that he's not eating & running. Both of those things are very important early indicators of something being wrong, and they're very important to pay attention to. And to be honest, your vet will appreciate you having realized this early as well. And if you can tell your vet the pattern of what's been going on & any potential reasons you can think of, so much the better. Trust me, they really do appreciate it when you have all of the pertinent details instead of going "Um...wellllll, I *think* he maybe ate some last night, but I'm not really sure...No, I don't know how long he hasn't been eating", etc. The more information you have, the easier their job is.


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## Toast23 (Sep 10, 2014)

Thanks for all the posts. After i wrote this he had trashed his cage (as is normal for him) and had obviously been up having a great time all night - food was eaten, poop was ont he wheel. He was ok since last wednesday but then didnt eat again last night so he obviously isnt quite right, prior to this he never missed his dinner. We moved house a month ago but he was ok for the first couple of weeks. He has a heat pad and i cover his cage at night to keep the heat in and take it off in the day so he has natural light. I'm about to ring round some vets and see if there are any open this even who could check him over as hedgehogs still arent common pets in England hoping I can find one who has seen a pgymp hog before!!Thanks for all the advice!!!


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