# Worried sick about penny. Inexperienced owner



## PLEASEHELPPENNY (Jan 29, 2014)

HI! I am worried sick about my african pygmy hedgehog, penny. I got her in october and i admit i did not play with her and spend as much time with her than i should have. But now i want that to change, but i'm afraid it's too late. Recently she hasn't been eating or drinking much / at all. She balls up everytime i try to pick her up. She was originally a very friendly hedgehog. I left her on my couch for her to cool off and unball and explore but she has remained balled up for 30 minutes. Our house temperature is 76 degrees but her cage is near the heater so it is hotter. Could the loud heater at times be it? Whenever i used to let her out and play, she wouldn't walk around and explore but only lay there. I plan to take her to the vet but i need some advice not just a checkup on her health. Tldr; I am a horrible person and i did not give penny the attention that she deserved and the love that she deserved. Only the food and water and cleanliness she deserved. Now that i realized this i want to change but she hasn't been drinking or eating lately and only balled up. What do i do? Is it too late for a change? ;'(


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Has she not been eating or drinking at all? Do you count/weigh/measure her food out so you can tell if even a little is gone? If not, that'd be good to start so you can keep a closer eye on her food.

If you don't have a thermometer for her cage, you should also get one of those. It should be digital, with a probe, as those are generally most accurate. Temperature can vary a lot depending on location of the house. In front of the heater seems like a good idea...but usually that also causes drafts as the heat goes on and off, so it's not always the best location. Her cage temperature might be varying too much, or if she's caught a draft from the heater (even warm drafts aren't great), that could have affected her. Does she get 12-14 hours of light daily? Do you guys leave lights on at all, or just depend on natural light?

Has she felt at all cool recently? Have you noticed if she's sniffling, sneezing, or has a very wet nose (though it sounds like you might not be able to see her nose)?

If she's not eating, definitely schedule a vet visit. Get one for as soon as you can. If you weigh or measure out her food tonight & it shows she's definitely not eating anything, you should start syringe-feeding her tomorrow. You can use either baby food or wet cat food (minced/pate style). Hedgehogs don't do well going for more than a day or two without food, so she'll need to be syringe-fed until she starts eating on her own again. There's more information and advice on syringe-feeding here - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...yringing-tutorial-syringe-feeding-sticky.html

Does she have a wheel in her cage? Has she been using it, if so? The behavior issues might be connected to the not eating/drinking, but are more likely from lack of handling. The lack of eating & drinking is more concerning to me right now as it could quickly turn into a more serious problem. Once you have her eating, drinking, and healthy again, then we can help out with the behavior and bonding. 

Also...welcome to the forum! Since you're new here and are looking for more information and help with hedgehogs, I'd recommend checking this out - http://www.westcoasthedgehogs.com/files/hedgehogbook/download.html it's a free-to-download hedgehog care book, the best one available. It's up-to-date and covers a wide range of topics. We can help you out with more specific issues/questions on here, but the care book is great for reading up on lots of things that you may not have thought about before.

Edit: I deleted your other post since only one post is needed, no matter what forum it's in.  I'm going to move this one to the Health section as well, since it seems a bit more related right now.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

(Lilysmommy covered everything to start with, and I don't want to overwhelm you with more opinions! But I still wanted to welcome you to the forum.)


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## penelope_the_explorer (Sep 10, 2016)

How is your hedgehog doing? Hope she's okay.


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## paige.alison (Aug 30, 2016)

I don't think it is good for you to respond to a very old thread. 

~Paige~


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

This thread is from 2014 and the OP isn't a regular member here anymore. Please check the date on the threads before posting on them.


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