# water retention or just getting fat?



## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

the last few days jakob (5 months) has been fairly lethargic and hasn't even used his wheels. he's also been grumpy. tonight he has what looks like little water ballons around his legs. appetite is fine, drinking less water than usual (could be a taste change with moving to a new house). temp in room is steady at 76-78. he's at 419 grams which has been fairly steady. idk if he can ball up or not because he won't, he literally refuses to ball up been that way since he was born. could the water balloon likeness around the legs be water retention, something else health related, or could it just be him getting fat and it's time to switch him off the kitten food?


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Hopefully there will be more a long who may know more. I know that in people that is usually a sign of a medical condition. I've known people who've had that symptom from a heart condition that caused fluid to build all the way to diabetes. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, I'd take him in to be safe especially because of being lethargic and decreased activity. A change in houses may cause some of the decreased activity for awhile but not the swelling. 

I hope the little guy is okay, sending well wishes your way.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Fat typically is yellow and doesn't really look like balloons. With the lethargy, and reduced water intake and now these "balloons", I recommend taking him in for a veterinary visit and having a professional examine him for diagnosis. I'd take him in sooner than later since this sounds like it is a fairly sudden change.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks i was planning on taking him in anyway just thought i'd see if anyone had dealt with this. it looks like when a human has really swollen ankles, but its around the top (top meaning next to the body) part of his legs. i'm guessing it's probably something to do with stress considering in the last month we moved and i switched to waking them up an hour earlier (8:30-9 pm instead of 10pm) so that could explain the lethargy and jeremiahs (other hedgie) erratic behavior the last couple days, but doesn't explain the legs or water intake. last night i switched to using the water on the fridge instead of faucet water (never had any problems with faucet water before for those that will say something negative about it lol) and both of them drank considerably more so i'm guessing at least part of the less water intake was the move to the new house and them not liking the water here. it could also be a hormone thing as he has been having a LOT more "boy time" (it's all over him and everything else all the time now quite gross actually) and he did wheel last night, but legs are still swollen so gonna get him in.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

he's just a fatty i guess. comes from a line of big hedgies  talked to the vet and the breeder i got him from.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

well with bright green poop for awhile now along with the other things and no urine and now my baby has stopped eating the past few nights i had to have the vet give me a call tonight and turns out this may indeed be something more serious so syring feeding has begun tonight and he will be seen first thing in the morning.


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## Torston (Aug 28, 2011)

Hope the not so little dude is alright!


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

lol thanks me too we thought the green poop was just stress from him settling into the new house we moved into about a month ago so we weren't too worried about it at first  he did take to the syring feeding greedily though  just won't eat at all on his own


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I hope your quilled one is OK and you can figure out what's going on. Keep us updated


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

no urine but holding water? kinda sounds like a urinary stone maybe? ouchnot, hope you get some answers soon & he's going to be ok.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks he's a good hedgie, but the vet was worried since he was so wiggly that he may miss something in his abdomen so he is keeping him for awhile so he can put him under to take a better look.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

he's got a bad urinary tract infection so is going to be put on clavamox and baytril and a pain med. poor baby boy


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

he also obviously put him on a/d, but put him on marin too has/is anyone using this? any complications?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

No, but that is a lot of medication, poor lad. 

I've never used Marin, but I did a quick search for the marin, looks like one of the 2 active ingredients is derived from milk thistle (sylibin/sylimarin). I have used milk thistle before. Milk thistle was used several times in the late 90s early 2000s to combat fatty liver disease, when FLD was more common. Milk thistle itself is generally considered pretty safe when using to help detox the liver. I would assume this purer version would be fine. 

Did they do a culture and find different types of bacteria?


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

There was a lot of information given, but if I remember right he put him on the marin to protect the liver and kinda bring it back up to speed since he had/has stopped eaten for so many days and it is something he wants him on for life and yes I agree it is a lot of meds and I'm actually trying to figure out how to get him to keep them down cuz he just throws them right back up when he gets them. Tried givng them about 30 min after I gave him 2 ml of syringed food to see if some food in his stomach would help, but that was a no go so am getting ready to try it on an empty stomach to see how that goes over and other suggestions are greatly appreciated as his body certainly does not like all the meds either.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

sorry was on my phone and it wouldn't let me finish answering that lol. he did a fecal which came back normal which we expected since we did a dose of revolution on both of the boys last week (2nd dose next week) and of course the urinalysis which came back way out of whack. i can't remember what all exactly he said he checked for when he had him under other than general palpation, but i don't believe he said anything about any biopsies of the liver or anything of that sort which i know i would have remembered. he did finally eat about 6 grams of his dry food last night which is great (normal for him when he is healthy is typically on average between 10-20 grams a night) especially since he refused to take anything being syring fed after throwing up at about 3pm yesterday afternoon after his meds. first two meds went down okay so crossing fingers on the rest and just hoping he doesn't start throwing up again he just looks sooooo sad poor baby boy. i'm actually spacing them out about 30 min to an hour between each so i can see exactly which one is making him throw up or if it really is just the combo of all of them.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

When you give him his meds, do you mix them with food or juice or something to dilute the flavour? Often they will throw meds back up simply because of the horrid taste and their gag reflex or their tummies revolt. If you do mix it, try mixing with something different or diluted even more. 

Poor little guy.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

the vet mixed two of them with cherry? (i think) flavor and the marin is a pill that actually has to be crushed and given with food so yeah he did get some food with the meds, but still threw them up. i haven't given the marin today yet or any of his 4 doses of a/d, but he's seemed to keep the others down which are the ones that i would think would be harder on the tummy (pain med and both antibiotics) so maybe it was he just needed an empty stomach or needed them separated out a bit. i can tell his stomach is upset though cuz he is now grouchy and sensitive to my every move i make (he's on my lap) so still keeping an eye on him for a bit before i put him back to bed just to make sure well that and i still got some time before i can finish up giving the rest of the morning meds and his first a/d lol.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

vet called to check on him and he did end up throwing up the a/d and marin btw so we're going to try it one more time tonight and if he throws up again gonna try a couple drops of whatever that pink nasty stuff for upset stomachs is lol (i'm allergic to it too, yes i'm allergic to way too many things lol) so i gotta get to the store right now to get some just in case. if that still doesn't help by monday then he wants to see him again and look further into this meaning surgery cuz he's worried that there may be some intestinal blockage or something else going on that is causing the vomiting, him to become extremely lethargic after taking his meds, and him refusing to take the a/d ever since he threw up the first time. a positive though is he said i don't have to fight him with the a/d if he does refuse it right now since he did eat on his own last night.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

A good friend has one which throws up meds too. She gives him a little baby food chicken before the meds go into his stomach. He has a very sensitive tummy, also gets green stools very quickly too.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks that makes total sense since it is so thick it probably coats the stomach a little better thanks. not 100% sure yet still gonna give it another couple doses, but from how it's looking it may actually be the marin that is upsetting his stomach. since i have separated out the meds (knock on wood) he has been okay (with the exception of becoming extremely lethargic even after his first med) until i give that last dose which is the a/d and marin mixed and he did fine on the a/d by itself that he didn't refuse yesterday which is why i'm kinda leaning towards it is the marin making him throw up. i sprinkled it on his dry food today instead so hopefully that will tell us for sure if it is that. kinda hoping it is actually. i'd much rather have to stop a suppliment then have him go thru surgery if we can avoid it.


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