# Should I take my hedgie to a vet?



## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

I went to the pet store the other day and bought my two hedgies a new and expensive cage. I went and asked a person who worked there if it would be safe for hedgehogs and he said yes. It was a nice, three leveled, stable ladders, stable floors cage that was a pain to put together. I spent all of my birthday money that I had at that time on this cage. I could care less about the money as long as my hedgies are safe and had fun, though.

My sister woke me up last night at about 12:00 and she looked worried. She told me that her hedgehog flipped off of the ladder and landed on her face and my hedgehog fell off and got bruised.  I went in the other room, the ladder was on the floor, my hedgehog, Seth, had a bruise on his back, and my sister's hedgehog had a cut on both sides of her face. Don't panic - what I saw isn't as bad as it sounds. I quickly took off all of the floors and ladders and moved the food and water down to the bottom floor. All they had after that was the bottom floor. I feel so bad for getting them a cage that hurt them!  

Today they were up and walking around. They were doing a lot better, but I'm still not sure if I should take them to a vet or not. My dad said that he would give me all of the money that I spent on the cage, but I don't care about that. I need my hedgies to be safe. That cage was supposed to be safe for them! :evil: I can't help but feel bad whenever I see my sister's hedgehog's cuts.  Do you think that I should take the hedgehogs to a vet tomorrow, just in case?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I would definitely take them to the vet. Falls like that can be fatal.

Are your hedgies in the same cage?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Hedgehogs should NEVER have MULTIPLE levels unless ALL sides of the ladder AND second/third etc etc level are completely blocked off. 

But it's too late now...and so...

YES to the VET. There could be broken bones or internal bleeding, or BOTH.

Dorasdaddy's Millie died shortly after jumping from his hand into the tub...A mere few inches. 

Better safe than sorry, to make sure there are no broken bones and internal bleeding. 

___________

Side note...your post only seemed like you were only going to get ONE cage....But TWO hedgehogs got hurt? Do you have them housed together? Are you housing this BROTHER and SISTER pair TOGETHER?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I remember you saying your hedgie is a male, and you don't even know the gender of your sister's hedgie. Males can and will fight to death, and male/female pairings are disastrous and potentially fatal at the fragile young age that yours are. You need to buy two new cages immediately. I cannot believe that someone would breed their hedgehog without even knowing basic housing requirements.



> Side note...your post only seemed like you were only going to get ONE cage....But TWO hedgehogs got hurt? Do you have them housed together? Are you housing this BROTHER and SISTER pair TOGETHER?


ETA: Immortalia got my shock just right. :lol:


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## freda (Jun 21, 2009)

If the cage has different levels, each level needs to be completely enclosed. The ramps also need to be enclosed (most people use tubes of some sort - dryer exhaust vent, pvc, ferret tubes, etc.) Ladders are definitely not ok, ramps are okay as long as you properly enclose them. I would look at this thread for examples of proper ramps and loft enclosures, as well as examples of proper housing for hedgehogs: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1860

The reason for all this is that falling from even a few inches could be fatal. You should read this thread (it pretty much encapsulates the importance of properly securing hedgehog housing) viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2978

Also, if your hedgehogs are in the same cage, they should be separated immediately. More information here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=43

Also, as everyone else is saying... go to the vet!! Those falls could be fatal.


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

So many questions to answer.... As babies, they are in the same cage. They won't mate if they're babies and my sister's is a girl. And if they're two males, they still get along very well. They don't fight at all, but that doesn't matter now because today my sister got a cage for hers. In fact, my hedgehog was upset and bit me for the first time when his brother/sister went into the other cage. We decided that we would just keep the cages right next to their brother or sister. And _thank you_ for telling me about how the extra levels can be dangerous. Like I said, they were up walking around and playing today. I am going to see if my parents can take them to a vet tomorrow. I am scared for them and I feel really bad.  Thanks for all of the info! I'm allergic to their new bedding that they've had this whole time they've been here, so I feel bad for switching from bedding to woodchips on them!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

> As babies, they are in the same cage. They won't mate if they're babies and my sister's is a girl. And if they're two males, they still get along very well.


If they're old enough to be living on their own away from mom they are old enough to mate or injure each other.



> In fact, my hedgehog was upset and bit me for the first time when his brother/sister went into the other cage. We decided that we would just keep the cages right next to their brother or sister.


Your hedgehog did not bite you because his sibling got a new cage. How was that separation any different than taking her out to play any other time? You must have smelled good or threatening or irritated him in some other way. Just so you know, keeping males and females in close proximity can cause sexual frustration between the two, which as you can imagine is not fun for either.

I'm glad you're getting new cages and getting them to a vet. Please read up some more on hedgehog care, I think it's obvious that it's needed.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

hedgehogs can breed as young as 7-8 weeks...and in some cases even earlier...as soon as they are weaned from their mother they need to be seperated....it can be fatal if a female hedgehog becomes pregnant that young or can affect their health from the rest of their life.

If your hedgie bit you and this is unusual for him it could be because he's in pain from the fall...not a good thing...

to sex them...look at their tummies...if they have what looks like a belly button in the middle of their tummy...its a boy and that's its penile sheath...if no bump in the middle..its a girl..


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

Yea, whenever they _are_ together, we keep a close eye on them for anything that could go wrong. I'm very glad my sister was watching the hedgehogs during the fall. Everyone else was asleep, and without my sister being there, they could've kept on going and died.


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## freda (Jun 21, 2009)

It only takes a few seconds for a male to get a female pregnant, so even keeping an eye on them (if they are male & female) is probably not good enough.


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

Hmmmm.... Mating sort of isn't the problem. Can't the female get very sick if she get's pregnant with a brother?  That's been the main concern for me - other than them falling.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

HedgehogBoy42 said:


> Hmmmm.... Mating sort of isn't the problem. Can't the female get very sick if she get's pregnant with a brother? That's been the main concern for me - other than them falling.


If they are NOT together AT ALL, no contact whatsoever, then she wouldn't get SICK and PREGNANT to begin with.

So yes, MATING is the first step of the problem, because they need to MATE to get her pregnant.

She is still a baby herself and is still growing, she can die by giving away ALL her nutrition to the growing babies. She can be stunted forever, unable to grow and properly develop her own body because she is unable to hold onto the nutrients for herself.

So not only can she get "very sick" she can DIE.

____________

A side question to breeders... Is it possible to ABORT(especially in this case), or would the only possibility be to spay(and abort as well). However, being that it's near impossible to tell if a hedgehog is pregnant, would a spaying at this age(if the owner was lucky and she's not pregnant) be too stressful?

Theoretically speaking...Which would be better?
Spay & abort or allow this baby to carry to term?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

just allowing them to be together...even supervised isn't good for them...Hedgeghogs are induced ovulators..which means they release an egg when they are in direct contact with a male...so by letting them be together even supervised means she will ovulate...and having that happen over and over again isn't healthy for her and just causes frustration in the male..they will be healthier...and happier...if they are never together at all.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

> As babies, they are in the same cage.





> Yea, whenever they are together, we keep a close eye on them for anything that could go wrong. I'm very glad my sister was watching the hedgehogs during the fall. Everyone else was asleep, and without my sister being there, they could've kept on going and died.


I think it's funny how at first they were living together because they are babies, and then all of a sudden his sister is staying up all night (when does she sleep, if she's supervising them all night? lol) to supervise?

I would assume that if your sister had them in the same cage late at night when everyone else was sleeping, that she was planning on leaving them there when she finally went to bed. That would mean that yes, they are being left together unsupervised.


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

My question is how old are these little ones if you can see a bruise on his back? If old enough to be away from mom then the qull coat should be so dense that you couldnt see his back.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Lizard Girl..i think they were living together when they fell...but now he has them seperated and only together supervised...which yes i know..isn't good...they shouldn't be together at all..supervised or not....


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## sopo (May 28, 2009)

This may help you understand the situation a bit better.

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3010


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

If one hedgie has a bruise on its back, I would say, VET NOW. There is possible internal breeding.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I hope that the vet visit goes well. Hopefully there is only minimal damage and it is treatable. 

I'm sure you feel really bad about not knowing that it was the wrong kind of cage. Good for you for acting so quickly and taking out the second levels. Although you shouldn't have taken the advice of the pet store before double checking they shouldn't be giving incorrect advise. Please make them aware of what happened and talk to the manager about giving you a full refund for the cages. If you don't get a refund the store will just keep giving the same bad advice to other owners. 

I think the housing males and females together issue has been covered so I won't go on about it.


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

LizardGirl said:


> Your hedgehog did not bite you because his sibling got a new cage.


Actually, he might have. The OP has THREE hedgehogs, a male named Sonic who was bred to a neighbor's hedgehog to produce the two babies, who are male and female. If he were keeping all three in the same cage, the sire of the two, who is an adult male, could very well have bitten because the female was removed from mating.

To the OP:

You said early on that you KNEW that they needed two sets of everything. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2851&p=23372#p23372

Seriously, you may now have a very pregnant baby hedgehog who could be pregnant by her own father. And yes, they do that.


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

I meant to say "Very sick and die". I already knew that the female could die if they mate.
They're not together anymore.
They WERE in the same cage before, when my sister saw them.
Seth's quills were up, so I could see the bruise.
The bruise might not have been there, it could have been the lighting in the room, because the next day and today there was no bruise.
And she wasn't in the same cage as her father. I would NEVER do that to either of the new babies. I just kept the brother and sister in the same cage for less than a week. I know it wasn't good - even with a close eye on them - but they are separated now.


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

You still need to take them both to the vet a.s.a.p better safe than sorry, and you also need to get seth out of that dreadful aquarium IMMEDIATELY. Aquariums are made for fish, not mammals and there is almost 0 ventilation in there. Imagine living in a small room with no windows or doors, only open at the top....now imagine that you have to pee and poo on the floor of that room....dont you think that the smell would be a little overwhealming for you? this is the same thing that your little one is going through right now.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

First...There was a bruise...
And now that hedgiepets has said that bruising might be a sign of internal bleeding...There is no bruise?

Please take both your hedgies to the vet and get them checked out, whether they "look ok" or not. You said that your parents are willing to pay for everything, that they knew about the whole situation with the babies and getting the babies. So taking hedgies to the vet is all a part of owning an animal. 


HedgehogBoy42 said:


> My parents would pay for everything I need for the hedgies. We will take care of the hedgehogs no matter what it takes.


And right now, your hedgehogs need to see a vet NOW...Preferably days ago when they first fell.

I just don't want you to wake up one day with a dead hog in the cage. And I can't imagine the suffering they'd have to go through with internal injuries to reach death. That is a slow agonizing death I would not wish on anyone and anything, never mind my own 4-legged family.


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Looking back at your posts, your hedgies are too young to be away from their mother. Why did you remove them so soon? they are only about 6 weeks old according to your post on jun 24. they were 2 weeks then and that was about 4 weeks ago.


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## gyaku (Jul 9, 2009)

Keep in mind that you should probably remove em as soon as possible, also you should probably get a different style of cage, perferably something that the don't do any climbing, one of my friends lost her hedgehog Sally to a fall of 2.5cm (1") if u can't afford to get another style of cage try putting some mylar around the bars till you reach the foot mark, I did that to my gueniea pig cage and Sonic hasn't climbed since. Though that doesn't mean he hasn't tried! My Sonic sees the vet tomorrow so I hope he's good!


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

I'm sorry. I had time _all_ mixed up then. I was having a lot of problems with my leg at that time. I have... bone tumors throughout my body. It was hurting me a lot and I got confused with the time. They are eight weeks old right now, so I think that we got them a week earlier than what we were supposed to. I will be off for a few days in about two weeks, because I am having a surgery on my wrist, right ankle, and left shoulder, so send me a message if you have any questions about anything for me.

I already got everything resolved with the cages. I separated them, and removed the extra floors, gyaku. No more worries with that part.


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## GoodSmeagol (Dec 29, 2008)

And you still have not addressed the vet....

After reading this thread, 2 weeks ago, my girl walked/rolled off my hand at about 2-3inches.
Landed in a roll onto her back, did not hit her face at all, seemed pretty smooth and fluent, I ignored it, until now...
Geeze 
She has acted normal, and runs her usual amount, eats the same, so I think I am ok, right?
But this thread scared me that she might have been hurt.
I do know falls can hurt them... I did not realize so small a fall.
To get a cut, they would have to drop a significant distance... much more then a few inches.

To hijack a little, and get some advice...
14" tall sides solid top cage
2 4' sides open with 1x1 cube bars, bottom 4-5" covered with plexi-glass.
Should I raise those sides? And sacrifice a little ventilation?

ps hope all is well for your baby hogs OP


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## gyaku (Jul 9, 2009)

That's good. About hedgehogs falling, some do remember to curl up into a ball while others don't Sally didn't, I don't know exactly what happened since I heard it from my friend Sarah. She says she heard a loud thud, then ran down the stairs and found her hedgehog dead.


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## memechan1990 (Mar 29, 2009)

I would take my Hedgehog somewhere as soon as something like that happened... I had a multiple level cage and luckily was given the advice to take it out before Coraline got injured or worse. I am thankful that my novice mistake didn't cost my Hedgie her life. It would have devastated me.


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## Chinchi (Jul 8, 2009)

First rule with EVERY type of pet:
If you are not sure about taking your pet to the vet or not - TAKE IT!

The only thing you lose from a trip to the vet is some money.
Your pet might lose it's life, if you don't go.


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

UPDATE- My mom called the vet today, but they said that they don't treat hedgehogs! I'm pretty upset because the closest vet is pretty far away. My mom said that she would try to get them to the closest vet that treats hedgehogs today.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

HedgehogBoy42 said:


> UPDATE- My mom called the vet today, but they said that they don't treat hedgehogs! I'm pretty upset because the closest vet is pretty far away. My mom said that she would try to get them to the closest vet that treats hedgehogs today.


Does your neighbor know any vets? )The one who decided the two of you should breed). All breeders should have at least 1 vet that treats hedgehogs, in case anything goes wrong with the pregnancy and the hedgies need emergency vet care(since it's the last thing you want to do while the female is profusely bleeding...Is to have to go and find a vet). Have you asked them who their vet is for their hedgehog while she was pregnant?


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## HedgehogBoy42 (Jun 21, 2009)

UPDATE- My mom told me that the vet she called said "As long as the hedgehogs are eating, drinking, and acting fine, no vets need to see the hedgehogs". I'm still kind of "iffy" about that because of everything I've heard on these forums. And I will ask my neighbors who bred the hedgehogs if they can tell us the vet that they go to.


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