# Constipation or...?



## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

- How old is your hedgehog? *3 months*
- How long have you owned your hedgehog? *1.5 months*
- Has there been any changes in the 2-3 weeks prior to the symptoms starting, such as, you on vacation, hedgie cared for by someone else, new cage, different cage location etc *Nannying for a few days so I wasn't home at night to bond or play with him but cage still got cleaned everyday and food/water replaced everyday by me. *
- What is the temperature of the hedgehogs cage? * 75 - 77 F*
- What is the lighting schedule? *7A - 9P*

*For the past two nights Marvin has only eaten his bugs (5 mealies, 5 crickets), very little of his cat food, wheeled less and pooped less.*

Weight
Do you weigh regularly? *300g up 25g from last week.*

Poop
*Normal poo just less of it. Maybe a little darker than usual?*

Urine
*Urine output, color, smell are all normal*

Nose
*No congestion or runny nose. No sneezing either.*

Breathing
*Normal*

Eating
- normally, less than normal, not at all *Less kibble than normal, still eating all of his bugs*
- How many kibble per day? *1/4 of a tbs, normally eats 2 heaping tbs*
- Any difficulty crunching food? *No*
- Has there been a new food or treat recently and if so, how long ago? Was this one time, or given daily? *No*
- Is the water the same as usual? Water intake, less, same, more *Normal*

Skin
*Little dry skin and quilling happening*

Vomiting 
*None*

Activity
*Decreased wheeling but still seems alert.*

Meds
*None*

So my biggest concern is that his is eating very little of his kibble. He is also wheeling less and pooping less... I'm wondering if he's just constipated or something worse? Its been going on for two nights now and I'm starting to think he needs to go to the vet. It wouldn't be a URI if there's no congestion, sneezing or breathing problems right? Should I just try flaxseed oil on his kibble tonight and see if that helps?


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

Anyone? ...


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I'm definitely not an expert... but if it was my hog with these symptoms, I would try putting a bit of water on the kibble and offer the unseasoned canned pumpkin found in the baking aisle at the grocery store. He may have a sore tooth/owie in his mouth - soft kibble would help that. He may be constipated - pumpkin would help that. 

If he has basically only eaten 10 mealies and 10 crickets in the past 2 nights, I would either offer way more bugs tonight or start syringe feeding. That's not much food over a 48 hour period.

I don't think eating and wheeling less is enough to jump to the conclusion of a URI, especially if his breathing sounds healthy and there's no sneezing.

This is all merely opinion and I have never dealt with a hog that's not eating and wheeling. Hopefully someone with more experience will along shortly.


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## rexi10 (Jan 17, 2012)

Are the circkets and meal worms freeze dried? I ask because I had been feeding those to our hedgie and learned on here that it could cause impaction/constipation. I have stopped feeding them to her but have notice that her poop seems a little dryer than before. Her wheel is still a great big mess in the morning but I am hoping she will be fine. Keeping a close eye on her.

Good luck


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

The mealies are live and the crickets are bought live, gut loaded and then killed in the fridge.

I'm just gonna take him to the vet. There was a little poo in his wheel this morning but it was pretty dry. I did stay up and listen to him last night, he wheeled for about 5 hours... So I'm gonna take that as a good sign and hope that the vet can get the little guy pooping again :lol:


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

From your description it is hard to determine what is causing your little one to not want to eat. The lack of stool is likely from the lack of eating. The question is then why is he not eating. Some possibilities is the food you are feeding him has gone bad, his mouth is hurting him, etc. 

A veterinary visit to rule out health problems is in order. While there, talk to your vet about the possibility of syringe feeding, and get supplies to do so, in case he stops eating completely.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

The only thing I can think of is he decided Yesterday's News in his litter box was tasty... Or yes maybe his mouth hurts but I tried moistening his kibble last night and he still didn't chow down... only ate his bugs. -.-

He's had the Yesterday's News in his cage for about two weeks now. I'm not sure why he'd suddenly think to eat it but that's all I can think of. I hope he's not stuffed full of litter :shock:


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

At least he is still interested in bugs. When they stop eating them, its really not a good situation.

If you think there is any chance for an impaction, get him in sooner than later to the veterinarian. 

Let us know what your vet thinks is going on.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

I got him an appointment for 2P today. I'll keep you posted! 

Hahahaha ways to spend birthday money.
1) Pay vet bill for sick hedgie
2) Buy hedgie more snuggies and cute fleece things with whatever money is leftover.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

There are other things to spend money on?


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

Kalandra said:


> There are other things to spend money on?


Hahaha.

Well vet visit over... They sedated him and took xrays. There seems to be some gas or irritation in his small intestine. Colon looked pretty empty. The vet gave me some meds to help settle his stomach. She wanted to hold off on the laxatives to avoid diarrhea. If he doesn't have any improvement tonight we'll go back tomorrow to do some blood work and put him on laxatives. Until then its off to get some sweet potato baby food and hope the little guy starts eating more and poops!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

We have our quills crossed here that you find an empty food dish and a poop covered wheel tomorrow.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I hope he will be feeling better quickly.


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## rexi10 (Jan 17, 2012)

aww poor little guy. Hope he is feeling better. Keep us updated.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

How did last night go? Hoping for a good report.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

Marvin pooped a little bit on me when I had him out. Poor guy definitely had to strain though. He didn't eat all of his kibble. However he did eat a tablespoon of it, which is considerably better. He had some chicken and sweet potato baby food and lots of mealies too. Vet is closed until Monday so I'm gonna keep up the meds and baby food to see if that helps get things moving.

Does anyone have suggestions for giving meds though? They sent home a little syringe and I've tried kind of wrapping him in a towel with his head poking out but he wiggles quickly back into a ball. I kind of question how much meds I'm getting into him and its only a dos of 0.06mL...


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

For the most part.... patience. Be patient and go slow, he has no idea what you are trying to do and it can make it very difficult at first. But often after a couple of doses, they figure it out and take their medication better... that is assuming they like the meds.

One trick is to always approach the hedgehog from the back side of their mouth. Their little mouths are covered in tiny, very sensitive hairs, and they are more apt to react negatively if approached "head on."

If he doesn't like the meds, you can add a little of one of his favorite foods, syringe some sweet potato, or baby food chicken and mix it with the meds. It helps mask any bad flavors in the medication and can make it easier.

How did he do the last 2 nights? Hopefully everything is looking much better and you won't need to take him back to see the veterinarian.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

He ate everything last night. I did change his food a bit... He doesn't seem to like the Innova the past couple nights so I just picked it out of his mix. The Innova was only 2 months old. So right now he's just eating Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck with 7 mealies and 5 crickets. 

Do hedgies sometimes just decide a food they've been eating is icky and stop? I'm going to wait a while before trying to add the Innova back in or try a new food.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Now that is good news! 

Do you know what the expiration date is on the bag of food?

I've had hedgehogs suddenly stop eating certain foods that were nearing the expiration date. I guess the flavor changed enough that they decided they didn't like it and were only going to eat the other food.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

Just looked at the bag its exp date is Sep 28, 2012. So maybe he just doesn't like Innova anymore? I think I'll keep him on only bugs and Natural Balance for a week. Then I'll try to add the Innova one more time. 

If the Innova is a no go should I try CSLS? I feel like most people have had success with it?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Chicken Soup would be a good option to try! Lily hated it, but I've seen most people on here say their hogs liked it, so I think she was just trying to be a rebel. :lol:


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

*Re: Constipation or...? (HELP!)*

Marvin didn't eat anything last night. Not a single mealie or kibble :shock:

He's going to the vet in about an hour, it was the earliest appointment I could get. 
Can anyone think of important questions to ask the vet? Or just have any advice in general? 
Sorry I know this is pretty broad I'm just starting to panic now. I thought he had bounced back and now its that sickening downhill turn I didn't want him to take.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'd just take the vet a lot of information. How his weight has been, how much he's eating, how much he's defecating. I'd also collect a stool sample, if there is one, and ask about having it examined.

Good luck, we have our quills crossed here that the vet figures out what is going on.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Got my fingers crossed over here as well and sending you guys all my good thoughts. I hope you get some answers and Marvin starts feeling better soon!


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

So good news is all xrays and blood work shows that nothing has gotten worse. However nothing has gotten better either... The vet thinks due to a very very slightly elevated white blood cell count that he has a little enteritis. 
He's now on metronidazole, which thank God I asked my vet about giving him meds. We tried injecting the antibiotic into a cricket, he gobbled the cricket right up. I feel so sneaky  

This morning he'd eaten all of his bugs and half of his kibble. I am increasing the mealies he gets to make sure he's still getting enough calories. There was a little more poo in his wheel, not quite the full blown smear but hey progress is progress.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Progress is great. Hopefully this will fix him and he will start to feel much better real soon.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

So he's slowly passing more and more poo and eating more. However he hasn't been gaining weight as he was prior to all of this. He's steady at 310g and he's now 3.5 months old. He should still be growing right? I'm just wondering if it'd hurt to throw in a little fattier worm, like a waxworm or two for a while, just to give him a little calorie boost. He's super running hedgie too so I'm thinking I should err on the side of more calories the better right now.


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