# Hedgie problems



## PuddinPop (Aug 13, 2009)

Hello, was wondering if I could get some opinions from the group. My hedgie as of the last week is running around a bit sluggishly. Occasionally she falls over or as she's running her hind legs just sort of stop moving and she sprawls out. I have a hunch this is WHS and she has a vet appointment for monday. I was jsut hoping to get a second opinion before then.

Thanks,
JJ


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

Has it been colder inside or outside recently? What temperature are you keeping the room at? Have you moved the cage recently? How many hrs of light does she get? How old is she?


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## strawberryfields (Oct 3, 2009)

How old is she? WHS usually comes on slowly and starts as paralysis of one or two legs. It's good that you're going to get her checked out, though, because every hedgie could develop it differently. Did she come from a breeder?


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## PuddinPop (Aug 13, 2009)

My apologies for not getting to this sooner. She is about 9 months old I think. I keep my room around 74-78 depending on how well the heater is working and how cold it is outside. The temperature has dropped before on accident, but she wasn't phased that I could tell and I warmed her on my lap for over an hour. I just now heard her running slowly on her wheel, and checked in her cage and she was lying on her stomach on the ground. She got up to move a bit but it seemed her left legs were not cooperating.she's in my lap right now again. Vet is tomorrow.

Addition: she is from a breeder and she gets I assume 8-10ish hours of light a day, but it can be weird. I have my room light on often, and it gets dark early and my room only gets morning sun.


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## strawberryfields (Oct 3, 2009)

It could be from the temperature fluctuating a little too much, or she might not be getting enough light. Most folks around here aim for 12-14 hours a day. But it's good that you're taking her to the vet, because it sounds like it could be something else entirely. Keep us posted.


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## Variant-B (Sep 29, 2009)

Just curious as to how the temperature would affect her walk? If it's snowy outside could that affect how her hedgehog moves?


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

I find when it is warmer outside the room gets warmer then I want. When it is colder outside the heater has to work harder to keep it warm, so is usually not as warm. I try to keep it at 73º.

Light is very important, they need 12 -14 hrs of light. Please keep a light on in the room.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

As far at the temperature fluctuation's, have you thought about getting a thermometer for your room you house your hedgie in? I have 3 (just because I am paranoid and want to make sure I am getting an accurate reading) thermometers in my hedgie's room and I always put them at floor level since that is where their cages are located. This helps a ton with temperature consistency!


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## Ahava (Mar 25, 2009)

Heyy, jw (Hedgiepets) why 12-14 hours specifically? 
I'm curious is all. =)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Shorter periods of light would simulate shorter days, which means winter to hedgie instincts (and most animals). That can cause hedgehogs to have a hibernation attempt. 12-14 hours of light is closer to spring/summer light patterns, which keeps them from attempting hibernation and lowering their immune system.


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## PuddinPop (Aug 13, 2009)

I have a thermometer and a space heater with a thermostat on it, so my room is practically always at the temperature it should be (except the one issue about a week ago). The vet isn't sure what it is, but gave her medicine for possible muscle injury if that were causing the sluggishness. He said it could be WHS but he has no real way of knowing, and it doesn't seem anything is broken. We just woke her back up now, and even though it's warm she feels cold. She also seems very exhausted (not moving much and her eyes are staying half shut). We're trying to warm her up a bit more, but I don't really know what's going on.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

Perhaps your hedgie needs to be a bit warmer. I would suggest buying a heat emitter lamp for her cage so that you don't have to keep your room so hot. And she definitely needs more light. If you can, leave a lamp on for at least 12 hours a day. Lizardgirl made a post about everything you need to know about heat and light, I suggest you go read it.
http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579


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## femmina (Aug 10, 2009)

Middle of the night update:

She wasn't getting any less cold or lethargic after being under PuddinPop's shirt and a blanket for a while, so a friend and I drove her to the vet (PuddinPop wakes up very early for work in the morning, so he couldn't go) . On the way I kept the car rather toasty. By the time we were there she seemed a little more perky and decidedly warmer, which was good. The vet looked at her and she continued to get better, more like her normal self. They said to make sure she's staying warm and getting light (like you all said) and to keep her on the metacam that the normal vet put her on. As an example of her before going to the vet and after going to the vet states: before we went I couldn't get her to even pay attention to or put her mouth on the syringe to get the medicine, once we got home she grabbed right on to it, didn't want to let me have it back (which is much more typical of her) and even had the energy to play tug of war with it with me.


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## femmina (Aug 10, 2009)

She's not doing well again. 

This morning PuddinPop checked on her before he went to work, and he said she was doing ok. Moving around, not walking very well, but still much better than she had been. Today when I got home from class he told me to come up stairs and see her...she's crawling around on her belly because she can't seem to hold herself up, and even that she only does for a little bit. We've tried giving her all of her favorite foods and she won't really eat anything, but I did manage to get her to drink a bit of sugar water. We made sure to leave the light on all day while we weren't here, and kept the room extra warm. There's a towel under the door to try to prevent drafts, but I still feel a touch of cold in here, but the thermometer says it's 80+ in here. Right now she's under a blanket and asleep, and maybe she'll warm up and be okay...but I'm so scared. 

I called the vet we went to last night to see what I should do and the receptionist said she'd have someone call me back really soon, so maybe they have some worthwhile input...but...I need reassurance or some idea of what to do to help her. Please.


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## strawberryfields (Oct 3, 2009)

If it is that warm and she's still having problems, I'm tempted to think it's something else. Continue to make sure she's getting plenty of warmth and light. Being warm enough is always important with hedgies, but it's especially critical when they're sick.

That said, if it were me I would take her to the vet and have them run tests, tests, tests. That can be very expensive, but there must be something causing this behavior. You can check her legs to make sure there aren't any hairs or strings wrapped around, and double check for external injuries. The vet would have been able to tell if she had a broken bone or something.. But now that she isn't eating, I'd have them run tests to make sure everything's going well on the inside.


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## femmina (Aug 10, 2009)

I got her to eat a couple little syringes full of apple sauce, and about 4 syringes of sugar water. The ER vet who saw her last night said that the normal vet we saw on monday is better suited to running diagnostics, so I'm going to call them in the morning and see. She also said that the regular vet could maybe prescribe an anti-biotic in case it's an infection. Currently she's wrapped in a blanket and asleep on my chest, but right after she ate she was a bit more lively. I'm going to let her sleep a bit so her body can focus on taking care of itself, but wake her up to give her more water after a bit.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If she is perking up after you handling her and cuddling her, there is a good chance that she is not warm enough in her cage or that she is getting a draft while in her cage. The other possibility is she is too warm. When you get her up, is her tummy and feet warm? Is her cage large enough that she can easily have two temperature zones and see which she prefers?

You are better off feeding her a nutritional food rather than applesauce. Hill's A/D will give her all she needs and if she is not eating well right now focus more on substantial food.


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## femmina (Aug 10, 2009)

Last night she pooped, which was good as we hadn't seen her poop much in the past couple days. It was a bit thin, I assume from all the liquidy food, and green, maybe from stress or maybe, is it possible that she has some sort of gi infection that's been causing her problems? 

When we take her out of her cage she's generally cold on the bottom. Her cage is big enough that there could be distinct temperature areas, but she doesn't seem to prefer one over the other. There is a problem in that her cage is very near to the door to the hallway, and I think maybe when people open the door she gets a draft. We're working on a way to fix that. For last night, we put down her white lining in a plastic bin like we've seen others make their cages out of, and put the makeshift cage away from the door and closer to the heater in the room. PuddinPop said that she looked much better this morning, and even just last night I got her to eat some of her kibble. I'm concerned that she can't get in to her water bowl to drink, since her legs have been so weak, but I think I've found a shallower bowl that can be used and will be putting that in soon.

I called the vet, she is currently at lunch but will be calling back soon. I'm going to ask to get some of the hills a/d for her. Is there anything else that could be helpful to her? I was thinking maybe Boost or some sort of electrolyte having drink? Should I ask about an anti-biotic in case it is an infection?

Thanks so much guys.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If she's feeling cold or cool when you get her up then temperature is an issue. If it continues, she will end up very sick and possibly dieing. Each hibernation attempt lowers their immune system and weakens them. Even just being cool and lethargic but not totally unresponsive is a hibernation attempt and is affecting her health. She needs to be put someplace warm where this doesn't happen.


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## PuddinPop (Aug 13, 2009)

The issue is she is staying cold even in a rather warm room (this is my room and I'm keeping it about 10 degrees higher than I normally do just for her.) We have also kept her bundled up under my shirt for an hour or more and she isn't warming a whole lot, and I produce a rather substantial amount of body heat. Femmina has been to both a vet and a hospital for her so far, but unfortunately she has perked up each time, so it's possible the vet's haven't seen the real symptoms. Hopefully this next visit to night gets us some real results.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Some hedgehogs need a lot of heat. I've had a couple that would attempt hibernation at even 78 or 79F. They needed a warm room plus a heating pad under their bed 24/7 or they were cool and attempting hibernation. I've also had a couple that were extremely light sensitive.

What cage is she in? If a wire cage, try putting her in a bin and see if the more closed in draft free space helps. Also ensure there is a bright light on beside her cage from 7ish am until 9ish pm. 

She may have an underlying health issue but changes to caging and temperature are a fairly easy first step.


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## PuddinPop (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, just to update everyone, the vet advised us to put her down tonight so we did. It wasn't an easy choice, but I think it was best for her. Just so you know, we tried the bin, and I was keeping the room at 85 degrees and she only got worse. Apparently her bladder was completely full and she wasn't letting it out. One explanation we have is her nervous system shut down in a rather short period of time but we don't know why. This would explain the increasing disability to move and possibly the bladder. I'll miss her a whole lot, but she's not in pain anymore.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm so sorry for your loss. Euthanasia is a tough decision but it seems that in this case it was the right call to make.


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## strawberryfields (Oct 3, 2009)

My heart goes out to you. It's always very hard to decide "when" with a beloved pet, but the most loving and compassionate thing you can do is help them cross. She is all better now, and being taken care of by many other beloved hedgies over the bridge.


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