# White Foam



## kiukitsu (Dec 2, 2008)

Hi! I'm new here...

I need help because I just discovered yesterday that my hedgie has mites (quills and fur loss, weight loss) so I bought Revolution and applied it myself. As much as i want to let the vet do it, we don't have any vets here who specialize in hedgehogs.Of course I asked the breeder on how to apply and what dosage of Revolution is safe. He told me that .03ml is safe, so there, i measured it using a syringe and i slowly applied it but my hedgie hissed and i was stunned. When i looked at the syringe, it was nearly empty. I wasn't sure if it was applied on my hedgehog or somewhere else so i added a few more. Maybe the dosage (all in all) would be more or less .06ml. I asked the breeder if it was just fine and he said yes. Just don't exceed 3ml and everything's fine. I watched him the whole night and he seemed just fine. I gave him superworm and I think he could eat tons of it and he also drank water. 

Now, when i came home, I gave him a superworm. He ate it but I noticed that he was doing something. He acted as if he was forming a white foam in his mouth, just like when anointing, but this is different. He didn't put in in his quills. He just sat and that's it. I tried to give him water but he refused to drink. He just continued that "foaming" thing whenever i tried to give him water. He was like tasting something. It's hard to describe. Just imagine a hedgehog getting ready for anointing except that he doesn't put it in his quills.

I'm not sure if it was there before i came home, or after giving him superworm...

I'm very worried, could it be that he was poisoned? or overdose? Pls help me..
We don't have any vet here, they refused to check up on him coz they're not familiar with hedgehogs...


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

I'm not familiar with any diseases or illnesses that have symptoms of foaming of the mouth, but it's possible your hedgehog was going to annoint, and then was disturbed, and was left with a whole lot of spit. 

How is your hedgehog doing other wise? How are poops? Is he eating and drinking the same amount?


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## doug (Aug 28, 2008)

Milo, did that a few times. It was almost like a baby spitting up. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but he was fine, and nothing bad happened.

Keep an eye on him. If it keeps up, or he refuses to eat/drink for awhile then I would contact a vet. But I don't think its anything to panic over.


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## xtiana (Aug 31, 2008)

An illness thats notorious for white foam at the mouth is rabies. From the other descriptions though, it doesn't sound like thats it.


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## hndspk (Aug 28, 2008)

> An illness thats notorious for white foam at the mouth is rabies. From the other descriptions though, it doesn't sound like thats it.


Except for the hissing part...that sounds like agression. But I seriously doubt that it's rabies. How would he have gotten it?

One other thought, I know this sounds weird, but humor me. If you give a cat (oral) medicine or even just hold a cotton ball soaked in alcohol up to its nose it will start foaming to try to get rid of that taste in it's mouth. What if some of the revolution worked its way down to the hedgies 'lips' and he licked around his mouth and got some in it and then started foaming up because of the bad taste?


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## kiukitsu (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks for all your replies.

He's not doing it anymore. He's eating and drinking now. I was just very worried because He's been with me for almost a year and it's the first time he did it, it was also the first time he had mites, lost fur, quills and weight. It's also the first time i applied revolution to him plus the fact that I applied a bit more than usual. 

The only problem I have now is his left eye is closed. It was also like that when i knew he has mites so i gave him an oatmeal bath, applied some olive oil and helped him open the eye by using wet cotton buds. Now it's closed again, like there are lots of "morning glory". I reopened it using wet cotton buds. It's a bit sore, just a little bit,like when you slept for hours. He's quite a mess now and I want him to be back to normal..

What can I do to help him gain weight again, and to return the quills and fur, and also the eyes?

Thanks for all your help


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

Is there any way you could find an exotic vet a little further away? It really sounds like the little guy could use a good going-over. I think I would try to track down an exotic vet within a 2 hour radius and make an appointment. I don't know what your situation is, but it could be worth the drive. Or even see about a phone consultation. In the meantime, it's good that he's still eating. I'm not sure what you can do about the eye...I wonder about maybe using some saline drops in it, BUT I'm not sure so you should probably wait until someone else can advise you on that. 
I hope your little guy feels better soon!


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## Gnarly (Aug 29, 2008)

Yes, it really sounds like you need to try to find a vet, his eye could be infected, and that would require antibiotics.


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## kiukitsu (Dec 2, 2008)

He's active now. Actually I know a vet that specializes in exotics but I don't trust them enough. In other countries where hedgehogs are common, I hear a lot of complains regarding their vets for not knowing the right thing to do, etc... what more here in our country where hedgies are very rare?

But I'm already thinking of bringing him there. I'm a little worried coz my hedgie is not used to travelling. He vomits whenever I bring him with me.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I too feel he should see a vet about his eye. It probably won't get better on it's own and will continue to get worse.

To help prevent car sickness, don't let him have any food or water for 2-3 hours prior to the trip. Sometimes that helps. Being car sick though is minor compared to loosing his eye.


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## kiukitsu (Dec 2, 2008)

Yes I would try to bring him there. I just need to find the exact address and their schedule.

I have read something about saline solution but only a few information.
What is it for?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

For those who are in areas where they may not have a veterinarian that is very experienced with hedgehogs, I recommend preparing yourself to help teach your veterinarian. For me I have a couple of books that I keep on hand and take with me if I need to visit a veterinarian that hasn't much experience with hedgehogs or at least provide the names of the books to them so that they can buy the books if they desire. My current veterinarian has both of these books. I've had to use veterinarians that had very little experience with hedgehogs and having these resources available for them to look at was very helpful (mostly for dosage amounts).

I recommend two books:

Ferrets, Rabbits & Rodents: 2nd edition. Ensure you buy the 2nd edition as the chapter on hedgehogs was added in this edition.

and

Exotic Animal Formulary: 3rd edition.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

A saline solution is basically distilled water, used for clearing the eye. People recommend having it if some debris gets into a hedgie eye. I think I would really go to the vet, though, instead because they probably can give antibiotic drops or something better to help. The saline was just a thought, I'm really not sure it would help at all.


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## kiukitsu (Dec 2, 2008)

UPDATE: 

I was able to bring my hedgehog to a vet. 
Actually I didn't pay anything since the vet didn't do anything except for checking up on him...

The vet that i asked doesn't know much about hedgies because the one who's knowledgeable was not around.

My hedgie's weight was about 310grams. The vet did't know what to prescribe with regards to his eyes because the sign that i was telling him was already gone. His eyes were already wide open. He's very active and exploring. I asked the vet if we could see if he still has mites. He said that he could do skin scraping but I disagreed because I think it hurts and besides, i already treated it with revolution. The doctor said that he can inject Ivermectin for the mites, or the topical one, again, I disagreed because of the bad feedbacks that I've been reading. The only thing that's wrong with my hedgie was his SUPER flaky skin. 

I texted the doctor who knows how to treat hedgies. He said that it could be fungal or it could also be because of mites. He said that if a hedgehog is treated from mites, it takes a while for the skin to completely recover. So I think i'd just be giving my hedgie an oatmeal bath once in a while and sometimes drop olive oil on his skin.

One more thing, my female hedgie died when she was with my hedgie (the one that i brought to the vet). I housed them together that time for mating The only symptoms that i was able to see was limping and some clicking sound, she was like chewing something but she wasn't. She couldn't move her hind legs. She was just crawling and she easily got tired(like after a few steps she would lie down, and then crawl again, and lie down and so on..). but I thought she was ok because she was getting better. But one night she seemed like defecating but she couldn't let it out. When you look at her, you would think that's she's completely fine. She didn't lose weight and still round. She also had no wounds that could be a sign of a fight. What could be the problem? I just found her dead one night. T.T I'm hoping that my male hedgie didn't got her illness.


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