# Sensitive stomach/diarrhea/food suggestions??



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

Hi all, so for those of you that did not read the post, I recently rescued a baby hedgie from the side of the road (she was in a box.. ) about 3 weeks ago. I took her to the vet right away and she was very healthy, but young. I had no idea what food she was on, but I put her on Blue Buffalo Weight Control as that is what I used for my other hedgies. Anyway, so her poops were mushy at first but I figured that was due to stress/diet change, but they have become more and more liquidy to the point where they are almost water. I took her to the vet last week and they did a fecal test that came back clean but gave her some Rx clay to put in her food and a probiotic to try and clear it up, he also said she may have a sensitive stomach and the brand of food may be the problem. So, does anyone have any suggestions of what I should change her food to/any tips? I am not sure if the medicine is working as she is barely eating any of it. Thanks!


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I'm surprised your vet didn't recommend Hills i/d which is their gastrointestinal brand. It's good food for those that have gassy problems, digestion problems, etc etc. 

As for the medication, you should syringe it directly into her mouth, so you ca guarantee she is eating it. Be sure to syringe her water, as diarrhea like that can be deadly cause they dehydrate so fast.


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

I will ask him about that one, he hasn't recommended any as of yet, he just said that would be the next step if the medicine didn't work. I just wanted to have some suggestions for our next visit. I am trying to syringe her the medicine, but she wont even open her mouth for it. Any tips?


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

You can try sucking up the prescribed amount of medication, then get some chicken baby food (or if you know of any other ones she might like better, not sure if you've had a chance to try many foods with her with everything else going on) and suck a bit of baby food up (you may have to water it down first, the meat baby foods are a bit thicker). You can shake the syringe to kind of mix them together a bit, then try syringing it. The baby food can help disguise the taste, and by not mixing them in a bowl but in the syringe, you'll still definitely have the right amount of medicine.

I don't know if this will help at all, but a member made a video tutorial on how she gave her boy his antibiotics - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17071


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

Thats a great idea, thanks! I will give that a try this evening


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

So I have a somewhat bad update about Snuffles.. The vet currently has her on a probiotic and a clay that I sprinkle on her food, he has also done a fecal test and she has no parasites. She is still having constant diarrhea, she is taking all of her medicine every day and is eating/drinking/acting normal. I'm lost at what to do, any help??


----------



## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

You say no parasites, but did they test for a bacterial infection?


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

The vet said that they did parasites and checked bacteria levels so I am guessing that means they checked for a bacterial infection?


----------



## Cupix (Aug 16, 2012)

This is not a professional advice but more on what I did..

My Pokey had very watery poop for about 3 days just awhile back so I steamed some fresh pumpkin and fed it to him mashed. I only gave him those for about 2-3 days though as the condition of his poop became much better on the 2nd day. I dont want to over-feed him on that as I'm not sure if too much is good for him.

He only willingly took 1 bite of the pumpkin and decided that he doesnt like it, so I stuck mashed pumpkin on the outside of his mouth with a spoon and he'll lick it into his mouth trying to clean it. I didnt give him much though.. lesser than half a teaspoon each day.

Some back story - I didnt know what food Pokey is on either when I got him, so I just feed him with one of the cat food brand from the supermarket. He has been having green and soft poop ever since I got him (about 2- almost 3 weeks now) but he's eating and drinking alot and urinating fine so I guess he is fine.


----------



## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Have you tried changing the food? Since the vet has ruled out anything bacterial, etc, it could be a sensitivity to the protein in the food, like how some dogs have problems with chicken-based foods. I'd suggest trying her on a non-chicken food. Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken is lamb-based, and there's also Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck. Since she's having the stomach upset already it won't really do anything worse to try to switch her cold turkey, and switching her completely to a different food for a few days will give you a better sense of whether that's going to help. Keep using the probiotic while you make the switch, of course.

Pumpkin or sweet potato can help firm up poops but it won't address whatever the underlying issue is.

I'd also suggest giving her some pedialyte (the clear, unflavored one) to make sure she's staying hydrated.


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

I did change her food about a week ago to Blue Buffalo Sensitve Stomach, it has no allergens in it such as dairy etc but I think it has chicken in it still! I have some Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck on hand so should I try that? I had been giving her pumpkin but she wouldn't eat very much so it wasn't really helping. She is drinking plenty and the vet said she was well-hydrated so I guess I will try the new food for now, thanks!


----------



## ehanton (Aug 13, 2009)

Correction: Her current food only contains turkey, could that still be causing problems?


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I know with my dog, we found out she was allergic to chicken and have avoided poultry in general since then. And allergies is a great idea - I didn't think of that, even though a friend of mine (used to post on here, doesn't so much anymore) was going through similar issues with one of her hogs. I remember the hedgie was having poop issues, but I can't remember if they were loose or constipated. But I remember the vet thought it might be allergies, as there were no other apparent problems. Last I heard, there was no resolution, but I'm not sure, that was awhile ago. If you want to try for something that's no poultry at all, Solid Gold is lamb-based, or perhaps you could try a fish-based food. It might make the poop stinky, but I know there's a few people on here who feed a fish-based food and have no problems, so that could depend. You could also try puppy kibbles, they tend to be smaller and softer, and dog foods tend to have a broader range of meats used.


----------

