# Picky eater or sick hedgie?!



## __scooba (Dec 21, 2013)

I got Henrietta last month. She was 15 weeks old. After the first week, I've had some problems with her throwing up. I took her to the vet and found out she was eating her cat litter. They gave me some medicine for her and slowly but surely she started to get better. Then she started to act funny again. A few nights ago I was cuddling with her, when all of a sudden her legs froze up and they were stiff. She couldn't walk or even move. I thought she was dying! Then an hour later she snapped out of it and was walking around again. Now, she won't eat any food but warm scrambled eggs. She is still drinking plenty of water and pooping. But, she has been sleeping more and not running on her wheel for hours like she used to. What could be wrong and what other foods should I try? She won't even eat her wet and dry cat food.:-(


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

What's the temperature in her cage? Do you have a heating set up? And do you have a light set up so that she receives 12-14 hours of light each day?

How long has it been since she quit eating? If it's been over a day, you should probably make sure you have syringes and either baby food or canned food on hand. Hedgehogs go downhill quickly without eating and scrambled eggs alone isn't quite enough (especially if she's not eating a lot of those either), so you may need to syringe-feed her.

Also, I'm guessing it's a yes, but just to check, you've removed the cat litter from her cage, right? And last question...do her poops look normal or do they look different in any way (color, consistency, amount)?


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## __scooba (Dec 21, 2013)

My room is a constant 75 degrees. I have a thermostat right next to her cage and a space heater in case it drops. Before I leave for school I open my blinds and turn on a lamp by her cage. I only go for 4 hours. When I go to work I leave it on then at 9 I turn off the lamp. It's only been a day and I'm going to my vet tomorrow to get more hills a/d since thats the only kind she likes. And yes I removed the litter and cleaned her whole cage just in case some little pebbles got into her bedding. Her poop has turned abit yellow and im assuming it's from the eggs. Also the toothpaste texture she had before now seems more with mucus.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Sounds like you're right on top of things! When you're at the vet, see if you can ask them about her strange episode...now that I'm thinking about it again, it sounds like it might have been a seizure? But I could be wrong, I've never witnessed one myself. It just sounds familiar based on what I've read. Definitely check with the vet though, or wait for a more experienced person on here to post a second opinion on that. It could be the potential cause of her going off her food, if she's still not feeling well after it, or if there's something that caused the seizure & is now making her feel crummy. 

I'd agree the poop color is probably due to the eggs. I would guess the mucus could also be from the same thing - stress on the GI system from the diet change.


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## __scooba (Dec 21, 2013)

Good call! I didn't think about how her tummy had to change to eggs. Yeah she wasn't eating much of the eggs, besides also playing with them. I grounded up her hard food, mealworms, and water to make something I could feed her with a syringe. She even played for a few minutes with her toy truck which makes me feel somewhat better.


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## __scooba (Dec 21, 2013)

Well after have been feeding her by syringe since she wont eat her hard food
I went to my vet and picked up some hills a/d since she liked it to much last time
The moment I opened up the can, she woke up! I set it in her food bowl and she started eating it without a syringe.. so should I just keep with the hills a/d? I tried mixing in her hard food with the hills and she wouldn't eat it? She is so confusing..


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Hm...How long have you had the bag of dry food you've been using? Any possibility it might be a bit stale? Some hedgies are particularly picky about that and a new bag solves the issue. Another possibility is a tooth or mouth issue, since she seems to be eating soft foods, but not hard foods (unless I've read incorrectly). That would require a vet visit to have them take a look for anything concerning. 

It's good that she's eating something on her own! But I would keep try to find something else that she's willing to eat, and also look into the possible reasons that she won't eat her dry food. Hills A/D is good for sick animals, but it's very high in fat (30% DMB!), so it's not a great long-term choice.


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