# Hedgehog Diagnosed with Oral Cancer - Questions



## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

My hedgehog Shakespeare was diagnosed with oral cancer half a week ago. I was absolutely crushed and heartbroken. My vet said that the cancer had severely loosened 3 teeth on that side of the mouth, so she had to pull those teeth. So far the tumor isn't extremely huge. It looks fairly big when you look at the inside of the mouth, but when you look at his cheek, you can barely tell that it looks a bit swollen. In fact, my husband couldn't even tell what part looked swollen until I pointed it out to him. 

The vet gave me some amoxicillin to give him twice a day to fight any infection he might develop from the pulled teeth or the cancer. She also gave me some pain medicine to give him daily. Because of the cancer, he has lost a lot of weight. He is a 4.25 year old, but he now weighs only 11 grams more than he did when I got him at 3 months old. This is very concerning to me. The vet told me that I should give him Boost nutrition drink (1/12 of an 8 oz bottle a day) as well as chicken flavored baby food. She also said that I could continue giving him kibble as long as I grind/moisten it up. I am supposed to crush up his mealworms so that he can eat them (I feed him the freeze-dried kind). 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get Shakespeare to eat very much since we got home from the vet. The only thing I can get him to willingly eat is the Boost. I have been syringe feeding him the baby food as much as he will allow, but I am still not able to get him to eat very much before he starts putting up a good fight. Should I be really worried that he isn't willingly eating much, or do you think it's just because his teeth and mouth are still tender? It has been 4 days since the vet visit. Shakespeare has been drinking, but he hasn't been drinking nearly as much as he used to. I would say he is drinking half of what he normally does. Should I be concerned about this as well?

I know that oral cancer can progress extremely fast in hedgehogs, so I've been keeping a good eye on the tumor. It doesn't seem to have grown much, if any, in the half week since we saw the vet. When I get Shakespeare out for snuggle/play time, he acts like his spunky self. However, I have noticed one thing which is concerning me. He hadn't had a single accident outside of his cage since he was a baby, but the past half week he has been having a lot of accidents. He has both pottied and done his *ahem* other business outside of the cage multiple times now. Could this be linked to the cancer, or do you think he is just getting incontinent with old age? He hadn't had a single accident until a day after we brought him home from the vet. I also noticed that he has been having really soft, green, slimey stools. I am assuming this is a side effect of his dietary change, but could it be indicative of something else by any chance?

Basically, I want to make sure that I take the best care of him that I can and ensure that he has a good quality of life for the rest of the time he has with us. If anyone has any experience with oral cancer and has some advice for me, I would be extremely grateful.

For those of you who have had experience with oral cancer in your hedgies, how did you know when it was time to take them to the vet to be humanely euthanized? I have been struggling with this ever since the diagnosis. I don't want to have him euthanized prematurely, but I certainly don't want him to be suffering either. I just don't know how I'm supposed to tell. I love my little Shakespeare so much, and I want to ensure that I'm doing the best thing for him.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Poor Shakespeare. My experience with oral tumours, which unfortunately has been considerable, rarely have they lost their appetite providing the food they have is easy to eat. Do you leave him the boost and baby food in his cage near his bed and does he eat any on his own. Some of them are very resistant to being syringe fed and I've had a couple over the years that would rather starve than be syringed. 

I assume the pain meds is Metacam, and if so loss of appetite is one of the side effects of metacam so that could be the reason. 

Is this tumour lower or upper? If upper, combined with the loss of appetite and the different potty habits, it is possible the tumour is more extensive than it appears. The change in potty habits may also be because of the medication. 

It is really difficult to know when it's time to let go. They can have a massive oral tumour and still be acting normal and still eating well and wheeling. Our first oral tumour was old Pagen and his tumour seemed to appear from one day to the next. It was 2 days before we could get a vet appointment and I swear the thing tripled in size in that time. Pagen still acted like Pagen and was bright eyed and seemed happy and not in pain. My daughter and I wanted to hold off on euthanasia but my vet said that with the speed it was growing, at any time it could reach an area where things would not be good and what if this happened after hours or on a weekend when no vet was available. We decided to let him go and most of the oral tumours since then, we have said goodbye the day of the initial visit. Upper tumours in particular can go bad very quickly because they can invade their eye, sinus and brain. Sometimes the tumour is in the head and spreads down into the mouth. 

It is really hard to let them go when they still seem so bright eyed and normal acting. There is a saying, "better a day to early, than an minute to late." I think of this saying every time we help someone cross. 

Hugs


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

I leave the Boost as well as the baby food in his food dish next to his bed at night. When I check in the morning, the Boost has been eaten, but none of the baby food has. I clean his bowl and put fresh food in for the daytime just in case he'll eat then, but even when he was healthy he was never a daytime eater so I'm not surprised that he hasn't touched what I leave out during the day. I feel so bad having to syringe feed him because it really stresses him out, but he has gotten so sickly thin already that he can't really afford to lose any more weight.

The pain medication is Metacam. 

Unfortunately, the tumor is upper. I worry a lot about the possibility of it invading his eye, sinus, or brain. I was worried that the loss of appetite and different potty habits might be a sign that it has spread elsewhere. I will call my vet as soon as possible to discuss these new symptoms. Unfortunately they're not open on Sundays or tomorrow since it's the 4th of July so I'll have to wait till Tuesday morning. 

Do you know if there are any symptoms/signs that the tumor has invaded the sinus? Can it cause sneezing? I've been keeping Shakespeare's room warm and have plenty of fleeces for him to snuggle into, but he has been sneezing a lot the past couple of days. He doesn't have a runny nose, fortunately. Since he is on amoxicillin, I wouldn't think the sneezing would be because he has since developed a URI. Of course, I will discuss this with my vet as well, but I wanted to get some input in the meantime.

Nancy, I'm so sorry to hear about Pagen and the other hedgies you've had to say goodbye to along the way. I'm already so heartbroken at this point that I can't imagine how hard it will be when I have to say my goodbyes.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sorry, I missed your reply. 

If the tumour has gone into his sinuses or is invading too far upwards, it could cause sneezing, runny nose, difficulty eating, noisey breathing, snoring, watery eyes, open mouth breathing etc. 

Perhaps he has difficulty eating anything but the liquid which if the tumour is in his sinuses it would make sense. 

Poor little guy. These %&#* oral tumours take way to many of our little quilled sweethearts. Once the tumour starts, we don't usually get much more time with them. 

Hugs to you both


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm afraid I don't have anything helpful to ad, Nancy has given you fantastic advice, but I just wanted to say sorry to hear about your poor little Shakespeare. It looks like you're doing a fantastic job keeping him comfy for the remainder of his time with you. (hugs)


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks, Nancy and LizardGirl. 

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on Shakespeare.

I have been checking in regularly with my vet to keep her updated on his condition. She is of the opinion that the sneezing is due to the tumor having spread into his sinus. Shakespeare has also developed a lack of balance. He falls over a lot. I've discussed this with my vet as well, and she is of the opinion that this, too, is due to the tumor spreading. I've also noticed that the tumor has gotten slightly more noticeable when I look at his cheek. I used to have to look really hard to notice it just by looking at the outside of his cheek, but there is definitely a bump there that anyone could notice now. 

On the plus side, Shakespeare has eaten all of the boost and baby food I've left out for him the past few days, and he hasn't had any accidents the past few days either. I'm hoping that he keeps his appetite up, as I hate putting him through stressful syringe feedings. 

Due to the new symptoms, my vet has had me inrease the dosage of the metacam. She says that, although we cannot predict how fast this will progress, as of now she thinks that Shakespeare is doing well considering his condition, and she doesn't think that I need to consider euthanasia just yet. If he starts showing more signs of pain or signs that the tumor is growing fast, then she wants me to bring him in again to discuss our options. In the meantime, she told me to just keep doing what I'm doing.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Glad to hear he's hanging on for now, and it sounds like you're in good hands with your vet for when the time comes. Sending more little hedgie hugs to you and Shakespeare!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so sorry that you & Shakespeare are having to go through this. I hope that he can have as many days as possible with you. It's obvious that you love him so much. Hugs to you both.


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## pammie (Aug 31, 2008)

aww i've just seen this. I lost my first hedgehog Momo to an oral cancer it was devestating so i now how you must be feeling. I took the decision to let her go when she stopped eating because my girl loved her food so i now it was time. 
Good luck with your little one hugs for you both x


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

My husband and I checked on Shakespeare this morning; When my husband first picked Shakespeare up to give him his medicine, Shakespeare looked stiff and unmoving, almost like he was paralyzed. This lasted for about 10 seconds before Shakespeare was able to move. His head was stuck to the side, and his mouth was open a little. His front feet were stuck rigidly out in midair. We can't be sure, but it almost looked like he wasn't breathing while he wasn't able to move. 

Once he was able to move and he started breathing "regularly" again, we noticed his nose made a high pitched whistling noise every time he breathed, which stopped after about 30-40 seconds. We then set him down to see how well he was able to walk, etc. He was able to walk, but it definitely wasn't a normal gait. The movement of his legs, particularly his back legs, seemed very unnatural. As he walked, he was lurching. He was also shaking a lot. Unlike the other symptoms we noticed, the shaking and lurching gait did not stop. 

My husband and I are extremely shaken up over all of this, and we are concerned that these symptoms might be indications that the tumor has grown into his brain and sinus cavity. We have put Shakespeare back into his cage for the meantime so that he can stay cozy and warm, but we are constantly checking on him and will be keeping a very close eye on him.

We are going back and forth about whether or not Shakespeare still has quality of life, and we are wondering when is the right time to let him go. Should we be considering euthanasia at this point? My vet is closed on Saturdays, but they do have an after hours emergency number, and I know my exotics vet would be willing to come in to help with Shakespeare.

Does anyone have any advice?


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Last week at exactly this time, the vet said the dreaded words: "It's not if this tumour is going to kill Snarf, it's when." Although he wasn't experiencing any symptoms, the oral tumour was quite aggressive and there was no guarantee that he wasn't in any pain, so we chose to put him down right then, rather than risk him suffering - especially if there was any chance he could be in pain. 

If it was ME...I wouldn't change how I did it...yes, I could have had more time with Snarf but for ME...that was putting my needs before his.

That's MY two cents...my advice: ask yourself what's best for Shakespeare.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Poor Shakespeare. It sounds like he is declining. The bent, stiff legged wobbly walk is ill as well as old. 

I would say the time is getting close to help him pass. Whether it needs to be today or tomorrow or wait till the beginning of the week, I don't know. Is he still accepting food? 

This is not an easy decision. Being a weekend makes it more difficult but if it is your normal vet that would be doing it, then it's easier than if it would be a strange vet. 

Hugs to you all.


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

Shakespeare is still accepting food at this point. He isn't drinking very much on his own, however. I have been trying to make sure he stays hydrated by periodically syringe feeding him some water. My husband and I have been keeping a close eye on him all day, and he hasn't had any more bouts of the temporary paralysis he seemed to be suffering from this morning. His walking is still stiff, and he is still wobbly and shakey. 

My husband and I have discussed it a lot, and as long as he doesn't get worse thoughout the weekend, we're thinking that we will wait till Monday and then take him in first thing Monday morning. If, however, he seems to get worse or if his temporary paralysis returns, we will call the vet and bring him in this weekend. 

Thank you all for your advice and warm wishes. It means a lot to me.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

My heart goes out to you. I really do know exactly how you feel, unfortunately for both of us.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Often the elderly and the ill sleep very soundly and can take a minute or so to become awake and able to function. That may be what was going on. 

I think your plan is good. Talk to him today and tomorrow and tell him how much you love him and will miss him but that it is okay to let himself go. I tell that to all mine when they are reaching that point. For some it works, others not. I've had a couple that have alerted me they were ready to go and I've held them as they passed. The night Teasel passed, normally he would have been one of the last ones I cleaned and fed but he came out of his nest and rolled down his ramp. I knew he was leaving and we cuddled and about 20 minutes later he was gone. As soon as I walked in the room the night Smokey said goodbye, he came out and flopped and he was gone minutes after I held him. Bandit waited for my daughter when he passed. I would so love it if they all could pass like that but unfortunately, it's usually doesn't work out that way. 

Hugs


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

This is so heartbreaking. I'm so so sorry that you have to go through this. My thoughts will be with you and Shakespeare. I'm sure he knows how much you love him, and I'm sure he appreciates so much what you've done for him. I'll pray for you and him.


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

Well, I have expected but heartbreaking news to give everyone. 

Today, my husband and I took Shakespeare to the vet. The vet said that it sounded like what happened Saturday morning was most likely a seizure. She agreed with us that, given Shakespeare's new symptoms, it was time to put him down. 

We spent some time alone with Shakespeare in the vet's office, and we cuddled him and told him we love him so much and that he is such a wonderful hedgehog. We told him how much richer he made our lives and that he would always be our special little boy. He left little hedgie footprints on our hearts. Once we said our goodbyes, the vet took us into the back room, and we stayed with him and petted him as the vet helped him to pass. 

We took him home with us, and we buried him at my grandmother's ranch out in the country. I just hope he knows how very much he meant and will always mean to us. 

I want to thank everyone for your support and helpful advice during this difficult time. Without your kind words and heartfelt advice, I doubt I would have been able to find the peace I now feel about the difficult decision I had to make. Your support and kind words truly meant so much to me.

RIP Shakespeare: March 15, 2007-July 11, 2011


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

((((Hugs to you)))))

I am so sorry for your loss. 

I could always tell by your posts how much you loved Shakespeare. 

Donna


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I am so sorry. He was a wonderful little boy. 

Hugs


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I am so sorry. I am sure Shakespeare knew how much you loved him. As hard as it is to know now - you did the right thing for him and he knew it. He will always be in your heart.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

So sorry to hear that. You took such great care of him.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

So sorry, hugs


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm sure Shakespeare felt your love and knew how much you cared for him. He was a pretty old man, in hedgehog years, and went peacefully and surrounded those who loved him most. My thoughts are with you and with Shakespear. RIP little one.


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm so sorry, Shakespeare sounded like a great little guy. And it's obvious how much you love him and how great his life with you was. I'm sure he knew how lucky he was  I bet now he's eating mealies and crickets and telling all the other hedgies how awesome his mommy and daddy were  My thoughts are with you.


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## CritterCrazyJen (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks so much for all the kind words and thoughts, everyone. It has been helpful to have such a supportive and kind community through all of this.


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## TeddysMommy (Apr 24, 2011)

*RIP Shakespeare*

((((HUGS))))

Shakespeare knew how much he was loved by his mommy and daddy <3 You gave him the best life you could possibly give. Im so sorry for your loss 

RIP Shakespeare


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## SHASHA (Feb 2, 2015)

We took Tilly in to the 24 hour Emergency Pet clinic, (it is ALWAYS a weekend when emergencies) having noticed the tumor in her mouth the previous evening… this, after @ 3 weeks of Tilly's weight dropping, accompanied by more lethargic in activity: not going on the wheel, laying across her food dish. Had not done that before.. She had lost significant weight and when the vet said, "Yes" to my question about the likelihood of Tilly being in physical pain, the decision became easy for me. The loss has knocked us out, of course! We all held Tilly and had her hedgie 'buddy" LuLu come to the vet for them to see one another. Tears started all over again just typing this. My heart is with all attempts, love, care, careful watching of Shakespeare and all hedgies with illnesses of any kind. Amazing how these little ones are so deeply in our hearts.


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## David147 (Mar 6, 2015)

4 years ago my heart dog ended up having a disease that was incurable and I kept him going out my own selfishness as long as I could. I loved him so much, but he suffered in the end and I know now once an animal feels pain and there's no help for him, the kindest thing to do is to have them put to sleep. I believe they never really leave us and stay in our hearts and souls, so yes, I must agree with everyone else. It's the hardest thing to do and I send tons of hugs you way and the strength to do what is right.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Please try to check dates of the posts, guys. This one is from almost four years ago.


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