# Syringe Feeding



## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

So little Leroux is on his medications that the vet gave us. He ate about 5 kibble last night of his food.  

Before I gave him his morning dose of the medications, I syringe fed him about 3 pea size doses of a/d formula. 

Since he isn't eating, how often do I need to syringe feed him and about how much?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

It can vary from hedgehog to hedgehog in how much they will eat. You will want to gauge how much based on your hedgehog's reactions to being fed.

For me, with those that are only eating from a syringe, if I get 5-7 CCs 3 times a day into them, they are doing ok. Roughly 5 cc = 1 tsp. I shoot for that amount, but keep in mind that not all of that will usually make it into the hedgehog. 

The downside of them eating that much, is that they may not want to eat their dry food. Their tummy's are full all of the time.

You can also monitor his weight to help determine if you need to get more into him or not.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

Thought this might help you, sorry you are dealing with this.

http://hedgehogcentral.com/oralmed.shtml

Describes how to hold them, etc.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Ideally, 3-4 mls of food, 3-4 times per day is best. The more he eats at one sitting, the less he needs at the next but try to get as much in him each time as possible without totally stressing him. If he doesn't eat much at one sitting, try again in an hour. The less he eats, the more often you need to try. 

Also, leave loose (counted first) kibble in his bed with him because often if they don't feel like getting up to eat, they will eat if it's right in bed. Royal Canin Baby cat is well liked so try it.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Sounds good. I will grab some of the Kitten Royal Canin on my way home from work. I will probably go home at lunch here, and try to give him a little a/d. He doesn't seem to even want to eat the a/d at all.. He fights me on it..


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Oh Stephanie! I am so sorry about our the little one! I will keep him in my thoughts. I think he does this to keep you on your toes!!!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sometimes it takes a few tries to get them to catch on to syringe feeding, especially when they are already getting yucky meds. Perhaps he doesn't like A/D. Most of the time they do, but there are some that don't. 

You can try a different type of canned food but regular food does need some preparation to make it syringe-able. The lumps get caught in the tip so you really need to strain it well, use a blender or something to get all lumps out of it. Even the smallest lump will get caught.

The main thing is getting food into him so FLD doesn't start.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Stephanie76 said:


> Sounds good. I will grab some of the Kitten Royal Canin on my way home from work.


I would get the Royal Canin Baby Cat formula instead of the Royal Canin Kitten.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Perfect. Thanks for that clarification Larry. I didn't realize there were two formulas for young cats. Makes sense though. 

Baby cat it is.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

How's Leroux doing?


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

So much better!!!!!! 

*He has put on 5 grams. 
*He wheeled last night (for the first time in about a week). 
*He has been actively eating his Royal Canin Baby cat at night mixed with freeze-dried mealworms.
*We have managed to get him to down about 20-30 live/fresh mealworms a day. 


He seems in great spirits still. He was exploring Daddy's lap when I left for work this morning. His quill loss has definitely gone down, but we still see about 10 a day falling off, rather than 20-25 a day. His skin seems to be getting slightly better... 

Most important is he is eating. Yay! 

Thanks for asking Peggy.

*edit Digital scale = fail. I went back to the non-digital because I didn't think he felt 20 grams heavier. We are up a mere 5 grams.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm glad he's doing much better!  

If you have problems again in the future and need to syringe you should try Medi-cal Recovery Formula. You can get it at the vet and it comes in the same size canned as A/D and is similar in consistency to A/D (and is basically a different brand of the same food) but for some reason my hedgehogs much prefer the taste to A/D so maybe yours will too


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Thanks for that input Snuffle. I think my little guy just doesn't like syringes.. and heck, I don't blame him after getting 4 doses of 2 different antibiotics a day. :roll: 

Mister Leroux wheeled like a mad hog last night. His poo's are a dark dark mushy brown, but I know that just has to be the meds. I did get some of the probiotic (Acidphilus) caplets that have powder in them that I can sprinkle a tiny bit on his food at night. I am glad to have such a mess to wake up to on his wheel. Makes my heart happy. 

We are still losing some adult quills and doing the "wet dog" shake about once every 20 minutes. 

Ugh.. I am getting impatient waiting for this DMT-fungal to come back.. I have a whole week and 2 days before I hear anything.. :|


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Stephanie76 said:


> Thanks for that input Snuffle. I think my little guy just doesn't like syringes.. and heck, I don't blame him after getting 4 doses of 2 different antibiotics a day. :roll:
> 
> Mister Leroux wheeled like a mad hog last night. His poo's are a dark dark mushy brown, but I know that just has to be the meds. I did get some of the probiotic (Acidphilus) caplets that have powder in them that I can sprinkle a tiny bit on his food at night. I am glad to have such a mess to wake up to on his wheel. Makes my heart happy.
> 
> ...


Syringe feeding definitely isn't a pleasant experience espcially after medicating, I agree! With the Acidophilus you may find you need a bit more to really get the poop back to normal. When my hedgie was on antibiotics I started off with a small pinch twice a day (half way between antibiotic dosings) but by the end of it, I was having to give a good 2-3 large pinches to get the poop back to normal. You also might wanna try putting it on a treat, (crickets work great if you get live ones, put them in a bag and then "dust" them with the powder) cause I was finding when I put it on the food, I was never sure how much of it was actually getting eaten.

Fungals take forever! I actually watched one grow in the vet clinic I work at, and it took a good 2 weeks before I even saw anything


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