# I think my hedgehog hurt himself



## Ashlishoemaker (May 8, 2018)

So it was a normal night, put him in bed then about a half an hour later wake up to some little screeches! I think he climbed on top of his house and fell off idk. When I went to check on him there was blood everywhere and he had his head up in the air walking into things! Had to bath him because the blood was just too much! So what I can see so far is his nose is a little smooshed and he’s blowing blood bubbles out of his nostril. The bottom of his chin is swollen, like it’s bruised and my main concern is he has blood coming out of his mouth. I’m paranoid that he has intern bleeding or something but it could just be that he bit his tounge. This is fresh so he hasn’t done anything like drink or eat, he hasn’t wanted to. Before anyone says to bring him to the vet there are no vets around here that take hedgehogs, I’ve searched! Even so I don’t have the money for a vet visit regardless. So my question is, is anyone else’s hedgehogs accident prone? Has anyone else went through anything like this before? If so how did it turn out? I’m just so scared he’s going to die


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's totally irresponsible to put an animal in your care and then not have any funds to be able to take that animal to a vet when they need it or check in advance if there's even a vet in your proximity. Hedgehogs are especially prone to illnesses. My boy has been to the vets 4 times already in the past year that I've had him. 

By what youve described and the photo you've attached, your hedgehog needs to been seen by a vet asap. It is unfair to that poor hedgehog not to get it checked out. They are very good at hiding pain and with his face swollen like that, his eyes puffy, his nose squashed and blood coming out of his nose as well as his mouth he could have fractured a bone in his nose and needs treatment as well as pain meds. It's not your hedgehog's problem if you don't have sufficient funds. You should have pet insurance, a credit card or have saved an emergency fund. If you care for that hedgehog and don't want it to suffer you will find a way to get it to a vet. 

I'd be calling even non exotics or an animal emergency hospital and while you're at it remove anything he can climb on in his cage and monitor very closely until you can take him.


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## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

You need to borrow money, beg for money or do whatever you can to come up with the money (legally) to have your hedgehog looked at by a vet. If there are no vets in your area that treat them, you will have to borrow even more money and travel to a vet that treats them.

Animals are completely innocent and a hedgehog is helpless pretty much anywhere but it's natural habitat. This means you are 100% responsible for it's care, and getting a hedgehog despite not having a vet that treats them nearby, and having no money to see a vet if there were... Well, this indicates that you just wanted a cute pet and not the responsibility.

Get the hedgehog the treatment it needs, and you may have to give up your pride to do it, by asking family and friends for money. Then you should strongly consider one of the two following options:

1) Getting adequate income to care for your pet

2) Giving the hedgehog to someone who is in a position to care for it properly, like a hedgehog rescue or someone with experience with hedgehogs.

We are judging you, and that isn't nice, but the truth is your animal is suffering because you can't take care of it. Your hedgehog could be very seriously ill/hurt right now and unless you take immediate responsibility, you may lose your pet who I do believe you care for deeply, regardless of poor planning.


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## Ashlishoemaker (May 8, 2018)

An update is that I have found a vet this morning that does indeed take hedgehogs. And honestly no one knows my situation so the judgements can be kept to yourself. It’s not that I don’t have “adequate income” its that I’m in between jobs and have yet to receive my salary. Based on what his vet said he will be just fine, his face is bruised from falling, the blood is from a chipped tooth. He’ll be swollen for a little while but all in all he will live and is getting everything he needs to manage his pain. I would say thanks but no one helped me, all I got was criticized, so thanks for nothing.


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## autumnfox (Feb 5, 2018)

No, they did help you. They gave you the hard facts that you didn’t want to hear. We are not doctors and we cannot know the exact condition of your hedgehog via a post online. When your hedgehog is bleeding and life could be in danger, your quick response was to say “oh well, there are no vets and I don’t have the money anyway” when clearly you did if you’ve already gone in less than 24 hours of this post. Can you see how that can be taken wrongly?


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## Ashlishoemaker (May 8, 2018)

Weird because I didn’t ask anyone to diagnose him, I asked if anyone had similar experiences with their hedgehogs being accident prone, or being hurt in the same way, and how it turned out?! So no they weren’t helpful in making me feel like **** for not being able to bring him to a vet a 4 in the **** morning, assuming I don’t have the funds to care for him based on how I decided to word my words. Another thing is I didn’t just get him because “I wanted a cute pet” and I didn’t do research about nearby vets that would take him because he wasn’t planned. I found him **** near close to death, bottle fed him and kept him alive. No one knows our story, so I’m done here


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Did you take him to the vet or just speak to him on the phone? Did they do any xrays to check for any fractures in the jaw? If he hit hard enough to chip a tooth and cause that much swelling then there is a good chance he has a broken or cracked jaw. The only way to know for sure is with X-rays.


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## Ashlishoemaker (May 8, 2018)

They did an exam, they pryed his poor little mouth open. They didn’t do an X-ray, he just said it seemed his jaw was fractured. He has a prescription for an antibiotic and pain med and I was givin and list of things to do to help him with his healing process. The vet did say it could have been worse then, that he’s seen worse and he believes my little guy will be just fine


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

His jaw is fractured? Are you syringe feeding him? Is the jaw displaced at all? You need to watch fothe signs of a head injury if he hit hard enough to fracture his jaw.


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## Ashlishoemaker (May 8, 2018)

Syringe feeing him yes, no jaw displacement and when he’s not with me he’s being checked on every 10 mins


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Checking on him every 10 minutes is a bit excessive, every hour or so would make more sense. He's going to need rest and to be left undisturbed so he can rest.


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## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

Well, sorry you didn't ask for our opinions on certain things but it's stuff that needs to be said.

The fact that you found your hedgehog and nursed him back to health is admirable, no doubt about that, I'm happy you did that and so is everyone else I'm sure.

That being said, regardless of "your story" you own an expensive pet now, and at no time should you not know where a vet is to treat him nor should you have no money available. The fact that you did a good thing and took care of a hedgehog you found does not mean you can be irresponsible in the future, quite the contrary. I have found animals as well, and done similar things for them as you have, that being said, I made sure they went to the right place (rescues, SPCA, no-kill shelters) almost immediately after finding them. Why didn't I just keep them? Well, because I either didn't have adequate money to take care of them, or I didn't know enough about them to properly care for them.

I found a raccoon baby, a dog, a coyote and very obese rat. All of which were given water and whatever food I could muster that Google told me was appropriate, and then they were off to where they can be cared for.

The fact is people will judge you for lack of responsibility, this is a legitimate thing to do in most cases, no one likes it, but we aren't just saying "you're awful!" or anything, we're explaining our reasons because we all love hedgehogs and know that too many of them go to bad homes where they are mistreated after the "cute factor" wears off. 

I'm glad you aren't one of those people, but at the same time, you can't post a hail Mary question (while clearly stating you don't know any vets and have no money) and expect to not take some heat. Most people on here make their hedgehogs a huge part of their lives, because we love them dearly, and your original post implied you were careless and irresponsible so we pointed that out so you could take the steps needed to better care for your animal (as you seem to want to do).

Quite frankly, the fact that I made you mad doesn't really bother me at all, so long as you take care of your hedgehog and prepare for more surprises like this in the future.


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