# Another Regina Health Update (Pics)



## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Well, as some of you may remember, a while ago Regina's poop issues had recurred, and I took her to the vet again, who gave her more antibiotics and another medicine that would bind any lesions in her digestive tract (I forget what it was called, although I have it written down somewhere). She had also been having mucus by her lady parts and the vet tested her pee, but found nothing abnormal with it. So we were going to see if the antibiotics would clear up the mucus and poop. Since having that round of antibiotics, her poop issues have not reoccurred (fingers crossed), but the mucus didn't go away. So I took her back to the vet yesterday to have her get a check-up and have any tests done. She also had some lesions on her gums that the vet had tested before (came back non-cancerous), so I figured I would have those removed while she was under anesthesia for her exam/tests, because I'd rather not put her under anesthesia more than necessary.

The lesions on her gums hadn't grown at all, but I had the vet remove the rest of them anyway. In addition to examining Regina, she also looked at a sample of mucus under the microscope. She said that there were more white blood cells than normal, but because there hasn't been a lot of research done on hedgies she wasn't sure if that might be related to where she is in her reproductive cycle (apparently in cats and dogs white blood cell count varies depending on cycle). Regardless, she took a sample to be cultured at the lab. She also did an ultrasound on Regina to see if she could see anything. She saw a tubular kind of thing above her bladder, which is partly why we are doing a culture. She said that it might be possible that she has excess mucus in her reproductive system (that happens sometimes in other animals), and doing a culture will give us a better idea if it's just fluid, or mucus, or something else.

I love Regina's vet. I'm allowed to come in the back, stay with her while she gets anesthetized and examined, and be with her when she wakes up. Her vet even lets me take pictures, which I figured would be good to share with the forum just to see if they might be helpful for other hedgie parents.

Here they are (some of them are from previous visits, but I forgot to put them up before  ...)

This is what they use to give her anesthesia. She flops around like a drunken sailor, licking her lips, because the gas must smell funny. The container is attached to the gas and oxygen:









Once she's sleeping, they use the little mask:









Being examined:

















This is how they keep her mouth open to check it:









Close ups (you can see where the little lesions were):

















Groggily waking up (she stumbles around rather unsteadily as she wakes up):









So, we got home, and she was acting a little rambunctious (I wouldn't blame her, she was getting poked and prodded and had been given anesthesia). I think she was mad at me for taking her to the vet, because she trashed her cage and gobbled up all her leftover food from the previous night:









Pouting in her tissue box:









"Mama, I'm mad that you made me go to the vet!"









Plotting more mischief (she knocked over her water dish, liner dove like crazy, and pooped wherever she wanted :roll: )









She also was being adorable and sniffing around a lot (which I later realized may have been due to the fact that my roommate severely burned the chicken she was making for dinner and it smelled quite strongly). I got a lot of good video of it, but it's late and I should go to bed, so I'll post the videos by this weekend!

Thanks for reading!
--Me and Regina


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

What interesting photos at the vet  That's nice of them to let you stay and such :3
Glad to hear she's doing okay :3 (besides the mucus thing )
And I love her angry tissue box face


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Regina is such a beautiful little vixen and I hope she is well on her way to recovery. It is obvious how devoted you are to her. Thank you so much for sharing your informational pictures. I had to laugh about Regina trashing her cage!!! I really am interested in the information you provide and enjoy "Regina stories."


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Hope she feels better soon from her procedures and that the results are something easily remedied. Keep us posted and ty for the pics


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

those vet pics were really cool. Seems like you have a great vet! 
But poor Regina I hope she gets better. 
That's funny that she trashed her cage to spite you for taking her to the vet lol. Mine do the same. Keep us updated!


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## readthebook2 (Jan 16, 2012)

I would trash my cage after going through all that too! What incredible photos, poor little sweetie. Glad you a vet you are able to feel such confidence in, who is obviously very caring. Fingers crossed that everything turns out fine.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

So glad to hear that the poop issues have cleared up! I hope the mucus turns out to be nothing serious and she gets to be all healthy for awhile. The pictures are great! I never thought to ask my vet if I could take pictures when we put Lily under to check her mouth. She acted about the same though. He had her in a large dog mask to get her sleeping before using the little mask and she was surprisingly calm about it. Just kinda looked at us like "Okay...well, if you want me in here that's fine....wait, what's that smell?" :lol:


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## KatelynAlysa (Nov 25, 2011)

Glad she's feeling better! Those pics of her trashing her cage are adorable!!!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Get well soon, Regina!

Those pictures are hilarious, even if Regina was not amused :lol: That reminds me.. my new boy, Po' Boy, had to be anesthetized the same way as the picture of Regina in a tupperware because they did not have a mask that was big enough for him!! :lol:


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## nualasmom (Nov 13, 2011)

Loved the photos!! Thanks for sharing. I hope she gets better soon. She's adorable!


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

ShutUpAndSmile said:


> What interesting photos at the vet  That's nice of them to let you stay and such :3
> Glad to hear she's doing okay :3 (besides the mucus thing )
> And I love her angry tissue box face


Hehe I love the looks she gives me sometimes... like "Mom, are you SERIOUS?"



shetland said:


> Regina is such a beautiful little vixen and I hope she is well on her way to recovery. It is obvious how devoted you are to her. Thank you so much for sharing your informational pictures. I had to laugh about Regina trashing her cage!!! I really am interested in the information you provide and enjoy "Regina stories."


Aw, thank you! She is my baby, haha! My boyfriend and I were both laughing and watching her huff and trash her cage and hide in her tissue box. She's really quite a character lol.



Hedgieonboard said:


> Hope she feels better soon from her procedures and that the results are something easily remedied. Keep us posted and ty for the pics





Quinn said:


> those vet pics were really cool. Seems like you have a great vet!
> But poor Regina I hope she gets better.
> That's funny that she trashed her cage to spite you for taking her to the vet lol. Mine do the same. Keep us updated!





readthebook2 said:


> I would trash my cage after going through all that too! What incredible photos, poor little sweetie. Glad you a vet you are able to feel such confidence in, who is obviously very caring. Fingers crossed that everything turns out fine.


Thank you for the well-wishes! I'll pass them along to Regina! And I love her vet! I never feel pressured to have a procedure done and I feel very comfortable asking questions and talking to her. She always gives me all the options and then lets me weigh them. Also, everyone who works there seems to love Regina :3



Lilysmommy said:


> So glad to hear that the poop issues have cleared up! I hope the mucus turns out to be nothing serious and she gets to be all healthy for awhile. The pictures are great! I never thought to ask my vet if I could take pictures when we put Lily under to check her mouth. She acted about the same though. He had her in a large dog mask to get her sleeping before using the little mask and she was surprisingly calm about it. Just kinda looked at us like "Okay...well, if you want me in here that's fine....wait, what's that smell?" :lol:


I hope so too! We put Regina in the tupperware container and she just sniffs around at the edges and licks her lips and nose. So cute!



KatelynAlysa said:


> Glad she's feeling better! Those pics of her trashing her cage are adorable!!!





nualasmom said:


> Loved the photos!! Thanks for sharing. I hope she gets better soon. She's adorable!





shaelikestaquitos said:


> Get well soon, Regina!
> 
> Those pictures are hilarious, even if Regina was not amused :lol: That reminds me.. my new boy, Po' Boy, had to be anesthetized the same way as the picture of Regina in a tupperware because they did not have a mask that was big enough for him!! :lol:


[/quote]
Thank you all! Shae--Regina and Po'Boy must be about the same size! Gotta love the fluffy hogs 

I will be sure to update when the lab results come in. Also I will post the videos of her sniffing and eating and huffing the other day. GAH I have so many I don't know which to post...


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## zombiewoman (Sep 22, 2011)

Glad she is feeling better and continues too. Thank you very much for sharing the photos, and what a cute young lady you have there. LIsa


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