# Wild hedgehog worming



## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi, I wrote a thread here earlier about a small wild hedgehog i found last week. 
She was 315gram when i found here and she is now up to 376gram. She had some weird poo and others here suggested it could be worms and that someone had used panacur to treat it. 

I actually have some panacur worming tablets that i use for my cat. Panacur vet tablet 250mg (Fenbendazol to animal) Can anyone recommend a dosage for a small hedgehog weighing 376grams? 

Thank you in advance


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

(Context: Original Parent poster is in a country where hedgehogs aren't pets, and the local vets refuse to give advice on how to treat her temporary houseguests.)


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

i am in norway and hedgehogs are not allowed as pets here either along with other exotics/reptiles. 
The vet was very suprised when i said i had found a hedgehog and didnt know much about them so couldnt give much advice
There is also no wildlife centres here either :/


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Just had a quick look in the medicine box and i also have panacur syringe oral paste. 187.5g.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

According to this website, the recommended dosage of the 18.75% oral paste for puppies and kittens is 1 syringe graduation per 1kg body weight, for 3 consecutive days. So it would be a pretty tiny amount. http://www.msd-animal-health.co.uk/products_public/panacur_paste/090_product_datasheet.aspx

I can't find any details for smaller animals, but I'll keep looking.

These little hogs are really lucky to have found you.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

From the manufacturer's drug label, the dosing for horses is 10 mg paste per 1 kg of horse for 5 consecutive days. That would translate into 10 mg * 0.37 kg = 3.7 mg of medication for a 370 g hedgehog. However, that's just a straight calculation based on dosing a great big horse; I'd feel a lot better if someone could track down information on dosing something small like a cat.

I'm not a vet or biologist, and I don't really understand most of the titles of the toxicology papers, but it looks like maybe side-effects can be negative interactions with other drugs, and hypersensitivity from all the antigens of killing off a bunch of parasites at once.

I'm doing educated guesswork, so if anyone has experience or different information than me, please listen to them!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Abby, you have a way better link!

Looking at its information, you want approximately just over half of a single syringe graduation. (1 syringe line for every 500g of bodyweight)


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

You should be speaking with either a vet, a wild hedgehog rescue, or with someone who has actual hands on experience with wild hedgehogs.

There are numerous hedgehog rescues in the UK. http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/ Tiggywinkles is well known and I've heard they respond fairly quickly.

If you do a search, there are many others, but Tiggywinkles is probably the best known. :smile:


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Thank you! Okay so basically i need 1/2 of 1 gratitude? Is that right? Can i mix it in to her food?
She is weighing 376gram today so she has put on 14gram since yesterday  
I will give my cat a worming pill incase its passed on, but it cant be passed on to me, can it? 
Im glad to be a help to them! They are very cute, but they dont like me much, Constant hissing and huffing when im around them but i guess thats good for when i release them back into the wild


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Since she's so small I would be worried about accidental overdosing, so I would email the rescue that Nancy mentioned and confirm with them.

From what I know, it's possible to pass to humans, but the risk is minimal. It would probably be a good idea to keep an eye on your cat, though.

Glad to hear she's still gaining weight! Please keep us posted on their progress!


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

Okay nancy will try them too. I have actually been intouch via email with a really helpful lady in the uk from the BHPS but shes currently away, thats when i searched online and found this site. 
The vets here say they dont know much about them and as reptiles/exotics are illegal as pets, there are no exotic pet vets around.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Glad you're contacting the rescue.  It's safest to get information from people who work directly with the species & know the common medicines and dosages, in case there's common bad reactions or anything like that.

It'd probably be best to make sure you're washing your hands after you touch any of her things or her, just in case - or you can use gloves to clean her cage.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please don't give any to the hedgie before speaking with someone that has used it in the past. Just going by googled info isn't safe...you need to talk to someone with experience. Dosage isn't always based on weight alone, often you need different dosages for different animals.


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

I have not heard back from tiggywinkles yet. I called a volunteer from the BHPS and she gave me her email adress and said she will get back to me today with information. 
Yesterday evening though, she lost weight again  went from 376gram on friday night to 370gram saturday night. Is that considered a serious weight loss in a young hedgehog? There was also a big dead tick in her water bowl this morning! 
A couple of days ago, i noticed she had poop on her feet, i didnt wash it as i thought it would just come off and i didnt want to stress her and she gets really upset whenever i change her, but yesterday evening i noticed it was still there, i put some warm water in a tub and tried to wash her feet, it was really caked on! Is it normal for them to walk in their poop and not clean themselves? And lay in it also? her underside felt a little greasy :/ 
thanks in advance for any advice


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

With our little domestic hedgehogs, they run in their own poop in their wheel each night, causing something we nickname "poop boots." It's common for us to give them foot-baths by having them run around in shallow water or on a damp towel. I'd guess it was less common with wild hedgehogs because they poop while they run so they'd leave it behind them, not walk through it.

It is less common for them to sleep where they poop -- they usually only do that when they're scared and don't want to leave the safety of their nest to poop somewhere else.


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## kirstie1988 (Oct 10, 2013)

well im just taking care of her till she is big enough for release and hibernation. Im keeping her in a box with newspaper and towels at the moment so i guess she is walking in it during the night, just wasnt sure if it was normal for them to not clean themselves but i guess it is in that case


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