# Living with Lily (Stories and Pics)



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I know I don't take a ton of pictures of Lily, but I thought I'd start a thread for her anyway, where I can share random stories about her attitude and quirks, and share pictures when I do get them.  Who knows, maybe it'll inspire me to take more pictures of her!

Today I DO have some pictures of her, as I held our first photoshoot for LarryT's Hedgehog Summer contest. I'm not sure which will be entered in the contest yet, if it'll be any from this run. I plan on doing a couple more shoots before I decide.










"Hm...Not ripe enough yet!"


















"Maybe if I hide over here, she'll stop taking pictures!"









"Are we done YET?" 









My Lily among my Mom's lilies.  I think this is my favorite picture from this photoshoot.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Great pictures but I really like the one of her with the berries.


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

I agree! I love the berry one! She looks so curious


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

They are all so wonderful! I love the berries. But I also love the flowers - so vibrant!
She's beautiful!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I love my beautiful little Miss Lily!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

PS. I think it is charming and sentimental to snap Lily among your Mother's lilies. I'm sure your Mom knows and is pleased that her lilies are so colorful and pretty.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks guys! I'm hoping to get another berry shot with some riper berries during another shoot.

Shetland - Thanks! I was SO excited to get those pictures. I wasn't even expecting any of the lilies to be blooming right now, I couldn't remember when the flowers came out. There's more of them that are light pink in the same garden that apparently bloom later, but I was so pleased to see these ones out already. I've been meaning to get a picture of Lily with them for the last two years. I was thinking earlier I might print out that last picture and take it to my mom's grave so she can have some Lily and lilies.  I can show her I finally did get that picture! :lol:


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## infamousrenie (Dec 18, 2010)

Pretty pictures! I love the berry one as well, definitely a favorite! Lily is gorgeous!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Lily and I spent the 4th up at my grandparents' cabin with my family. We had great weather and I meant to take more pictures of Lily, but my nephews kept me busy! I did get her out on the dock for some quick pictures one evening though. She wasn't too pleased to be woken up for this picture-taking nonsense yet again. :lol: I got a couple of decent ones though!



















Now I just have to decide which picture to enter in Larry's contest!


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Aww, Lily is adorable!!! They're all great, but I especially love the ones of her on the dock


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Great pics!  Berries all the way.


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## xspiked (Feb 27, 2011)

Aww Lily among the lillies! 
I love the dock photos. They looked so peaceful.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Little bit of an update on Lily...though no pics, I'm sorry! *ducks and covers*

The happy part first: I had her out for a cuddle session tonight and had one of those "This is why she's worth it" moments when she rested her nose against my finger while sleeping.  

On a less positive note...She's still losing weight and is now down to 478. It's mainly concerning me because it's been more or less a steadily downward progress, with very few nights where she goes back up or stays even. And this is also with getting 5-6 mealworms a night, and eating normally. So I've decided that since I'll be going on a week-long trip in two weeks, she's going to the vet next week sometime. I feel like it's gone on long enough now to warrant a vet trip, and I'd much rather have my mind set at ease before being away from her for a week. My aunt will be taking care of her and she's as animal-crazy as I am and completely understands my nervous-mommy-hovering, but like I said, I'll just feel better if I know for sure that everything's okay. I figure I'll have the vet check her mouth and do a general check up, then run her diet past him. Maybe I just need to add a higher fat kibble into her mix, or get some waxworms...We'll see what he says. I'll update with when her visit is and what the outcome is.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I hope you guys can figure out what's up with her weight. I'm glad you've got someone close who loves animals. Being worried the whole time can ruin a trip.

And her nose resting on you-awwwwe! Precious!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Perhaps Lily should spend some time with Sumo...he seems to have NO trouble eating everything in sight and gaining weight. :roll: 

5-6 mealowrms, IMHO, is still at 'treat-level'. If it were me, I would double it but try to do some during the day...or LOTS of hidden mealies so she's not gobbling them all at once. Yes, the fat is bad for them but I think it's excessive fat and to me, an underweight hedgie needs that fat.

You may want to make meatballs that are half beef and half chicken - more calories and fat. Andy maybe do a mix that has a bit more meat: rice/veggie ratio.

But what do I know? :roll:


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I'll let the lack of pictures go THIS TIME. I hope my little Miss Lily is OK. I will say a prayer for her. As always though, you are going to get everything checked out right away. Always the best hedgie Mommy! Let me know what the vet says please. I hope you have a wonderful vacation!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks Shetland and PJ!  

Cindy - Thanks for the suggestions! Part of why I haven't raised them too much is I'm still unsure if this is weight she actually needs to lose or if I should be trying to get her to steady out...Hopefully the vet can give me a general weight range that I should try and keep her in. I think I'll start giving some more for now though, and see if I can slow the weight loss down a bit at least... And good point with the meatballs. I was planning to use just venison, so maybe I'll do half venison/half beef instead. Her baby food mixes are mostly veggies, and she eats all of the baby food each night, so maybe that's why she's been losing so much...Apparently my diet's working too well. :roll: :lol:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Made and tried the meatballs with Lily tonight! Here's what I used for the meatballs, how I made them, and some pics of them - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12487&p=110210#p110210

My dog, Tessa, got to try them out first, after I realized I was making them with no chicken and therefore, they were safe for her. She LOVED them (though granted, she's not all that picky) and nearly ate the paper towel it was sitting on too. :lol: She'll get the rest as treats if Lily decides she won't have anything to do with them. Here's a picture of Tessa's "More? Can I have more? Pleeeeeease?" face. :lol: 









*streeeeeeetch*









"Oh....what's this?"









"Hm....smells interesting."









"...I dunno...Smells funny. Like it might have carrots in it...You're not trying to trick me, are you?"









"Mom, tell me the truth now. Did you try to hide carrots in this stuff?"









"You should be ashamed of yourself. :| "









"Well, at least you didn't get rid of my baby food! Yum!"









I'm not sure if she actually knew if there were carrots in there, I think she was more hesitant over the new meat (she's never had venison before, and I can't remember if she's had any beef baby food before or not...), but I definitely saw her spit out a bite of something out of the corner of my eye. I'm just not sure if it was pepper or carrot...I hope for my sake it was pepper! :lol: She did eat a couple bites that had broccoli in them and I left the rest of it in her bowl, as you can see in the last picture, so I'll see in the morning if she's tried any more of it. Fingers crossed!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Im laughing so hard that I'm crying! Oh my goodness. Her facial expressions match your captions perfectly! :lol: Such a great post.

Fingers crossed that she eats the darn thing! And I will be thinking about both of you... Make sure to let us know how everything checks out at the vet's.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks Hanhan! I'll definitely update after the visit. I'm hoping to get her in on Monday, but I forgot to call today, so we'll see. And my favorite is the "You should be ashamed of yourself." picture. She looks so annoyed with me. :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

That's my favorite, too. "Mom... How dare you!!" :lol: 

She is so stinking cute!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

SO ADORABLE!!!!! :lol:


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

awwww, your babies are so cute! I hope all goes well with Lily at the vets next week, let us know


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

This look: "Mom, tell me the truth now. Did you try to hide carrots in this stuff?"
is exactly the same look we would have as kids chowing down chocolate cake...we would be so excited to see the cake then halfway through, one of us would always say "What vegetable did you sneak in?" to mom. :lol:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Great pictures!! I just love her little hand resting on the plate. 

And Tessa looks like she's saying "Please don't like it Lily, Please don't like it Lily, Please don't like it Lily" What a cutie!!

Hopefully she'll love it!


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## ReginasMommy (Apr 13, 2011)

Awwww, what a cutie! I really hope she likes the meatballs.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys! Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys those expressions. :lol: And PJ, I think that's exactly what Tessa's saying...She really liked those meatballs! I might have to keep giving her some as treats even if Lily likes them...I have a lot, after all!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Update time!

Lily went to the vet this morning, our appointment was at 9:30. I think the next time I make an appointment, I'm making it in the afternoon or evening instead. She was a total brat the whole time. :roll: I felt bad for her, I'm pretty sure the main reason she was so upset was she was tired and just wanted to go to bed, but instead got dragged out to be poked and prodded at. I felt bad for the vet too, though, she had a heck of a time trying to check anything! We ended up using a bowl of warm water and the vet even started mentioning anesthesia because she was still so uncooperative. :? We avoided that though, and managed to get everything looked at.

Diagnosis: Everything looks good, no problems in her mouth, eyes/ears clear, etc. She had a couple of what we think are in-grown quills that I'm going to keep an eye on, though the little bumps did break open and drain a bit while we were there. I might try to put some antibiotic ointment on them tonight if she'll let me. I asked the vet about her weight and she said that the 480-490 gram range looks like a good area to keep her in, so I'm glad to have something to aim for with that. I described what cat foods she's getting and the diet she's getting each night and the vet thought it sounded fine, but said she has no opinion on using a more natural diet versus just cat food/insects. She printed out a little info sheet for me that had some other diet options on it, but most of the information is outdated. A couple have insectivore diets on them, and one of them includes raisins/grapes in the fruit/veggie mix. :roll: And one part of the housing section made me laugh - "Hedgehog wheels are available commercially or can be constructed out of wood piece such as popsicle sticks." ...Wait, what? :lol: 

All in all, good outcome, though it includes a very grouchy hedgehog. I'm glad I got her in before my trip, hopefully I'll be a bit less paranoid while I'm gone anyway. :lol:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so glad everything checked out alright! Have lots of fun!
I can't even begin to imagine a hedgie wheel made from popsicle sticks!! :shock:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Yayy for Lily! I'm so happy to hear that everything checked out OK.

And popsicle sticks? 

Seriously?

:lol: Mhm. I'd like to see the author of that information sheet make a usable hedgie wheel out of popsicle sticks.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Good news and bad news for Lily!

Bad news first - Back to the vet tomorrow for some quill/skin issues that are making me nervous. I think we just missed them before, or they've gotten worse in the past couple days, maybe? I made another thread for it. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12729 Hopefully it ends up being nothing anyway, but since I can't get her in any other time before my trip, figured I might as well do it instead of waiting and observing. Better to overreact than to underreact? :roll: :lol:

Good news - PICTURES! Tonight Lily and I had a GREAT night! I decided to get her out and try an exploring time instead of just cuddle time like we usually do. It's the first time I've given exploring a try since I started hiding crickets in her cage and I think it's kind of woken her up to the fun of exploring and foraging. In the past when I've tried encouraging her to explore my room or play outside of her cage, she just headed for the nearest blankets/pillows and went to sleep. I set up one of her blankets on my floor and set her wheel, rock digging garden, plant pot, water bowl, and a pile of blankets out. Even with having treats out for her, I was completely expecting her to find the blankets and instantly burrow in for a nap. Instead...

She wandered about and explored and foraged for 45 minutes! Over the course of the time she got 7 mealies (she was SO excited about them, I think hope of getting more of them is most of what kept her moving the rest of the time :lol: ), a freeze-dried shrimp, and a couple of her Wellness cat treats. I also had a meatball out for her, which she ate a bit of!  I had so much fun watching her and she kept coming back around to me and sniffing as if to make sure I was still there (or more likely, to see if I was holding any mealies back). I managed to get some pictures and a couple videos. 

"Hm...This stuff again, huh?"









"There's NO carrots in it this time, is there?"









Look, proof that she DID eat some! (click to watch video!)


"Eh...That's enough of that. Where's the mealies??"









"I think I smell one up here..."









"Are there any crickets in my magic cricket tree?" (Actually, I think she was pretty disappointed by the general lack of crickets. I'll have to thaw some out for exploration time next time!)









She went and got on her wheel and I was super excited that she was actually going to run with me watching! ...And then realized my camera wasn't on and was trying to hurry and get it on. :roll: I did get the last couple seconds of her running though! I think she thought that it would change the landscape and offer more mealworms for eating...After she hopped off she was all over the place again, looking for more treats. (click to watch video!)


And I thought I'd share this success as well - One of her birthday presents this year included this bird toy, called Hide'n'Go Treat. Tonight will be the fourth night using it. 









The first night I just put the cricket all the way in with the door shut. She didn't know where it was, I don't think, so it was still there in the morning. Second night, I left the cricket half out so the door wasn't completely shut. She found it! Did the same last night, but a bit further in and she still ate it. Tonight, all of the cricket is in except the legs.









I'm hoping she'll have caught on to how to move the door aside with her nose and will eventually be able to find a cricket in there with the door completely closed. I really like it for another hiding spot for crickets!


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## sayhedgehog (May 18, 2009)

I hope you get the quill issue sorted out soon. It's so stressful when you don't know what's wrong and how to fix it.

That Hide'n'Go Treat thing is really neat! I'd like to get one of those as well. Where did you find it?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Lily is so darn cute. I loved the wheel video :lol: "Ehhh, I'm done wheeling.... bowl? What's in there? I will just crawl in and find out. Donnnn't mind me."


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

sayhedgehog said:


> I hope you get the quill issue sorted out soon. It's so stressful when you don't know what's wrong and how to fix it.
> 
> That Hide'n'Go Treat thing is really neat! I'd like to get one of those as well. Where did you find it?


We sell it at the pet store I work at, Pet Supplies Plus. I tried searching to see if it was on the website for Petsmart or PetCo, but couldn't find it...If you can't find it in a pet store near you, you could probably order it from this site -http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=22071&cmpid=04csegb&ref=3312&subref=AA&CAWELAID=525397736

And thanks for the good wishes, I hope we get it figured out too!

Thanks Hanhan! I had so much fun watching her tonight! :lol:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so glad you both had sch a great time!! Adorable pictures!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks PJ!  

Update on the vet visit: The vet is pretty sure Lily has a bacterial infection. He said that the test for it would be rather aggressive (involves anesthesia and cutting a follicle out :shock: ), and the end result would be the same treatment, so we went for just treating the infection. I got an antibiotic (Ciprofloxacin) and an anti-inflammatory (Prednisolone) to give her. The antibiotic is .19 mLs every 12 hours for 10 days, and the anti-inflammatory is .16 mL every 12 hours for 4 days, then the same doseage every 24 hours for 3 days, then again every 48 hours for 3 days (said we had to wean her down from that one).

I think I'm going to just stop giving her baby food at night and instead give her half a tablespoon mixed with the meds in the morning and half a tablespoon with the meds at night. I want to make sure she'll eat the baby food with the meds in it since I'm hoping that my aunt can continue giving them to her that way while I'm gone. The vet said this antibiotic isn't too bad as far as taste or upsetting her stomach, so hopefully it'll go okay. We'll be going back in for another visit after I get home to make sure the infection's gone or to consider the next step if it's not. 

I also have to say, I love my vet clinic. I was expecting a decent bill, with the two meds, but they didn't charge me for an exam, so it was half the cost I was expecting.  I'm so glad I did end up taking her in, not sure how much worse it would've gotten by the time I got home!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I'm happy to hear that you got some answers! 

It's wonderful that your vet's office is so great. Trusting your vet and feeling that they're genuinely doing their job for the animals and not for the money is a good, good thing.

Big hugs to Lily! I hope she takes her meds like a good girl.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks Hanhan! She's been eating a bit of the baby food mixed with meds on her own, but not very quickly. Last night and this morning, I've given her a chance to eat some on her own, but ended up having to syringe the rest to her.

What with my aunt not planning on handling her in the first place, I was starting to get nervous again about the trip. However, I went to the wildlife shelter I volunteer at today, and was telling the woman who runs it about Lily. She offered to take care of her while I'm gone, and I think I'm going to take her up on it. I think they're better able to make sure she gets all of her meds, which makes me feel a lot better about leaving her.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> Thanks Hanhan! She's been eating a bit of the baby food mixed with meds on her own, but not very quickly. Last night and this morning, I've given her a chance to eat some on her own, but ended up having to syringe the rest to her.
> 
> What with my aunt not planning on handling her in the first place, I was starting to get nervous again about the trip. However, I went to the wildlife shelter I volunteer at today, and was telling the woman who runs it about Lily. She offered to take care of her while I'm gone, and I think I'm going to take her up on it. I think they're better able to make sure she gets all of her meds, which makes me feel a lot better about leaving her.


That's a great idea! How nice of her to offer. That way, you will worry less while on your trip, and your aunt won't be put in that uncomfortable "I'm kind of too scared to handle her..." position. I know my mom is perfectly willing to feed Milly and check her water and temp for me, but the one time I asked her if she would like to try picking her up out of her cage, she had the " :shock: :? :| I don't think so...." reaction. :lol:

Where are you going on your trip? Sorry if you told us already... I forgot.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

No worries, I don't think I did! I'm going to Kansas, to stay with one of my online friends. I've already met her once (she came to visit me in June), but it'll be the first time I'm meeting two other online friends. There's five of us in our little group, we've been close friends for the past two years or so.  I'm SO excited to see the first one again, and to meet the other two!

And yeah, I absolutely love working at this shelter and the women that run it. They're so nice. The woman who'll be taking care of Lily even let me know about a job opening at a dog boarding kennel in case I want to apply, since she knows I want to open an all-animal boarding kennel once I've graduated.  I also tried to offer to pay for them taking care of Lily for me and she refused, saying that I do enough with volunteering.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

How's Lily doing today? Is she healing up a little? Still taking her meds okay? Been thinking of her. I think I'll try your meatball recipe. Harvey could stand to gain a little weight. He's so picky about everything! :roll: And he runs like an athlete.

Hope your trip is lots of fun!

Rainy and Harvey


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

This morning was a bit rough...She didn't want to eat the baby food, which I was afraid of. I had to work, so I didn't have too much time to allow for just waiting for her to eat it, so we went to syringing pretty quick. I think it was two syringes worth of baby food & meds, and it was a bit of a battle. :roll: It was a good thing I had a fleece blanket protecting my work clothes! Ended up with baby food all over the blanket and my hands and poop on my hand. :lol: For tonight's dose I went back to wet cat food and she ate it all up on her own again...But not until I had her in my lap and was holding the bowl for her. :roll: Spoiled little brat. I didn't have her out to play/explore tonight though, so I couldn't tell if she was still scratching as much. 

Good idea! My recipe had more meat than veggies, so if he likes it, maybe it'll help him bulk up a bit more. Other ideas would be to offer more mealworms or waxworms, if you haven't already. Waxworms especially are high in fat, so using them as occasional treats might help too. 

And thank you! I'm looking forward to it a lot more now that I feel like Lily will be in capable hands.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

They are all spoiled, aren't they? :lol: 

I tried waxworms several times. I even alternated treats, one meal worm, one wax worm (spit it out)....two meal worms, one wax worm (spit it out). I even tried keeping the wax worms and meal worms in the same dish to see if they would smell the same. No luck. He's super finicky! Of course, waxworms do look and feel gross. I can't really blame him.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, they are just so squishy! :? Hopefully he'll try the meatballs and those can help put some fat on him.

Went with wet cat food again this morning since I'd have time to sit and wait for her to eat it - She sat in my lap and chomped it all down like a good girl.  I think I'm going to keep going with the wet cat food, it seems to be working pretty well. I think I might get another can of the kind I've been using (Wellness beef & chicken) to send with her to Wildside since I know she likes it. And then of course include a can of a different kind in case she gets tired of this one. :lol: I'm so paranoid she's going to start being a brat as soon as I leave and make it difficult for them!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

How is my beautiful Lily doing? I just adore her. You kill me Kelsey!!!!!!!!!!!! When you call her a brat and all I have to laugh and laugh..............its so funny because you love her so so so much!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She really IS a brat, Shetland...She's just MY brat!  :lol: 

She's still got very green poops last night, so I picked up a new bottle of acidophilus tonight after work. Coated several of her mealies in the powder, so hopefully that'll help tonight. She's been eating more kibble, and all of her insects, but not as much baby food. She's also been resisting eating all of the wet cat food with meds mixed in, so I had to syringe the rest to her both times today. The red spots are all gone, though!  

Tonight was kind of nice, I was tired and upset when I got home from work, so got her out to snuggle on the couch. We ended up dozing a bit together, she was perfectly content in her blanket in my arms, with my hand over her. Unfortunately I had to interrupt it to finish getting her meds in her. :? Hedgie cuddles were definitely needed today, and I'm already a bit upset thinking about not having her around tomorrow night. She's going to Wildside tomorrow morning, since I won't have time to take her before I leave Thursday morning. I'm getting rather less excited about my trip, between having to leave her while she's still on meds, work being kind of a mess, and now it seems pretty certain that my great-aunt is going to pass away before I get back.  So I may end up coming home early anyway. Hopefully the time spent there will be worth the stress and worry though...I'm still excited to see my friends! I just hope everything else goes okay, or at least not horrible. :?


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> She really IS a brat, Shetland...She's just MY brat!  :lol:
> 
> She's still got very green poops last night, so I picked up a new bottle of acidophilus tonight after work. Coated several of her mealies in the powder, so hopefully that'll help tonight. She's been eating more kibble, and all of her insects, but not as much baby food. She's also been resisting eating all of the wet cat food with meds mixed in, so I had to syringe the rest to her both times today. The red spots are all gone, though!
> 
> Tonight was kind of nice, I was tired and upset when I got home from work, so got her out to snuggle on the couch. We ended up dozing a bit together, she was perfectly content in her blanket in my arms, with my hand over her. Unfortunately I had to interrupt it to finish getting her meds in her. :? Hedgie cuddles were definitely needed today, and I'm already a bit upset thinking about not having her around tomorrow night. She's going to Wildside tomorrow morning, since I won't have time to take her before I leave Thursday morning. I'm getting rather less excited about my trip, between having to leave her while she's still on meds, work being kind of a mess, and now it seems pretty certain that my great-aunt is going to pass away before I get back.  So I may end up coming home early anyway. Hopefully the time spent there will be worth the stress and worry though...I'm still excited to see my friends! I just hope everything else goes okay, or at least not horrible. :?


Lily may need some adjustment time at Wildside, but I'm sure if anyone can take care of a fussy hedgie, it's a shelter. Try not to worry about her.

I'm sorry about your great-aunt. I'll be praying for her and for you on your trip, and always....for Lily too. Hang in there and try to have a good time on your trip.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I am so sorry about your great aunt. Lily is on her way to recovery. Go away and rest your mind; you more than deserve it!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

shetland said:


> I am so sorry about your great aunt. Lily is on her way to recovery. Go away and rest your mind; you more than deserve it!


I second that. You are a wonderful mama and time away to have fun is something you probably need. Tell Lily that HHC loves her and that we are thinking about her.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks guys. <3  I already miss her, I'm cuddling my hedgehog beanie baby now. I'm taking it with me on the trip too. It's the same size as her, just less prickly! :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I have a pile of quills I could send you if you wanted to make the beanie more realistic feeling


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Missed your comment before disappearing, Hanhan, but thanks for the offer! :lol: 

I'm finally home, the trip was amazing and I had a TON of fun. Homecoming was kind of a burst of the happy bubble...Dad's upset, made me upset, and I have a cold... :roll: Tomorrow will probably seem better though, I think being tired was aggravating us both. I'm also picking Lily up from Wildside tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT. I called a couple times during my vacation and got good reports both times. She finished out her rounds of meds and was doing well, and being a good girl. They said she was being friendly, eating her food, pooping, etc. and hadn't even poked anyone! I'm still half convinced they're lying to me so I won't worry, but...If not, I'm such a proud mama! I'm so glad I don't have much to do tomorrow, I do believe I'm going to plunk myself on the couch or in bed with a hedgie-in-a-blanket and snuggle for a couple hours.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I have my Lily again!  She seemed pleased enough to see me. She was a bit quilly when I got her out of her igloo, just from being woken up during the day, but she laid them all flat when she realized it was me, and let me give her lots of kisses.  They said he did well taking her medicine and ate some kibble each night, and all of her insects, but never touched her baby food. I made a new mix tonight to try, see if she likes it better. They thought she might have gained weight because they gave lots of mealies, but I weighed her and she's down to 465. :? Hoping it's just from stress and the meds, and she'll go back up quickly. I had a bunch of aliens in my mealie container when I got home, so she got nine of those tonight. 

I think I'm in the doghouse for tonight though...For one thing, I gave her a dreaded bath. :twisted: Her skin was very dry, so we did a bath and a flaxseed oil/water rinse. Hopefully her skin clears up a bit, we have a vet appointment tomorrow to check on the bacterial infection and see if it's gone. The other reason I'm in trouble is I have no crickets for tonight.  Turns out if they are out of the freezer and in the heat for a 45 minute drive home...They go bad. Very bad. :? I took one whiff and threw the whole thing, container and all, into the garbage. However, I forgot to get more before the stores closed. We'll see what the cage looks like in the morning.... :lol:


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

NO CRICKETS?!? You are in sooooo much trouble!!! Be prepared to scrape extra poop off the wheel tomorrow! :lol: 

How was your trip? Did you have a good time? I got a new little girl. Her name's Izzy. I put up a photo thread for her. Glad you're back!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ty! The trip was absolutely amazing and I wish it didn't have to end. I was glad to see my baby again, but that was about the only good part of coming home. :roll: Though it was probably a good thing for my bank account that I came home when I did...We spent most of our time shopping. :lol: 

I saw your thread but didn't have time to comment yet! I'm glad she's got a home with you, she's adorable!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

If Lily had thumbs, I'm sure she would write a letter...

"Dear Mom,
Umm, WTF? You leave me for 83 days and NO CRICKETS!?
We. Are. Fighting. (For tonight.)
Oh, don't forget the crickets, though....  
<3 Lily"

Idk how you handled leaving her. You are a stronger woman than I. I think about Milly all night long when I'm at work, and that's just being away for 10 hours! Glad you had fun, and got to shop! hehe.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Rather belated, but thought I'd post an update on Lily. She's recovering from her bout of skin infections, and her skin looks great again. She's starting to grow quills back in, too, though she still looks a bit sparse in the middle of her back. 

She's also started eating well again, though I can't get her to gain weight. :? I've cut down to four crickets a night and upped the mealies/aliens to 10-12 a night, as well as giving her wet cat food (Wellness Healthy Indulgence packets) in place of the baby food mix. Also added two higher fat foods to her mix, a puppy one and a kitten one. She doesn't seem to like either of them much, unfortunately. She's still clinging to her Solid Gold. :roll: I think I need to look for a puppy/kitten food that uses lamb.

Besides all the health stuff....She's doing great!  I've been a bad momma and haven't been able to get her out for snuggles much lately, though I get her out to say hi, weigh her, and give mealies every night before bed. You'd hardly guess the lack of attention from her attitude though - she's still a big sweetheart, hardly twitching at anything and still being an angel for nail clippings. Whenever I get her out, I remember again how lucky I am with her and how spoiled I'm going to be for the next hedgie that comes along. :lol: 

I do have some pictures I took of her the other night, but unfortunately my camera seems to have had a fight with its battery and won't acknowledge it. :roll: Not quite sure what's going on with it, but I'll try to get them up when I can!


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

That's great news about Lily  Can't wait to see pics


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I'm so happy to hear that she's doing better! What a sweetie pie.  

I, too, am having issues with putting weight on Milly.  I upped her mealie count and started her on Royal Canin kitten (it's some number lol, it's a white and pink bag). She is nutso bonkers for the new food, but is still hovering around the same weight. It's frustrating... I feel your pain. If you do end up having success with something, let us know? 

I hope your camera and it's battery make up sooooon!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks guys!

Yeah, the kitten food I grabbed is Royal Canin Babycat, since I know breeders like to use it with moms/babies, and that it's supposed to be pretty popular with the hedgies. Of course Lily would refuse to follow the crowd though! :lol: Gonna have to look for a lamb-based kitten food today at work, and see if one even exists...Maybe she'd like that enough to eat a lot and get some weight on. I'll definitely let you know if I find anything that works for us!


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