# Baby hedgehog stool?!



## Hedgies<3 (Dec 2, 2012)

I just bought my baby hedgehog 3 days ago and she is 6 weeks old. Her stools have been very runny but brown and very big 1-2 inches. (sorry for being graphic) Her food from the breeder is Purina chicken soup. It also has a very bad odor. For example i had a towel down on the floor for her to run around on and when she pooped i tried to clean it up with a paper towel (so her freshly bathed feet wouldnt get dirty, haha) and it just smeared everywhere. Is this normal?

Also, since we got her, her stools have gotten worse. The have become more runny and she is being very grouchy today she huffs at everything and she hasnt been like this. Could she be sick?


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Things that are normal: 
- Baby hedgies poop.
- Baby hedgies poop a lot.
- Hedgie poop can be pretty darn long... measurable in inches at times.
- Your baby just transitioned from everything she knew to a completely different environment, so mushy/off color poops (usually greenish) are to be expected for a little while; same with a certain amount of grumpiness.
- Not-so-great quality kibble is likely to produce lesser quality poops.
- In a couple weeks, she's likely to get grumpy again and not want to be touched when she goes through her 8-week quilling (ie, losing her baby quills and replace them with "big girl" quills).

Things that aren't normal:
- Very runny poop.
- Poop getting worse and huffiness getting worse that isn't explained by quilling.

Options:
- Contact the breeder... who may say/do things ranging from: "not my problem; go away" to "okay, bring her on back, let me help you out, get her well, then we'll have her try going home with you again once she's better" and anything in between. 
- Tackle this on your own (ie, without the breeder). If you do this, in the short term, I'd give her a little bit of unseasoned pumpkin or baby food squash to help firm up the poops and sprinkle a bit of acidophilus on her kibble. Gather up some of her poop in a clean container and bring it (and her) to the vet. The vet will be able to give her an exam and check the poop for anything bad that could be causing diarrhea. Over the longer term, upgrade the kibble to a higher quality one and add a second -- don't try this now though because although better in the long run, a change in food is also associated with belly issues... and she's already dealing with those.

ETA: It's also possible that the Purina has gone "bad" - you could get a small new bag of the same stuff for now... I'd still switch down the road... but not for now.


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