# Constipated Hedgehog



## alsohere (Dec 26, 2011)

Mary Poppins seems constipated. Last week I caught her eating the papertowl in her litter pan. I removed it. I haven't placed back in.

Normally she poops a lot. Several times on me each night. She hasn't been doing that. Nor have there been many turds in the litter pan or elsewhere in the pen.

She has pooped twice. Very hard things. I called the vet, and he asked if she was eating and drinking. I said yes. He said she's fine everybody gets constipated.

I stopped feeding her mealworms as they are high in fat. And, I started feeding her more apples and vegetables and chicken.

should I be concerned?

Can I feed her canned pumpkin? like you do with cats.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Unseasoned pumpkin is fine if they will eat it. You can also try watermelon, squash and I've even had baby food sweet peas cause their stool to loosen. I have one now that loves her sweet peas, but if I'm not careful and give her just a touch more than usual her stool gets a little loose that night.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

If your hedgie is kind of picky like mine, and won't eat the suggested foods, try a little flaxseed oil. I put a few drops on Petunia's kibble every other night to keep her skin from drying out, and I've noticed that it seems to help her poop also.

Not too much, though, or you will have some really oily poops


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## alsohere (Dec 26, 2011)

I appreciate the replies.

I will be trying the solutions. 

Who knows what she will eat, but she likes the green pea and duck cat food. 

Can I use frozen peas and blend them. I was told the have to be skinned, but if I blend them would that be alright.


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## ashh51191 (Dec 23, 2011)

watermelon is a huge hit with my hedgies same with sweet potato baby food [:


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Did you see her pass the paper towel that she ate?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Blended peas should be fine. You can also just smash cooked peas. If her stools don't get better soon or get harder, get her in to see the vet, and if the one you called disagrees that she needs to be seen, find a different vet to have her examined.


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## alsohere (Dec 26, 2011)

She has pooped, and it was a pretty normal poop. She ran in her wheel for several hours last night.

However, I have not seen the papertowl, but maybe after the digestion there wouldn't be much in the stool.

I cooked some peas and smashed and removed the skins. She refused to eat them, but I put a little yogurt with them. She gobbled them up. I give her yogurt every few weeks because she likes it a lot.

I also gave her some black beans.

Thanks for the help. I will keep everyone posted on the progress.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Maybe she'll be encouraged to pass stools if you call her "Mary Poopins" :lol:


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Haha. Sounds like your little darling likes her meals made a little 'gourmet' instead of just plain and boring. I'm very happy to hear she pooped normally for you.
If she likes the yogurt, you can give it to her a lot more frequently than you are.

Are you certain she was eating the paper towel and not just tearing it up? I've had a couple now that if they discovered newspaper or paper towel laying around they would tear it. They seemed to like the sound it made.

I also have had one that would eat any type of litter (paper towel, carefresh, etc) if it was used in her cage. I never discovered any in her stool though. But she also didn't get the opportunity to eat much either.


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