# My fears were confirmed: she has been vomiting



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

About once a week or so I have noticed little yellowish stains on Petunia's liners. I wasn't sure if she was getting sick, if it was from anointing froth, or what. Then last night I saw her vomit. It was right after she ate. I have been wondering if her kibble is too big for her, so I am going to start cutting it up into smaller pieces. 

I hope that's all it is. She appears happy and healthy otherwise. Her poop was really oily last night, so I think we're going to cut back on the flax seed oil. 

She is 8 weeks old and I have had her for 3 weeks. I have started to switch her food from Purina Kitten Chow (what her breeder was giving her) to Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck. However, I first noticed a vomit stain before this change occurred.

Is there anything else I should look for? If she is still vomiting after I cut up her food, I'm thinking I should go to the vet.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

I would also recommend a vet visit. 

In the mean time, make sure she is getting enough water. Any time vomiting is going on there is a risk of dehydration, and our hedgies are so small their systems don't have much to spare if they go off of their food or water intake.

I have never had a hedgie throw up in my care, but someone with some experience should be along shortly to give you their thoughts as well.

A note, such a little hedgie might not be able to crunch up the Natural Balance, it is a pretty tough food (a hard kibble), but on the flip side many hedgies will not eat crumbs, so be careful when breaking it up (sharp edges).

~Katie


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If it is only happening randomly, it most likely that she is getting some kibble stuck and vomits to get it up. It may also be that she eats too much at a time and is tossing some up. What exactly does the vomit look like? Does it look like freshly swallowed, frothy but food coloured, or chunks?


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Nancy said:


> If it is only happening randomly, it most likely that she is getting some kibble stuck and vomits to get it up. It may also be that she eats too much at a time and is tossing some up. What exactly does the vomit look like? Does it look like freshly swallowed, frothy but food coloured, or chunks?


It's frothy food colored, no chunks. Last night, in addition to that kind of vomit, there was also a bit of what looked like bubbly spit (kind of what her anointing spit looks like).

Also, this may be totally unrelated, but she has been trying to dig at the bottom of her cage with a vengeance recently. She has a fleece liner, and she will burrow under it and try to dig at the canvas bottom of the cage non-stop for several minutes. I have tons of fleece scraps in a couple of corners in her cage, but she ignores them. I feel bad that she's trying to dig where she can't.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Update: even after cutting food into fourths, found a vomit stain this morning. We're going to the vet tomorrow.

Any ideas what this might be from? Some hedgie illness? Or a behavioral thing? She's growing rapidly. She went from 176 g to 254 g in six days. Is she eating too much?


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

EDIT: Sorry, that weight change was in 13 days, not 6. I forgot to weigh her last week.


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

get her checked out...may be she just has a sensitive belly, eats too fast or is anointing. Could be many reasons for it. My Hazel frequently upchucks larger crickets for some reason even tho she chews them well and had a similar reaction to carrots each time I tried to add it in her foods. If she eats her kibble mix before cricket...not a problem. I carefully record any additions and changes to her foods so I know which are an issue for her and act on it. I've seen Hazel start to anoint then vomit too almost like she swallowed what she had in her mouth foamy wise then regurgitated it to anoint with...weird. 

I had a dog once who vomited bile nearly each night as a pup and after a huge vet bill trying to figure it out came to find his belly simply didn't tolerate my feeding pattern...a snack at bedtime fixed him right up.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I will heed it  

I took Petunia to the vet today. Had mixed feelings about her. She was a bit rough handling her, and told me some stuff that really conflicts with much of the information I've found on this forum. I mean, she recommended Spikes instead of any type of cat food. Isn't that stuff crap? She also gave me a sample of Insectavore diet, witch I don't know anything about, will have to research some.

However, she did some X-rays and examined her, and thank goodness everything looks okay. So I'm going to start keeping a closer eye on her and keep track of how much she's eating. I am hoping once I get her completely off of the kitten chow that things will improve.


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

Vets can be a bit intimidating...one thing I have learned is to ALWAYS question them if you do not agree. They learn certain stuff at vet school and unless they need to research something specific they may be behind the times. They DO NOT know it all unfortunately. Many come with a ~know it all~ tude ...that's the type to stay away from  There are many things I love about my regular vet...including their ability to say "I don't know", "Let's break out the books & find out" or "Let me consult with xxx specialist" I've spent much time with my vet researching issues, diets and all times of problems. There are many ways to treat many different conditions and having an open minded vet is such a bonus. One of the vets at my clinic thinks he is right all the time but since we have a long history I am never afraid to tell him different if I'm certain I am right (always have and he knows I always will lol)...and quite regularily he will check something out on his own & willingly let me know I was correct. They also know nobody knows my pets like I do...and listen to my thoughts / needs.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

I did get in a couple of questions, but she seemed to be in a hurry because there were a lot of people in the waiting room, so I felt like I couldn't really have a thorough conversation with her. I will probably try a different vet next time :? 

Just looked up the ingredients for the Insectivore she gave me. First ingredient: meat by-products. Throwing it out. Glad I only got a free sample and didn't purchase any.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

I am a newbie here so I can only recommend that you might want to pm MissC - I think she is having great success with a fresh food diet for her pogs - and that might be all that your baby needs........... maybe the food you are feeding is too harsh for the tummy.

Good luck and keep us posted.

KathyTNY


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