# Help.. Not Eating, Lethargic but Perfectly Warm



## brtngrl (Sep 15, 2011)

Alright, well to start I've already made an appointment at the vets but unfortunately little Miss Tiggywinkle won't be able to be seen until tomorrow. I'm looking for suggestions to get her (and me) through until she can be seen. Earlier in the week my little prickly one seemed fine, although not quite up to her usual energy level, then on Tuesday night she was acting flat out weird. She didn't want any of her normal little treats and hardly ate anything of her dry mix all night (less than 10 kibbles). There were only a few tiny black poops in her wheel, nothing like the usual massacre of feces that I wake up to. It was a bit humid in the house (81 degrees) and when I put her back in her cage after her social time, she laid in her wheel splatted out. She would run for a few seconds and then it was like exhaustion took her over and she'd fall asleep. I called her vet who said it may be humidity and to keep my eye on her. I bought a ceramic tile that I put in her cage last night after cooling in the freezer and threw a bowl of mealies and wax worms in her cage in addition to her kibbles. This morning I woke and she had only eaten about four kibble and none of the worms and there was only one tiny little poop in the cage as well. My girl is especially tiny anyway, but now she is definitely )( and I was wondering if there was anything that I could be doing to help her through until we can get her to the vet tomorrow. Obviously I can't tell where it hurts but for her to not eat, or poop (and I can't verify she's drinking) is very out of the norm. Is there any special cat/baby food that has been proven to get the wee one's motors running? I am going crazy trying to make her as comfortable as possible but all she wants to do when she's out of her cage is lay on my chest and sleep. Any help/advice/words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance...


----------



## Guest (Sep 15, 2011)

Begin Syringe feeding immediately as many mls per feeding as your girl will take if its 4mls then the general rule of thumb is the next feeding is in four hours if it was 3ml it'd be 3 hours if I am not mistaken.

Mush up her kibble and feed it to her some water would be good too.

Right now keeping her eating is important until the visit.

Also Please advise on the age of the hedgehog and some basic info it sounds also like the heat might be too much for your little one there is a link to info you can provide to help us give you a better answer:

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13086


----------



## brtngrl (Sep 15, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> Begin Syringe feeding immediately as many mls per feeding as your girl will take if its 4mls then the general rule of thumb is the next feeding is in four hours if it was 3ml it'd be 3 hours if I am not mistaken.
> 
> Mush up her kibble and feed it to her some water would be good too.
> 
> ...


Oh, sorry. My little Tigg is a year old, I've had her since last December. Her home hasn't changed at all, nothing has changed in our household. We took her to a vet that deals with hedgies a month ago and she indicated that her weight was "ok" but that she was definitely small, both in weight and overall size. She suggested we add crickets and wax worms to her diet to give her mental stimulation in the form of hunting for her food and we did this, that is the only thing that has changed in her "routine". She voraciously ate the crickets in addition to the mealworms we have fed her for months. I also started giving her a teaspoon of wet cat food as a treat after her bath (Blue Buffalo). Other than that, life has been pretty routine for her. Her cage is in our TV room and is on a regular sunlight/night schedule. I also notice that her breathing seems rather labored (again I thought perhaps a "pant" because of the humidity but that heat has lessened significantly and I was hoping her symptoms would as well.

Thank you for the information on feeding her, I will definitely try that.


----------



## Guest (Sep 15, 2011)

brtngrl said:


> TWCOGAR said:
> 
> 
> > Begin Syringe feeding immediately as many mls per feeding as your girl will take if its 4mls then the general rule of thumb is the next feeding is in four hours if it was 3ml it'd be 3 hours if I am not mistaken.
> ...


Well it sounds like the heat may be a factor contributing to it, hedgies can become less active and not eat as much due to heat and once they stop eating for a bit they feel icky so it may be a factor however there could be much more contributing to the cause. If you lower the temp a degree or two to around 78 it not a huge drop and it might be more comfortable for her.

Do you weigh your hedgehog? If not a postal or kitchen scale that reads in grams can help you catch issues quicker weigh loss is a good indicator something is wrong I weight mine every morning and document it so I can take it into the vet.

On the size not I've noticed a lot of vets don't consider a healthy hedgehog can varies in weigh size from 200Gs to 1000Gs as long as they don't have fatty front legs and can ball up they're usually not obese.

The wax worms is a good idea but crickets are lower in fat they will just be a tasty treat for your girl I let my girls hunt them live in the tub and they are never happier then when they get to hunt 

If she's now a )( then she is under weight for now just get her through the day/night with syringe feedings if you search our forums you'll find many helpful topics on it 

Best of luck and hoping your girl pulls through


----------



## brtngrl (Sep 15, 2011)

Thank you very much for all of your words! I do not have a scale, although I will definitely be adding one to my shopping list this weekend!

I think owning my girl has added more than a few gray hairs to my head.. its a good thing she's so cute. To the syringe feeding I go.


----------



## brtngrl (Sep 15, 2011)

Wanted to thank you very much for all of your help yesterday. Unfortunately, what was making my poor Tiggy ill took her life last night at the Emergency Care vet. She was weak when I took her out of her cage and her breathing very labored so we felt that seeking emergency treatment was necessary. She was placed in the warming, oxygenated unit but did not make it till morning when tests were to be performed. I can only hope that she was not in pain.  Again, thank you for your help and for helping others with sick babies.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear this. Did the e-vet have any idea what was going on. 

I noticed you mentioned black poop. Black is not a good sign. Black typically indicates bleeding from the upper GI. Which can often be a bleeding ulcer and needs immediate veterinary assistance.


----------



## brtngrl (Sep 15, 2011)

unfortunately no, the vets concern was getting her safely though the night as she was though that the tests would be counter productive until she could be stabilized. if she had made the night she was going to be xray'd and put on antibiotics as the vet indicated she thought there were GI issues primary and respiratory issues secondary.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

That's too bad. Based on your symptoms above, it sounds like your e-vet was on the right track. If it was a bleeding ulcer causing the black stool, its really difficult to treat. I lost one recently to one.

My condolences. I have lost 3 recently. May your little one find my kids and may they show her where all the best bugs can be found.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you took very good care of Tiggywinkle. I hope that, at least, can be a comfort to you now. It is heartbreaking to lose one so dear to you. Bless you and I will be praying for the healing of your heart. HUGS.


----------

