# LOOK AT THE HEALTH WARRANTY BEFORE BUYING



## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

I would recommend looking at the Health policy of various breeders before the purchase. Most breeders have a warranty of two weeks or more. Based on my past experience, a warranty of three days or anything under two weeks is not a good idea. If you live in or around Silver Spring Maryland, it is especially important to ask your potential breeder about these health policies. -------- has a three day warranty and unfortunately my new hedgie died within nine days.


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

I am very sorry that you have dealt with this! Is she unwilling to do anything to compensate you? 9 days is a very short period of time. If you like, I can PM you with a breeder I know to be reputable in your area.
Once again, sorry for your bad experience. I am sure it was terrible. :| 
-Susan H.


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

Thank You! I asked for compensation but the best thing she could do was offer me half price and I'm not willing to give her more money. I would love to get a new hedgehog but my family and I are still trying to get our money back, or even a new hedgie from her. Unfortunately, as hard as i try, the breeder is unwilling to do either.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Did you get a necropsy done to find out what your hedgie died from?


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

No we haven't yet because my dad is a teacher and my mom just quit her job so it seems a bit unreasonable to see what he suddenly died from. I took exquisite good care of the little hedgie so I was hoping the breeder would find a little kindness in her heart to help us out.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I can understand the breeder being hesitant to offer a refund without a necropsy - if a customer had a hedgehog suddenly die with no symptoms, I wouldn't offer any reimbursement without one. I personally think it's very important to know exactly what went wrong. Your breeder should be concerned and should have urged you to have a necropsy done too, so she can decide whether his death was something due to genetics and not just an unfortunate situation of him getting too cold or something. If I had a baby die that young, I would be very concerned and want to know exactly what happened, and be willing to pay for the necropsy and offer reimbursement if the cause of death wasn't preventable by the owner.


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

He did have symptoms and I did everything I could. I don't think it was because of the cold because I had a space heater and a heating pad in my room. This is what happened.... So in the 8 days before Tuck's death, he was eating a tsp of food a day, drinking enough water, and exercising every night on his wheel. When I got home from service the next day, I went upstairs to my room to play with Tuck so he could get use to people holding him. When I went to pick him up, he was lethargic, limp, and not really moving much. I immediately put him under my shirt incase this was a hibernation attempt, even though the thermometer in the cage read 75 and there was a heating pad under a portion of the cage. I then called the breeder, ************* who suggested we take Tuck to the vet. My parents weren't home yet, so I kept Tuck in my shirt. Suddenly, Tuck started foaming at the bout. This foam wasn't the normal anointing foam but instead it was a little thicker and had a yellow tinge. He also started to make a honking noise which I think was the sound hedgehogs make when they're scared or in pain. Soon after this my parents got home and after I had tried to calm down and was able to rely what happened, they called the vet. The vet recommended that we just take Tuck in the next morning if he still wasn't feeling well. I then put Tuck back in his cage near the heating pad and covered him in blankets. Over the next hour and a half I watched him carefully and tried to give him water and feed him. As I was watching, Tuck seemed to be gagging or convulsing and his tongue looked swollen. Before I could do anything else, he went limp and when I checked for a heartbeat there was none. It was terrible and it still makes em sad to think about it.


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## HappyHedgies (Feb 17, 2011)

Did he eat anything off? Did you introduce any new treats to his diet?? Do you think he may have gotten into something that made him sick?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It sounds like everything was normal and whatever it was came on very suddenly with a fast passing. My thoughts would be something like a bug bite that caused an anaphylactic type reaction, or something like a piece of kibble caught in his throat. It also could have been something heart related. 

The yellowish foam makes me think of food stuck. I've had ones that have a piece of food stuck in their mouth vomit up yellow tinted foam. Not saying that is the case here, but a possibility. 

If I was the breeder with a baby that young passing, I would pay for the necropsy myself. It may have been something like I've mentioned, or it may be something congenital. A necropsy is a requirement for the majority of breeders before they will replace a baby. It protects both them and the owner. 

I'm very sorry this happened. Sounds like he was a special little guy. Hugs


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

Thank you so much I will try and convince my parents to let me get a necropsy. I will try to talk to the breeder again and ask her if this is a possibility, but she was pretty harsh last time.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Unfortunately, this far along (depending on how you've kept his body) he may be too "decomposed" inside to accurately determine his cause of death. :\ Maybe if you've kept him in the fridge, though - hope you can, I think it'd give you peace of mind and it'd be very good for his breeder to know as well.


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

I kept him outside in a box, but it has been pretty cold lately. I have just been hesitant to bury him in case we did decide to get necropsy. Also, no I didn't give him anything out of the ordinary, he was in his cage the whole day so I don't think he could have gotten in to anything. There was really nothing out of the ordinary


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Unless the breeder is willing to replace the baby if it's found to be something congenital, there is really no point in wasting your money on a necropsy. You would be further ahead to use that money for baby from a breeder with a proper health warranty.


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## RondackHiker (Jan 21, 2013)

You're in silver spring, md, correct? There are a few youngsters on the Baltimore Craigslist. Would you like me to see if I can find the ads?


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## espahn (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks so much guys! I actually just got an offer from one of my neighbors for a 3.5 year old hedgehog that she is not able to take care of anymore. The breeder I got it from actually does offer compensation for a congenital defect so it may actually be worth a try.


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