# Choking with possible URI - Please help!!



## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi guys,

We had a big scare with Herc last night. He was in his cage and he sneezed a few times, so I went over to check on him. He looked like he was choking or struggling to breathe! He was actually gasping for air. So I took him out of his cage and put him in my lap, and he did a few more gasps then blew a long stringy piece of thick yellow snot out of one nostril (sorry for the description guys). It was probably about a good 2 inches long. After that came out his breathing was better, but he kept sneezing through the night. He ate most of his kibble, and still wheeled, but he stopped every few minutes on his wheel to sneeze. Also, his poop was a little less than normal, and a little darker too. 

I have an appointment for a new vet tomorrow, as his last vet doesn't really have a lot of experience. Do you guys think this is another URI? If so, this will be the 3rd in 3 months, is there something in my house causing them? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sounds it. What antibiotics has he been on? I wonder if he is never totally getting over them.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Nancy said:


> Sounds it. What antibiotics has he been on? I wonder if he is never totally getting over them.


Around the end of July he was on amoxicillin for 1 week, which was probably too short. The 2nd time he got sick was the beginning of August and he had 1 week metronidazole and 2 weeks of baytril. After the 2nd time his symptoms did seem to improve, but he still had the occasional sneeze.

Being that this is a new vet, how should I handle it? Should I bring in the medicine instruction sheets the other vet gave me? Is there anything else I should ask?

Btw, thanks for the quick response.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

If his symptoms have not gone away, I have to wonder if he has something that is resistant to the antibiotics and the antibiotics are not killing it all. You may want to have a culture & sensitivity test done to find which antibiotic works the best on whatever he has.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Thank you to both of you for the response. I have a vet appt tomorrow, I will keep you posted.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Good luck! Hopefully the vet will get Herc on the road to recovery and be healthy again.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

The poor baby, I hope the new vet can help you come up with a solution...please let us know what they say!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your help and concern, I'll let you know what the new vet says.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

*Re: Choking with possible URI - *UPDATE**

Here's an update for everyone:

Herc went to a brand new vet yesterday, and I think we found the Hedgehog Whisperer! She was great with him! She opened her hands in front of him and he crawled right into her hands for a cuddle. She also said he was the sweetest little boy she's ever met. She was very thorough with him too!

She did a culture on a big piece of white snot he blew right in front of her. She also put some of it on a slide and said it was all white blood cells, so she doesn't know if he is actually sick or if it's possibly allergies. We switched Herc's bedding from recycled newspaper to fleece last night (as per the vet's instructions). She also gave us Baytril (0.8 cc's once a day for the next 2 weeks). I thought the last vet had given him Baytril (because that's what she told me), but it was a completely different drug! Anyways, she's going to call us in a couple of days when the results of the culture come back. She also said Herc is not a fatty (previous vet says he is because he wouldn't fit in her dog muzzle for the anesthetic). This new vet was very pleased with his weight (412g yesterday). Then, she cleaned out his ears and trimmed his nails for him. The only thing that surprised me was she thinks Herc is older than we thought, he is apparently around 10 months old, not 6.

I can't even describe how much of a relief it is to have a vet we can trust 100%. I'll keep you all posted when she calls with the culture results. Thanks everyone!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Sounds like you may have found a keeper (veterinarian). Thanks for the update, please let us know what the culture comes back as. I'm a firm believer in cultures and sensitivity tests. Yes they are an additional cost, but they can really help pinpoint what is going on and how to reduce the time to recovery.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> Sounds like you may have found a keeper (veterinarian). Thanks for the update, please let us know what the culture comes back as. I'm a firm believer in cultures and sensitivity tests. Yes they are an additional cost, but they can really help pinpoint what is going on and how to reduce the time to recovery.


Thanks for your advice on that one, I'm so glad the vet wanted to do that too. In addition, this new vet charges HALF of what the other vet charged, so with the cost of the culture it's the same as JUST AN EXAM at the old place! I couldn't believe it. I wanted to hug this vet yesterday. Hercules seemed so happy to be there, like he trusted her completely. He never unballed once for the other vet. Animals are really good judges of character.

I'll let you know once the vet calls.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I hope it works out as well as they have for me in the past. I have had a few tests done now, but had one that really stands out in my mind. It was with a hedgehog who had bloody urine. He would get somewhat better but the blood never went away. After 2 rounds of different meds, doc said culture, I agreed. What we found was my hedgehog had an extremely antibiotic resistant bacteria. Of all the drugs they tested, only 1 really had a good kill margin. That drug was only available via injection. In fact I saw the petri dish and the bacteria actually grew on some of the antibiotics tested. It was a bit scary.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Wow, that would have been scary! Bacteria are such nasty little things. I was wondering myself if it was allergies, so I guess this will be the definitive answer. Thanks again for your help!


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

If it comes back as not bacterial, it may still not be allergies. It may be something stuck up in the nose. I had that happen with a chinchilla. She inhaled a tiny piece of food up her nose. Silly chin. 

Good luck!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

HedgeMom said:


> If it comes back as not bacterial, it may still not be allergies. It may be something stuck up in the nose. I had that happen with a chinchilla. She inhaled a tiny piece of food up her nose. Silly chin.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks Hedgemom, that's good to keep in mind. I will let you know once I find out.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Just got a call from the vet & it was E coli! She said it looks like we have a very sensitive little boy. She's keeping him on the baytril. Thanks for the help everyone!


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

What a relief to know what you're dealing with! I hope he'll make a full recovery very soon!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Thanks for the update, I hope he feels better soon!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Herc says thanks for the well wishes guys, and so do I!


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## schmelderz (Jul 7, 2010)

That's good to hear!  Hoping for herc's speedy recovery


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

At least now you know what is the culprit, hopefully it will now go away and stay away.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

Hopefully it will stay away. The vet also said Herc might be very sensitive, so we've switched him over to fleece liners to try and eliminate dust. Judging by the way he was wheeling 2 nights ago, he's feeling much better! He was running on his wheel and chirping! I seriously thought there was a bird in the house. This went on for several hours, and he ate his entire bowl of food. He also destroyed his cage, so I think the baytril is helping.

Who knew they could chirp? That's the cutest thing!


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