# Ulcers



## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

Pepper has what the vet believes is an ulcer on her lip, and she is on antibiotics.
Has anyone else had experience with ulcers? I don't know much about them and can't find very much information about them.
It's pretty painful-looking and its often bloody...

The vet said they could use anaesthesia to knock her out to get a sample of it to 100% confirm but I'm wondering if this would be useful? And even if they did confirm 100% that it was an ulcer, are there things that can be done about it besides antibiotics?
Is an ulcer something that is fixable? or is it something that usually leads to a fatal outcome?

Just looking for any information or experience any of you may have with this.

Thanks!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

The only thing I know about ulcers is from my mother. She's had some stomach ulcers but they have healed with prescriptions. I don't think an ulcer is fatal. It isn't something that you need to have your animal euthanized for. It will just take some nursing and watching for infection. An untreated infection is very dangerous. But as long as you are monitoring your baby and keeping notes about food intake, wheeling, poop, and weight, then you should be okay. If there are any changes in food intake, water, poop or activity, then you should address those with your vet. Hope your little one is okay.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

What did your vet want to take a sample of it for? Did he think it might be a tumor? If it is, then you should have a biopsy of it. I could be benign and nothing to really worry about. But if it is malignant, then you would want to make some decisions about treatment.


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

Pepper is an older gal at just over 3.5 years old. The vet was pretty sure it was an ulcer but also said it could have been an infected scrape. Initially I thought it was scrape but since I had first seen it, I had washed it daily and applied antibiotic ointment so, I'm leaning more towards the determination that it's an ulcer. Its very puffy, and yellowed in the middle which she said could be tissue (I believe) from an ulcer. Initially when I noticed it on her I removed her wheel (comfort wheel) because I thought perhaps she had fallen on it and maybe the ridge had cut her lip, although I had never experienced any issue with this happening in the time I've owned this wheel. I removed it because I didn't want her running on it and getting poop into the "ulcer" and also I didn't want to risk another injury. The same day I ordered a CSBW just to be sure, it has since came and I've set it up but since it hasn't been plastered with poop every night I'm fairly confident that she has not been running on it. That being said, when If first acquired Pepper at 6 months old from a friend, she didn't even have a wheel, after I supplied a wheel for her it took her a whopping *NINE* months before she even stepped on it so it's really not that surprising that she is being stubborn about this.

When I took her to the vet she had gained considerable weight, 411 grams to 481 grams in a few months time. This could be perhaps to the fact that she hasn't been running on her wheel for the past month and also because I have been feeding her wet food (higher in fat than her regular food) to try and ensure that no kibble crumbs get into her "ulcer". She is on a course of Baytril for 14 days of which I have given it to her for the past 6 days with no improvement, in fact when I took her out today it was bloody again. Unfortunately its right on her lip so she constantly licks it. It hasn't seemed to affect her otherwise, she is still active (minus the wheel issue), has normal poops and eats normally.

While at the vet I noticed that a small lump has popped up on her head as well, not bloody and open-like, like the "ulcer" but more of a "tumour" type lump, so she suggested getting that tested as well. I want to give the antibiotics time to do its thing though before I lay down $300 in tests, as previous I had another hedgehog that developed a lump that ended up going away with antibiotics. Just wanted to know if an ulcer is anything anyone else has seen in their hedgehogs as I haven't been able to find much on it.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh goodness. I sure do hope that the antibiotics work.  I don't have experience with ulcers on hedgehogs, but it seems like the lip area is difficult to heal. Maybe pm Nancy or Kalandra or someone with rescue/breeding experience. Maybe they have experience with older hedgies and ulcers. I'm so sorry you're going through this. Please keep us updated with how you and your hedgie are doing. HUGS.


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

Thanks for your concern. It's difficult, Pepper was my first hedgehog and she is my baby <3. Moka was my second hedgehog and he was a rescue, but was a bit older then Pepper and he just passed in Nov. 2011 after a long struggle with cancer (we - myself, the vet believe), so when I seen Pepper has developed a bump and an ulcer just a few months after Moka passed it has me a little down. I am *hoping* she will make a full recovery, things are looking good as far as her eating, being active and poops are concerned which is a bit of a relief for me as when Moka went downhill he stopped eating completely and was totally lethargic so my hopes are still up! I will keep you updated...she just had her liquid antibiotics, a bath and a bit of topical polysporin


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, keep those hopes up. Don't borrow stress from tomorrow. I try not to worry about things I don't know for sure. (This is easy to say and hard to do, but important.) Hoping the antibiotics knock this thing out.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

My rule is, any time a hedgehog has a spot that a round of antibiotics doesn't heal, it needs to have a sample taken and tested to determine the true nature of the spot.

Rose had a small swollen spot next to her eye. A round of antibiotics took the redness away but the sore remained. I had our vet remove the spot and we sent it off to pathology. That unhealing spot turned out to be a mast cell tumor. 

Cancer doesn't just show up in lumps and bumps, it can show up in a spot that just isn't healing right. I'd have the 'ulcer' tested to determine that it isn't a cancerous tumor. I'd even ask the vet if the spot would be easily and fully removed from her lip without causing too much damage. Then have it tested to determine what it was, and if it turned out to be cancer if the margins were clean (meaning he got it all).


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

I've got 14 days of antibiotics and am at about a week now so we will see what happens and then I will assess my options if it doesn't work.
In my opinion, I don't think it could be removed as it's taking up a considerable area of her lip/face. Its about the size of a pencil eraser, maybe a tad smaller. Obviously, I would still inquire with my vet about this when the time is right.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

How is Pepper doing?


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

Hi Kalandra,

Thanks for asking. She is doing ok. Antibiotics is up on friday or saturday so I'm continuing to give that to her but there hasn't been much improvement. Continue to keep it clean and put ointment on but it doesn't really seem to be helping. She finally warmed up to her wheel I think, and has been eating normal and everything else normal. Next step I guess will be to talk to the vet and see if I were to get it all tested what treatment options there will be. Keep you posted!


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