# Harley is sick :(



## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

My poor little man. Harley is around 3.5 yrs old now. In the last week and a half I've noticed his activity level has dropped and he seemed to start putting on weight. Still eating and drinking normally. Last Thursday, Sept 20, was the last time he had a somewhat normal looking BM (smaller then usual) and food intake was food. By Saturday he was very bloated and had started scratching at his left eye. Called the vet to make an appointment for Monday (Yesterday). On Saturday night I got him some canned pumpkin and some polysporin drops to put in his eye. Gave him a warm bath and he had a small poop shortly after. Sunday morning both eyes looked bad, the left still the worse. I applied polysporin drops again and used a qtip to get some of the gunk away. Still drinking water and eating his dry food.

Went to the vet and she is not sure what is wrong with him... or why his eyes are the way they are. We had an xray done... his heart and lungs look good, intestines were visible. Lots of fluid in his abdomen. He was 600g when we weighed him. The bet removed some of the fluid (100ml!). Gave him a diaretic shot. And I have a cream to apply to his eyes every 12 hours. We are scheduled for a revisit next Monday.

As I said, the vet really wasnt sure what is causing the bloating... or how his eyes may be connected to that. It seems as though he cant blink... like his eyes are protruding too much for his eyelids to come down. Now that his belly isnt so big he is moving around a bit more... he kind of looks wobbly on his legs, like its hard for him to pick up his back end. Any help on what could be causing his problems? I know he is getting into old age and the vet did warn me about cancer.

:'(


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Proptosed eyes are quite common in hedgehogs. Any slight injury, bumping one, tumour, scratching or sometimes there is no reason at all for it to happen. For it to happen with both eyes at the same time is rare although sometimes it will happen with one and then the other a few weeks or month later. Sometimes the eye is removed and sewn closed and sometimes the hedgehog is put on pain meds and the eye will shrivel up and fall out. I've had it both ways here. 

I have no clue why he might be bloating other than a blockage or retaining fluid for some reason. Is he urinating? Did the vet test the fluid and is it urine or something else? Why he would be having eye issues and bloating at the same time is odd and possibly coincidental.

His wobbliness and back end issue is illness related. When they are ill they usually get wobbly. You may find some extra warmth or giving him a heating pad helps him feel better. Often when sick they need more warmth. 

Sorry I can't be of more help. Sending well wishes to your little man.


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## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for responding  The vet did not test the fluid... at least that I know of. She didn't seem to think it was urine though. He is urinating about as much as he is pooping... so not often. Urine looks normal though.

I've turned the heat up for him and he is definitely moving around more this morning. He is huffing and grumping at me which he hasn't been doing at all in the last couple days. He's not letting me get a look at his eyes right now but he is usually pretty P. O'd in the mornings when I poke at him. I'll wait till after lunch to bother him again. Poor guy must be stressed...

Thank goodness for this forum  The helpful advice I found and received when I first got Harley was awesome and I know I've got the right group of people to help me through this!

I'll keep ya updated throughout the week.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Sending healing thoughts to little Harley.


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

I'm so sorry to hear that Harley is sick.

With bloating and itchy swollen eyeballs, my first thought is severe allergy to something. Any chance he might have been exposed to something new that was probably eaten, maybe odorous/dusty/airborne, or he could have possibly gotten into his eyes by touch?

If it wasn't against what the doctor said, would it be possible to give him a good bath so that you can rinse any possible irritants away so that he can't get them into his food or eyes anymore? Is there anything new or changed in his environment/food/etc?

How does the vet feel about a daily rinse of the eyes with a little bit of saline solution before applying the medication? It would get some of the gunk out and rinse anything bothering him out eventually. If the eyes ended up proptosing, it would reduce the risk of infection too to keep it clean and a tad bit salty.

I always worry when I hear about older hedgies. They seem to be prone to a lot of things going wrong. I hope that Harley will be okay and that he will get better soon! Good luck!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

The only thing that I can think of liquid bloating like that is feline FIP. 

Did the vet take some blood to run?
If he's having trouble blinking, did the vet say anything about something like lacrilube as well as the cream? Or will the cream help keep hydrated enough?


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## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

@Immortalia
I looked up Feline FIP and the symptoms don't sound quite like what Harley is going through (other then the fluid) but I will mention it to the vet on our return visit. The vet did not take blood. The cream is quite thick and seems to be pretty hydrating. His eyes aren't looking really gunky anymore... just dry and filmy almost.

@MurE
The vet was wondering allergy as well. I don't believe he's been exposed to anything. He mostly is in his sprawling 6ft square rancher home. No change in diet. I'm wondering maybe if, because he has been unable to curl up in a ball due to his bloating, he's just been rubbing them on everything while he sleeps... he is a nuzzler. I did bath him on Saturday and the vet cleared away most of the gunk yesterday. I may get some saline solution (or lacrilube as Immortalia mentioned) to apply throughout the day... I'm sure he could use some moisture on them more then every 12 hrs. I'll call the vet in the AM to ask.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Either way, getting some blood drawn could shed some light. (Even if it was just an allergy reaction, they'd see more eosinophils and basophils, etc etc. If there are more neutrophils, could be some sort of stress/infection/inflammation etc etc lol so a few things could shed a bit more light).
Of course, this depends on how much they may charge you/that you're willing to spend. Though a regular CBC shouldn't be too costly. It's when you get to the blood analyzers/blood chemistry tests that get to be more expensive, though they can tell you more about the internal body, such as organ functions. And depending on what the machine finds, they would make a blood smear slide to look under the microscope. All that can be done in-house. 

I think the saline solution would be good for cleaning before applying the cream(and possibly the lacrilube if the vet thinks it may be a good idea just to keep the eye coated). 

(I'm sorry I'm throwing a lot of random information, possibly useless XD School just started again, and it's like doing a case study for class :3 )


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## MurE (Aug 29, 2011)

You could always pick up both saline solution and lacrilube (saline is usually pretty cheap). The saline solution would wash away the debris and the lacrilube would maintain moisture for longer periods. So they would be pretty good together. Just note that he'll have pretty poor vision after lacrilube since it's quite thick and blurs the vision. Since hedgies don't have very good vision anyways (and his vision is probably affected by the swelling) it probably won't make much of a difference at this point.

As a nuzzler, maybe he nuzzled against and ingested something that he's allergic to while he was out of his home. Or maybe something on your hands/body/clothes. I'm trying to think of other reasons why there would be so much bloating in the tummy area. Maybe liver failure or poor protein absorption? I think with liver failure there's itching of the skin due to bile build up in the skin, but that's not usually in the eyes. Its just itchiness all over. Cancer could block drainage of the abdomen and lead to a build up, but that wouldn't explain the itchy eyes. 

This is rather perplexing! Allergy could explain both symptoms, but other than that, it might be two things in one.

Is there such thing as an antihistamine for hedgehogs? It seems like that would be a good way to see if it's allergy-related.


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## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

Tomorrow we go for a re-check at the vet.... I'm nervous. While Harley doesn't seem to be retaining water in his abdomen anymore and his eyes are far less goopy I still dont think he is doing very well. It's been getting harder for him to move around... first few days we were home from the vet he was moving around his cage a lot more... walking at least from one area to the other. Today I woke up to him sleeping face down next to his food and water  Its almost as though his back legs are jelly. He just kinda pulls along with his front legs. I've been making sure he drinks water... actually watching him drink it. He isnt eating much food either... maybe 5-10 kibbles a night. He has been cuddling with me all morning and I'm gonna keep cuddling him all day. I hate to think what tomorrow will bring. Send warming thoughts :')


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sending well wishes and prayers to your little man. Keep us posted.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

So sorry to hear about your sick little guy. Thinking of you both.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

Thistle and I are sending as much positive and warm thoughts as possible. Give Harley a little cuddle from us.


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## leannem (Mar 27, 2009)

Harley passed away this afternoon while cuddling on my lap  It was very peaceful. I am so grateful to have had him as my little buddy. I will miss him everyday


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## SpiritWolves1 (Apr 5, 2012)

Oh no! I'm so sorry! Rest in peace Harvey, your mommas gonna miss you <3 <3


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Oh no. I'm so sorry. Sending lots of hugs.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm so sorry to hear he passed on  at least it was peacefully and where he felt comfortable and safe. You gave him a good life where he was well loved and cared for, that is the best thing he could ever have hoped for. Now he gets to run free and chase down bugs


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## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

Sorry for your loss


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