# does my hedgehog have whs ?



## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

He has weakly back legs. He sits a lot and is weakly i watched him eat and he had trouble his lost a lot of he was always a little eater but he hasn't eat much lately i think because he has trouble standing for to long. he can walk still be he sometimes falls to his right side. he is 20 months or older i got him from a pet store so i don't know his heritage.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

How long has this been going on? Was it gradual or did everything happen at once? What's his cage temperature like? Does he get 12 hours of light daily, around the same times? Does he have a wheel and still try to run on it? Sorry for all of the questions, but they'll help us get more info to given an opinion on whether it's WHS or might be something else. Hopefully it's something else...I'm sorry he's not been feeling well.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

its just started being noticed I've seen that he has tried to walk because there was pee on him wheel . i would say it has been a week since he has stopped walking because i put a new pad under his wheel and it is not dirty and he does get the same day light as always he has always been a laid back guy so it didn't really seem different at first but he has started falling over on his side and that is not normal. and i feel like its hard for him to eat because it took him forever to chomp down on his food i feel like he has malnutrition because his food bowl is a little high and he cant stand for very long. i put his food and water next to were he sleeps because it was all the way on the opposite side it be a lesser journey there were he sleeps.his cage and my room has been the same temperature as always .i am going to take him to get checked out did you think they can determine if he does or not.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

There's no way to diagnose WHS for sure until after death - it requires a necropsy to see if there are lesions on the brain. If this started fairly suddenly, like he was normal and then you noticed the serious symptoms - rather than a slow progression and worsening over time - it's most likely not WHS. WHS starts small - the hedgehog has a little trouble with balance, a little unsteady when walking, a little lop-sided, a small limp - that sort of thing. It gradually gets worse and progresses to severe paralysis. What you're describing could be somewhat advanced WHS, but if that's what it is, it would have been gradual and not so blatant in the beginning. This sort of thing can also be caused by a stroke or various other things. At this point you should definitely get him to a vet to rule out different possibilities, and if he's having difficulty eating, you should syringe feed him.

Hopefully it's not WHS, but if the other options are ruled out, or you've seen that this was something that started gradually and has slowly gotten worse, then it's more of a possibility, especially since you don't know his background. Hopefully not! If your vet rules out stroke and other possible causes, and you conclude that it's most likely WHS, I highly suggest this guide to WHS care: http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/comemeetmy ... lyhs1.html

Good luck!


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

Thank guys! For the help I took him to the vet. He doesn't have whs but its still bad news because he has a virus that he getting to his brain. I have him on antibiotics but its not sure that it will heal him . So will have to put him down.  this all sad and hard for me to take in. He's my baby boy and will always be. But thank you guys so much for your support.


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