# Eating much less and barely pooping



## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Soo for like 2 days now there has only been like a couple teensy poops on the wheel and he is only eating like 10 kibble a day/night. I am buying pumpkin today to hopefully help with the pooping and getting new food because I checked the expiration date and it was Nov. 22 2011!! No wonder he didn't like it! Well it was the sell by date but still...the food is older than he is. I put only baby cat food in his cage today(which isn't expired!) to hopefully encourage eating although he'll probably just sleep all day. I woke him up to show it to him but he didn't eat any.

Pray for my little guy that it is just the expiration date(also he never seemed to like the newmans) and that he will be doing fine after I get some blue buffalo for him today!

Also should I wait a day or two with the pumpkin since I will be introducing new food?
And when I do feed the pumpkin how much do I give him??


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Did you try putting some of the kibble in his hut or sleep sack? Sometimes if they feel too weak to get out and eat, they'll eat it in their bedroom. 

When I give Izzy pumpkin, I give about .05 cc. If that doesn't do it, then I'll give her another .05cc in the syringe. 

I don't think I'd introduce another food until you figure out what's happening to your little one. Just give him the food that he normally takes. 

If the eating doesn't improve soon, you will want to start syringe feeding. My vet recommended mixing a can of a/d with a can of water. That way you know they are staying hydrated too. 

Put a strip of fleece on top of the wheel to see if he's getting on and wheeling too. If he doesn't start perking up after tonight, or if you see that he's getting worse, then a vet visit is in order.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

I hear him wheeling each night and he is still drinking and I actually hear him eating a bit at night just not as much as normal. The biggest and most worrysome change is the lack of poop. It used to be a lot and now there is barely any. I hope he eats the baby cat food today. 

Do I have to syringe the pumpkin or will he just eat it on his own if I put some out? I don't have a syringe yet but I was going to go get the pumpkin today.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Here is more on Diggory following the guidelines nancy posted. Although I talk about him so much a lot of this you've probably all heard before. 


- How old is your hedgehog? 2 months and 12 weeks 
- How long have you owned your hedgehog? A little over a month and a half
- Has there been any changes in the 2-3 weeks prior to the symptoms starting, such as, you on vacation, hedgie cared for by someone else, new cage, different cage location etc? He is in a new cage. We built the C&C cage on monday, he stopped pooping on tuesday/wednesday
- What is the temperature of the hedgehogs cage? 75 degrees. I am going to put a blanket around it tonight to try to get it warmer.
- What is the lighting schedule? 7am- 9pm

I have noticed a slight decrease in poop for a while now but assumed it was because it was changing from the runny icky nervous poops to normal ones. But two days ago he stopped pooping pretty much all together. 

Weight
Do you weigh regularly? Diggory's weight bounces around a lot but I think it is due to him either having pooped or not pooped for the day. His weight two days ago was 279g and a few days before that 301g ( I don't know how many days, I kind of fell out of the habit of weighing every day )

Poop
- very small and dark. looks sort of dry. 
- pretty normal perhaps just a bit darker. I was trying to see if there was green in it this morning but if there was it was very slight and its hard to tell because his wheel is green haha.
- smells just as bad as usual
- still only pooping on the wheel/paper towel like a good boy.

Urine
normal

Nose
sneezing - very rarely sneezes. occasionally hear one at night
Mucous - his nose is always a bit wet but i think that's normal
Licking nose? nope

Breathing
normal

Eating
- less than normal
- I usually just go by sight but lately I'm guessing around 10 kibble at night and maybe 5 during the day
- nope
- no but I gave him the last of his mealies two nights ago. they weren't as active as they usually are but they weren't black either. I figured it was fine but now i'm wondering if they were too old?
- I switched to filtered water monday I think but he is drinking just as much as usual and peeing normally. 

Skin
Scratching – I hear a bit of scratching at night but I don't really know if its excessive or not. I hear it probably two or three times a night but not for very long. 
Dry skin – he always has a bit of dry skin and i see little powdery flakes on his quills. I put flaxseed oil on him and in his food. 
Sores –none
Rash –none
Quills - no quill loss at all

Vomiting
none

Activity
he seems to want to sleep a bit more than usual but that could just be because he is used to my room and just wants to cuddle rather than walk around the same floor constantly. at night in his cage he's as active as ever, still wheeling and such. 

Meds
none


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## vasogoma (Feb 25, 2012)

Diggory is one of my favorite hedgies from the forum even though I've only seen him in pictures, besides he is the same age as Agatha. I wish the best of luck to you and Diggy!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

You don't have to syringe pumpkin if he will eat it on his own. Just put a smallish blob on a plate and microwave it for a couple seconds. Just to take any chill off of it. If he won't eat it, try smearing it on mealworms. But if you have to go out for pumpkin, you can just hit the pharmacy and get some needle-less syringes. Get some 1cc and 10 ml. The 10ml will make it easier for syringe feeding if you have to do that. If he doesn't eat anything again tonight, I would take him in. They can go downhill pretty fast.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

What would I suggest the vet to look for? The vet I plan on taking him to seems good but I don't think they have a ton of experience with hedgies. They seemed willing to look anything up but idk where they should even begin with him since he looks perfectly healthy. I really think he's going to eat tonight though. Considering he eats some every night and I know he loves this kitten food.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

okay so it has got to be constipation. I just noticed there was poop stuck in his bottom  I tried to help him get it out but he wouldn't let me.


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## coribelle (Jan 20, 2012)

Maybe a warm bath? Kazooie ALWAYS goes poo like 3 times in a bath. I'm sure you've probably already tried, but it might help with the poo stuck in his bum right now - like get it soft enough so that he can push it out on his own, maybe. I'm definitely not experienced, though... 
): I hope he feels better. I love Diggory - thoughts and love.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Well kenny and I just syringe fed him some pumpkin(that was a battle) and now he's eating like a madman! That has to be a good sign right?


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I hope that's a good sign, but still keep an eye on him and monitor his weight and kibble intake. As far as what the vet should look for? I don't know. It could be just a number of things. You never know with hedgies. 

Izzy was dropping weight, eating less, not wheeling and not pooping "well". I've been to the vet several times and have spent more than 700 dollars on a hedgie that appears fine. Blood values are fine, blood counts are fine, xrays were taken to look for arthritis (they looked fine), mouth looked fine, no oral tumors, no problems with teeth (just couple of broken ones that she's had since I got her). Izzy has had some problems with her environment. I changed her che to an infrared light and that caused her to not come out and eat or wheel. Then I changed it back and she still had problems. Her colon was inflamed and was protruding from her rectum. Swelling has gone down with steroids, but she's not gaining weight. She's fussy and I just don't know how to comfort her. I have no idea what her deal is. 

I don't know what's wrong with Diggory either. I'm sorry you're going through this. I know it's frustrating. Has anything in his cage or the surrounding area change at all? Did you get a new pet that might be hanging around him? Did you change your laundry soap? Anything change at all, even something very small and insignificant? Hang in there and if the little guy doesn't get better then I'd get him in to your vet and don't stop bugging him/her until your Diggory is better.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Well yeah we changed his cage to a C&C from sterilite tubs. I'd imagine that is pretty stressful.

He had maybe 3 small poops in the bathtub and there was a piece of my hair in it :/ that is probably the problem.
He pooped a decent amount last night, still not back to normal but MUCH more than he had been and there was another hair on his wheel. I am going to have to start vacuuming my room weekly to try to control all the loose hairs...

I'm hoping that this got him started on his pooping though and that it will continue to improve. Should I wait a day and then give him more pumpkin? I'm pretty sure there is still poop in him that needs to come out.


Also I noticed a weird bump(or bumps?) close to his bottom and I don't know if that is from poop being backed up or what. Or it could be an inflamed colon like yours had. I am going to watch it and see if it goes down as he poops more. Hedgies don't have visible testicles do they? It was a bit under his penis and directly above his tail/bottom area. 

Since there was improvement from using the pumpkin I'm not going to make the vet call just yet.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Hedgies have testicles on the inside. This could have been what you saw. Harvey's are smaller than a marble and they are side by side. But if you think that this is something other than that or you think that these bumps are getting larger or reddened, then I'd have a vet look at him. I'm glad that he is pooping normally now. I wouldn't give him more pumpkin unless he has trouble again. Pumpkin is used to help diarrhea and constipation, so you don't want the opposite effect for him. You can give him warm foot baths with a little more water so it looks like he's swimming (but where his feet still can touch). The movement and the warm water will help things move. 

Is he still eating normally?

When Izzy's colon was inflamed, it actually protruded from her anus, so you could see the intestine on the outside of her body.

Give Diggory hugs and snuggles from me. Praying that he's on the road to recovery. HUGS.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Poor little guy! It's certainly no fun being constipated. Petunia gets constipated every now and then, but she hasn't since I've been putting flaxseed oil on her food every other night.

I hope he feels better soon. Keep us posted


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Yep hes still eating. I couldn't see a difference in the food after last night but he's been doing all his eating in the evenings with me watching. Those bumps are definitely normal then haha.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

How's he doing today?


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## EternalHedgehogs (Jan 19, 2012)

Just a quick thought. Is there anything he may be eating that could be causing somewhat of a blockage in his bowels? Bedding, fabric, etc?


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

@Eternal hedgehogs--well I mentioned that I've seen a couple hairs in it so I would assume that he is eating strands of my hair that happens to be wherever in my room. I have long thin hair and cannot control where strands of it fall so I am going to have to start vacuuming my room every weekend.

Does anyone have trouble vacuuming around their hedgehogs? I don't want to traumatize him but I won't always be able to find someone to hold him in his hedgie bag while I vacuum my room either.



@Rainy-- the past few days have been pretty much the same. He's eating and drinking normally and pooping pretty good. I wouldn't say that it is as much as he was before this problem but it is enough that I don't feel as scared anymore. Should I post pictures of his poopy wheel to see if it is normal to you guys or not? haha.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Well, it would have to be compared to his wheel before these issues. Harvey is a different pooper than Izzy. Izzy has wetter poos and can really get them stuck to her wheel. Harvey is a huge pooper....like massive poops, like the other day I saw him pooping in his foot bath and I thought he might have been birthing a baby hedgehog, not just having a poo. His usually spin off the wheel and land on the paper towel. 

On Dig's previous wheel, did he have bigger poop pancakes left on his wheel? Does it look more now like diarrhea (like smaller areas, thinner on the wheel, softer)? Sometimes it helps to check the cage in the middle of the night when they are still fresh. That way you can check on color, consistency and see if there is mucous.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

When I vacuum, I just hurry up and do it. I'm sure they don't like being woken in the day, but it hasn't caused any psychological or stress behaviors either.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Rainy said:


> Well, it would have to be compared to his wheel before these issues. Harvey is a different pooper than Izzy. Izzy has wetter poos and can really get them stuck to her wheel. Harvey is a huge pooper....like massive poops, like the other day I saw him pooping in his foot bath and I thought he might have been birthing a baby hedgehog, not just having a poo. His usually spin off the wheel and land on the paper towel.
> 
> On Dig's previous wheel, did he have bigger poop pancakes left on his wheel? Does it look more now like diarrhea (like smaller areas, thinner on the wheel, softer)? Sometimes it helps to check the cage in the middle of the night when they are still fresh. That way you can check on color, consistency and see if there is mucous.


He always had the smallish flat smooshed pieces all around but then there were always big normal poo shaped soft ish ones in the middle(flying saucer wheel) part . Now there are just the tiny little stuck on flat pieces everywhere, no more big ones. But today there were a couple full pieces of poop on the paper towel like they fell off but they weren't as big as they used to be and it isn't a very accurate comparison because I was at my boyfriends and didnt get home to clean the wheel until like 3pm so they were all dry and shriveled and such.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I guess, if you think his poops might not be normal, you could give him a foot bath and then scoop one out with a paper cup and give it a look. You might have mentioned this before, but how much fiber is he getting in his diet? I think someone else mentioned adding a bit of flaxseed oil to his food. Have you tried that? Just put a few drops on his dry food. 

When I was concerned about Izzy not pooping well, my vet mentioned that if she isn't eating much, then she won't eliminate much. Have you been counting kibble?


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

I've been watching him eat in the evenings and he is eating a good amount. I have been putting flaxseed oil in his food very often because he has extremely dry skin. I don't really know how much fiber, he eats Royal Canin Babycat and mealies.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Well, I'm kind of stumped. You can try to pm Nancy and see what she thinks. If he's acting differently or "off", then you might want to get him into the vet for a check up.  Hope the little guy starts pooping more.


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## EternalHedgehogs (Jan 19, 2012)

The only other thing I can think of to suggest is giving him some plain yogurt, like Activia, once a day. At least he is still "going" for now and by what you've described, it's becoming more normal. Also, you may want to try crushing his food up a bit for him. This will make it easier for him to digest. If things don't start to improve, I would definately take him in. You don't want him to go from "not normal" to "not at all".


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