# 8 months old hedgehog won't eat and diarrhea



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi everybody!
I'm a first time hedgie owner and really worried about my hog who hasn't eaten in over 3 days now and has really runny diarrhea. Been to the vet yesterday but he could really find anything in her stools. I wondered if you guys had any idea what is going on and if there's anything I can do or change to help my hog feel better soon. Sorry for the long list below, but I wanted to include everything just in case. I would really appreciate any thoughts you have.

- How old is your hedgehog? *8 months*
- How long have you owned your hedgehog? *6 months*
- Has there been any changes in the 2-3 weeks prior to the symptoms starting? *Her wheel broke so I had to replace it. She hasn't used the new wheel since i put it in her cage about a week ago.*
- What is the temperature of the hedgehogs cage? *24 degrees celsius (I think that's 75/76 fahrenheit?) on a thermostat and has been this way since I got her.*
- What is the lighting schedule? *about 8 am to 10 pm*

Please add dates that symptoms occurred: *4 days ago she made a real mess of her cage, tore up the newspaper under her liners, threw her water dish over, and pooped in her sleeping area. Everything was wet and dirty in the morning and I cleaned her cage. I don't know if this is related to her symptoms but I thought I should add this information because she normally is a very clean hedgehog and never makes such a mess. 
The day after that I noticed she stopped eating and hasn't eaten a bite since. I put all her favorite treats out but she wouldn't touch those either. She has been up during the day way more than normal and sleeps a lot and in unusual places. 2 days ago she got diarrhea and seems more lethargic. I've seen her drink every day, but started to syringe her a bit more water today because I thought that couldn't really hurt. 
I took her to the vet yesterday and he gave me antibiotics and antiparasitic and i started to syringe her those yesterday. I don't have any other pets so a parasite seems unlikely to me.*

Weight
*353 grams*

Poop
*- almost liquid, but with dark color (about the same color as usual i think)
- smells stronger than normal
- pooping in bed*

Urine
*No changes as far as I can tell*

Nose
*no sneezing or anything out of the ordinary
mucous - clear liquid*

Breathing
*normal*

Eating
*Not at all. Food hasn't changed. 
Water intake as far as I can tell is normal, but I don't really know how much she should drink in a day.*

Skin
*No skin problems, vet thought she was in very good condition.*

Vomiting 
*No vomiting I think*

Activity
*Sleeps more, no wheeling and unrolls easier when I take her out, which normally would take quite a long time.*

Meds
*I don't know if the name is the same, because I'm from the Netherlands, but here it is:
Flagyl 200 mg/5ml suspense per ml
1 time a day 0,3 ml for 5 days (given her first dose yesterday)*


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Flagyl is the typical medicine for intestinal issues. You will need to start syringe feeding her food too. Your vet should carry a food meant for syringe feeding but until then, buy any good quality canned cat food and what I do is put it through a fine sieve. Any little clump will clog the syringe. She needs to have food into her asap or Fatty Liver Disease can start after a couple days without food. 

You can also give her canned pumpkin, the unseasoned stuff that is just plain pumpkin. It should help firm up her poop. 

Sending prayers that she will feel better soon.


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi all!
Nancy: thanks so much for the quick reply, I immediately started syringe feeding her food after your message. 

Unfortunately I don't have any good news so far. The vet thinks she has/had a bowel infection. I had to syringe feed her powdered food (from the vet) and water every day. Since there was no improvement after my first vet visit, I took her to the vet again last week and started her on new medication: enrofloxoral and metocloral drops. Although the diarrhea stopped after that, her feces turned green (and has stayed that way since) and she still wouldn't eat or drink. 
Last saturday I noticed she couldn't walk properly either and took her to the vet for the 3th time. Because she was so weak and lost a lot of weight (from 353 grams to 309 grams) he kept her there and has been feeding her with a probe and put her on a drip for fluids. She gained a little weight back but still won't eat or drink anything.

Also it seems that her leg is starting to die off for some reason (maybe got caught between something, or the bowel infection has spread?). It's turning black now, she doesn't use it and doesn't seem to have feeling in it. It's her back leg and probably won't heal anymore, so either it's going to fall off on its own, or I have to let them amputate it. The vet thinks she's too weak for surgery so she's still getting antibiotics and now a painkiller as well. (She's been at the vet's since saturday so this is information I got over the phone and haven't seen it myself.)

Does anyone have any idea or advice on what to do? And, if she gets better from the bowel infection, does she have any quality of life without her back leg? Can she still wheel with just 3 legs after everything has heeled? I just don't want to drag her trough all of this if she doesn't have a happy life to look forward to. 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm so worried about my little girl and just don't know what to do now that she has the leg problem as well.
Thanks 

p.s. I'm from the Netherlands, so if there's anything unclear because of spelling or grammar errors, please let me know.


----------



## coribelle (Jan 20, 2012)

Your English is near flawless, so no worries there  

I have read several cases where hedgehogs have led perfectly normal, happy lives with only 3 legs, so I'm sure you're little one will be fine in that regard.
Hopes and prayers for the best, too. Keep us updated


----------



## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

When I was a vet tech I met a hedgie that had to have her back left leg amputated-- she was very happy and active, and even still wheeled! She passed away at 6 years old, she went for almost 4 of them without her leg. She's in my prayers that she'll regain her strength and fight off whatever it is that's ailing her-- keep us updated!


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

Thank you both so much for the positive vibes. It's really good to know she still has a chance at a happy life after this. I also have some good news to report: yesterday she started eating kibble again on her own! I'm very pleased about that. And the vet thinks she gained enough strength from the extra food and fluids he's been giving her the past week to survive surgery. So he's going to amputate her back leg today. If the surgery goes well I can pick her up later today. Fingers crossed!


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Quills crossed here for an uneventful surgery and recovery.

Just a side note. There have been plenty of tri-pod hedgehogs who have done very well. A couple that I remember very well were cared for by Standing Bear, at the Flash & Thelma Memorial Rescue. The rescue had a couple of Californians once that came in with gangrene in their back legs. Hopefully I get this right, but SB always reported that both hedgehogs lost a portion of those legs. Wilma lost most of one of her legs, and you could hardly tell that she was handicapped by how well she got around. Fred lost portions of both back legs, and while he had a limp, he still got around just fine. They lived at the rescue for at least 2 or 3 more years. So yes they can live pretty normal lives while missing limbs.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Just said a prayer for your little one today. Please let us know how it went. HUGS.


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

I just got home after picking her up from the vet's office. The surgery went okay, but they had to remove more tissue than they thought: her entire back leg including the hip. And there's still a patch of skin that doesn't look good. The vet's worried about that so I'll have to keep an eye on it and continue the antibiotics. She started eating and drinking immediately after getting home, so that's a good sign I think. Walking is difficult for her, she's just going around in circles, so I put her near her food and water and hope she gets the hang of it soon. 
Thank you all for your support, I really appreciate it.


----------



## Guest (Apr 13, 2012)

i just read this what a trooper. i hope all goes well and ill be watching for updates


----------



## zombiewoman (Sep 22, 2011)

I hope she continues to do well. She will adapt to not having her leg. Keep us informed and we will keep her in our thoughts.

Lisa


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi all!
Still no good news to report here. The surgery site and skin patch that worried the vet look okay since the surgery on friday. But I'm terribly worried about her other back leg, the color doesn't look right to me (but hasn't turned black like her other leg, at least not yet) and she doesn't use it. It looks weak, like she has no control over it and stays bend and curved inwards (so she leans on the side of her leg) all the time. I really hope the infection (or whatever it is) doesn't make her other leg die off too. 
2 days ago I talked to the vet over the phone about my concerns and added another antibiotic (synolex) to her already wide range of medications. This is really a last resort kinda thing, if the other leg goes, there's probably nothing he can do for my little girl. I'm just heartbroken about this and staring at her leg all day. I don't see any improvement since starting the extra antibiotics. The only good news is that she's eating and drinking well since I took her home from the vet's and gained almost all her weight back already.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, eating and drinking are both very good. I'm happy to hear that. I'll continue to pray for you both and hoping the infection clears up. HUGS.


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

The other leg is definitely dying off and the infection/necrosis is spreading. I talked to the vet again and he told me she won't recover from this and there's nothing left to do for her. So I made the impossible decision to have her humanely euthanized tomorrow. I'm absolutely devastated about this and can't stop crying. For now I'm just making the most of the little time we have left together and making sure she's as comfortable as possible. My poor little girl, she fought so hard. I'm going to miss her so much.


----------



## Guest (Apr 19, 2012)

im so sorry. Your little one was a fighter. lots of hugs and prayer for you both


----------



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Oh no.  I'm so sorry. Does the vet have any clue what happened? This is such a sad story... You're in my thoughts. *Hugs*


----------



## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

I am so sorry  she received the best care you could give her. Did they found out how she got the infection?

PS welke dierenarts heb je? Gewoon nieuwsgierig, altijd handig om dierenartsen te weten die verstand hebben van witbuikegels.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, I'm so sorry. That is one of the hardest decisions you'll every have to make. Praying for you and your family now. HUGS.


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

I just got back from the vet's. The vet took lots of time and was very gentle with her. He checked her again and confirmed that the infection had spread beyond saving. He thinks it's an extremely resistant bacteria (MRSA or something alike). She could have gotten anywhere, even from me (humans can be carriers) although I always wash my hands before picking her up. She could also have been carrying it with her already and could have flared up when her immune-system was weakened by the diarrhea or something else. The vet told me he had never seen this in animals (hedgehog and other species) and could only compare this type of infection to humans. He was also very sad that she didn't pull trough, he told me he really hoped she'd make it.

When I got at the vet's office he took me to a different room, with a comfortable couch where I said my goodbyes. Then the vet gave her a narcotic first and after she fell asleep he gave her the euthanasia drug. She passed away very peacefully. The vet made a clay impression of her front paws for me to take home and remember her by. I'm going to bury her later today at my parents house.

Thank you all for your support, it's all been very emotional and your kind words mean a lot.

@Draenog: ik zit bij dierenziekenhuis Eindhoven, bij Stijn Peters (www.dzeh.nl). Hij behandelt vaak egels en andere exoten.


----------



## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Claire I'm so sorry for your loss. It is never easy to lose one of these little guys. And it hurts a lot when you do everything you can, fight like mad and still lose. It really just sucks. She fought hard, and I know you did too. 

MRSA and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are not unheard of in hedgehogs. A friend had 2 that fought MRSA twice, and I've experienced antibiotic resistant strains of staph in my own hedgehogs over the years. Some times no matter how careful you are, no matter how much you do to prevent bacteria from getting to them, one will still find its way to your hedgehog and catches them when their immune system is a little down. It truly sucks.

RIP in little one, your time here was short, but your impact was not small. Your mommie loved you and you were admired by many.


----------



## Claire_B (Sep 24, 2011)

Thank you Kalandra. I know I did everything I could, but it really sucks indeed. MRSA is pretty rare in the Netherlands (prevalence <1%) in humans. I don't know the statistics, but it can't be that high for hedgehogs I think. So it's no surprise my vet hasn't had any experience with it (well, before this...).


----------



## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

It's indeed very rare here. I'm sorry for your loss  she was well loved. I lost my first hedgehog not so long ago, it hurts so much 

En bedankt, die ga ik onthouden!


----------

