# Please help: hedgie-fall



## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Please help.
I think I may be a terrible person.
A bit earlier, Mopsa was on my lap while I chatted to a friend, sitting on the bed. She was very calm as she usually is and I turned for one moment to pass a paper to my friend and literally in two seconds, she found her way to the corner of the bed and...fell.
I haven't been breathing properly all night.
The bed is less than 2 feet off the ground. She fell on her feet. I held her for a while afterwards and then let her go back home. She seemed really, really alright. It's been an hour or so now - I let her just do her othing. She's been sleeping, but that's normal. The light will go out in 15 and I'll stay up to see if she gets up.
but I know that falls can be really bad for them.
I'm going to call my vet first thing tomorrow morning.
But in the meantime, is there anything I should look out for? Anything I should do? 
I feel like a failure as a person - after all the precautions I take for her, she found the one second I wasn't looking...
please help - any advice would be much appreciated. I just don't even know, I realised, what the danger with hedgie-falls is or what the effects might be...

Thank you so much to anyone who has time to stop by this thread.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Things happen, no matter how cautious you are, there are things that can just never be prevented or forseen. I'm no health expert so this would be better left up to Nancy, Nikki and the other admins, but from reading I can repeat what has been said about a fall.

- The obvious ones would be a decrease in activity tonight, not eating as much, etc.

- Watch for bruising where she hit, so namely her feet and underbelly.

- Check her poop for blood and possible signs of internal bleeding, check Nancy's poop thread, I think its usually a black color if there's blood in the stool.

- Check for signs of distress, trouble breathing, noise when breathing.

If she landed on her feet I would think the damage would be less with an exception of possibly hurting her feet and legs, many who fell and had problems I think it was usually on their sides and such (again, not a health expert). But you already have plans for the vet which is a good thing, they'll be able to check her out and make sure all is well and or fix anything that might have happened.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you.

She definitely fell on her feet because she was running around even a moment after and I had to scoop her up from going under the bed. 
I didn't check for bruising, but I just put out the lights and I dont want to bother her again. 
What would bruising look like? She has a lot of mottling on her feet so it might be hard to tell. 
No signs of distress though as far as I can see.
The lights just went out so I guess we'll see...
Oh my goodness. Things were going so, so well too. Oh my goodness.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

UPDATE:
she has already got up (the lights went out completely 5 minutes ago) and is wheeling. I'm sitting right by the cage. 
So that's a good sign at least, right?
;__;


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I think just general discoloration of the skin, probably the usual purple looking color that humans get, but again not sure on that, I would just keep a look out for anything that doesn't look right skin color wise. Most of the bruising threads I've read, the hedgehog has fallen on their sides or somewhere other than on their feet.

It seems to have not phased her at least if she's now out and wheeling, though there is one person here who had a hedgehog that basically died from the fall, I believe his hog fell and dislocated her hip, and then he could not stop her from moving, wheeling or even running when he took the wheel out. That I do believe the end result was a piece of bone getting into her blood stream or something along those lines.

They can take falls without actually hurting themselves badly, of course its never a good thing but I was watching videos on youtube last night, it was a hedgehog up on a loft shelf (no protective wall) playing with a TP tube, walked backwards off the wall and fell to the cage floor, and not only did it fall but hit a PVC pipe below. I can't say if the hog got hurt but there was videos of it months later. I think she'll be fine for now and the vet can totally check her out. I'd just definitely keep myself on alert, just in case.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

> It seems to have not phased her at least if she's now out and wheeling, though there is one person here who had a hedgehog that basically died from the fall, I believe his hog fell and dislocated her hip, and then he could not stop her from moving, wheeling or even running when he took the wheel out. That I do believe the end result was a piece of bone getting into her blood stream or something along those lines.


That is heartbreaking, oh my goodness.
If something like that had happened, would I be able to tell? I'll look at her more carefully obviously tomorrow but as she seems unphased I feel like I shouldn't bug her tonight...
Thank you so much - that's at least good to understand.

Why is it so bad for hedgehogs to fall particularly, do you know? Other pets I've had that was never a problem like that.


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## I<3Hejji (Aug 29, 2010)

margolia.wind said:


> Why is it so bad for hedgehogs to fall particularly, do you know? Other pets I've had that was never a problem like that.


I think it is do to their size, a fall that may seem small to us (a foot or so) could do much more damage to a hedgehog vs a cat or probably even a bunny (besides the fact that cats are like a foot tall in the first place lol).

I don't think anyone here has had a hedgehog that hasn't taken a fall before, or won't have one happen in the future. The goal is to limit the possibilities of falls and minimize the distance they would be able to fall - and it sounds like you have done a great job at that. These little guys are fast, I remember the time I discovered Hejji running towards the edge of the bed and was just able to catch him in time... I had no idea he could crawl out of his playpen that we keep on the bed. We only have him on there when we are playing with him but I had dropped a mealie on the floor and just like you turned my back for a moment and BAM! Off he went!

It sounds like you are doing a great job of monitoring your hedgehog, even though he seems fine to you, you came here to ask for help and advice just in case. It sounds like you are doing everything you should, I think Puffers315 answered your questions well. I just wanted to say you are NOT a terrible person


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Your not horrible, accidents happen and there is no way to prevent all of them. You are a good hedgie parent and are being attentive to your hedgie and sought out help


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## Hedgehog Grove (Jul 21, 2010)

This is what hedgehog bruising looks like. Below is Cocoa Marie owned by Quillyones. This was after ISO gas and a blood draw I believe. But it gives you an idea of what to look out for on bruising.










These was another photo i was looking for on belly bruising but couldn't find it for you.

As for symptoms to look out for Puffers covered it. Though she will need to see a vet regardless, she may need an xray to see if there is internal damage or bleeding. A fall from *any *height can be *fatal *for a hedgehog.

Your doing everythi8ng right by monitoring her but get her in to see a vet asap.

Everyone makes mistakes and you have learned from it and that is the main thing.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

First off don't panic. She is probably fine. Did she fall onto carpet or a hard floor? 

Count her kibble and make sure her food intake doesn't go down. Same with poop and urine and check to make sure there is no blood in it. Is she walking, running and acting normally? 

Do not increase her cage temperature but watch out for a hibernation attempt. 

I've had a few fall as well as dropped a few. The worst was poor old Snow. I had just finished her bath in the bathroom sink and picked her up and she slipped out of my hands and went splat on the floor. I cried and probably gained a few thousand gray hairs with worry but she was fine.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

In the wild when hedgehogs fall they ball up instantly and the little numbs on the skin-side end of their quills act as protective cushioning. In captivity, however, hedgehogs have lost that instinct to ball up when falling and so just land any old way.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I think it's a rare hedgie that doesn't discover gravity. And all good owners worry. As was said before, she will probably be ok & just keep an eye on her. 

You're doing a good job. And it's obvious to all of us that you love Mopsa.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you very much everyone.
So it's been a night. 
Ironically I became ill myself alst night so I was half-awake for a lot of the night and could monitor her quite well.
She ran almost all night which sounded normal enough. This morning when I checked, she had eaten 54 kibbles which is exactly around what she normally eats. I checked her out and she was squirmy, but I culd find nothing that looked like bruising anywhere. She was on my lap few minutes (which is our usual routine) and I saw no evidence of trouble breathing or any trouble walking. She was very responsive as always and didn't ball up. I couldn't find anything unusual in her poop and no signs of blood.

I just got back from my class and called my vet immediately. Dr. Munn won't be back until Monday, but I spoke to the other veterinarian. She sounded quite knowledgeable, though I haven't met her so I don't have a lot to go off, of course. I told her essentially what I told you and she said that I should keep monitoring her and not come in as that is likely to stress her out (and it is so cold right now). She said that she would only check those things and it sounded like everything was okay. She said I could call back if anything changed.

I was thinking that I might just keep an eye on her until Monday and then call Dr. Munn as I trust him a lot and I'd like him to be the one to examine her if she has to go in anyway.

Is that a sensible decision? Or should I book an appointment with Dr. Munn even without speaking to him first and ask them to do an xray? I am trying not to panic and she is doing so well that it helps me calm down a lot. I so much appreciate all of your support and kind comments. I think this may be less of an emergency than I am feeling but goodness me...

Maybe I should start making fleece liners for my whole floor... ;p



> In the wild when hedgehogs fall they ball up instantly and the little numbs on the skin-side end of their quills act as protective cushioning. In captivity, however, hedgehogs have lost that instinct to ball up when falling and so just land any old way.


Oh! That explains a lot. Because I know they're small but I know that other small animals definitely fall all the time, so I was just curious because I know hedgehogs are different, but I didn't know why that was. Thanks!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I wouldn't rush her to the vet. Unless there is something obvious right now, anything like internal bleeding isn't going to show up on xray right now anyways especially without there being symptoms. Unless severe, usually an internal injury takes a few days to a week to show up. If she had fallen hard enough to do damage internally, most likely she would have been a bit stunned or slow to get up at the time she fell. Just keep monitoring her. 

Try to relax because she will pick up on your stress and be likely to have some stress related symptoms which will freak you out even more. :lol:


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## I<3Hejji (Aug 29, 2010)

You are an amazing hedgehog owner! I agree with Nancy, just wanted to say I am impressed with how thorough you are being. I wish there were more hedgehog owners out there like you!


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the support!
I can't believe how lucky I am to be in such a wonderful caring community like this.

The second night seems to have gone equally well. Mopsa ran about as per normal and ate normally. I'm about to take her out now, but I haven't noticed her being at all cold or unresponsive. So I'm feeling like we might be alright. Still might be calling Dr. Munn on Monday just so we can be in communication. 

I appreciate it all so much, everyone. As does Mopsa, though she doesn't know it.

xoxo


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## I<3Hejji (Aug 29, 2010)

Yay! I love happy endings


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