# Please help bring peace to my heart..unknown cause of death



## arthursmom (Nov 6, 2012)

I'm going to list some symptoms and if you have any suggestions as to what may have happened, please let me know, it's killing me that I can't say what happened to my little boy.

My fiance and I adopted a beautiful little snowflake hedgie on September 29th of this year; we named him Sir Arthur and he was born on August 16th, 2012. We took him home and after getting used to the new environment after a couple of days, he seemed very normal in both health and mentality. We called him our little inquisitor because he liked to sniff and run around as much as possible. Two nights ago, we noticed after waking him up to play a bit that he was doing this odd heaving/heavy breathing motion, as if he was maybe trying to vomit or something. We had never seen this before but it was the only odd behavior about Arthur; it was 8 pm so we couldn't take him to the vet, and our local animal emergency hospital doesn't have much knowledge in hedgehogs. We decided to give it til morning and check to see how he was doing again. That morning my fiance fed him his half-ration of his favorite food, like he normally does, and usually by the time we come home for lunch he's woken up and devoured it all. That day was different (yesterday), because when we came home he hadn't touched it at all. My fiance woke him up, watched him drink some water, and eat a meal worm (his favorite treat), but then go back to bed, which is unlike him at this time of day - he usually runs on his wheel for awhile. That evening around 6 when he got home from work he noticed Arthur still hadn't touched his food. When I got home I urged him to take him out of the cage and see how he interacted with us. We noticed he was walking higher on his front legs, I assume this may have been to keep his belly from touching the ground in case it was sensitive or sore, and he also had his "genitals" (we think) hanging down low, which we had never seen before..he was running around and exploring, but not nearly as quickly or as far as he normally does during playtime. We got him to drink some water out of a dish, which he seemed to do pretty graciously, but no food other than a meal worm. I knew something was really getting bad but we had no place to take him for immediate help; we were going to wait until this morning to take him to our -hedgie-knowledgeable veterinarian. To our shock and complete devastation, we found him cold and stiff in his cage this morning. His eyes were open, he wasn't curled up asleep as he normally does to get comfy, and he wasn't buried in his favorite washcloth as a blanket like normal. We also noticed some green stool on some of his aspen chips within his igloo. 
I'm absolutely heartbroken and ridden with guilt, that if only I hadn't waited the day before to take him in for help he would still be here, or at least had held him longer last night and comforted him, let him know he wasn't alone and was loved, that he wouldn't have died alone and scared in his cage. I feel completely awful and heartsick - but what I'm needing from anyone on here, who's maybe had something like this happen before or knows about hedgie illnesses, is to please tell me what maybe could have caused this, based on the symptoms I've described. I know it's not possible to know for sure without a necropsy, which I don't think we'll be doing as we plan to give him a proper burial today, but I would at least like to have some idea as to what it sounds like it could have been. Thanks for your efforts.....


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm so sorry for your loss <3 It's so hard to loose our little quilled ones. =( -hugs-

I don't think I can help. But to help someone else answer can you also discribe the cage set up a bit? Did he have a heat source? His temps? What kind of food was he on?
Did you inform the breeder you got him from? It wont help any but I think I'd want to know if I bred. 

Hopefully you find some answers. <3


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure you are devastated. 

I have no idea what might have been wrong but having a necropsy done would still allow you to bury him and it might give some answers. If he is from a breeder, does the breeder have any type of health warranty in which case a necropsy would be needed. The breeder might also want to know what happened and might be willing to pay for part of the necropsy. 

Hugs


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## msredhead (Sep 28, 2012)

I am so sorry to hear this!  

I saw that you mentioned heavy breathing - When you found that he had passed, was his mouth open at all? When my Auri's litter died, they all had their mouths open and had labored breathing before they died... The vet had suggested fluid in their lungs, or something related, but I didn't want them to do an autopsy so I let them rest.

 I wish I could be there to hug you <3


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

I am very sorry that you have had to go through this experience. the only thing I can think of is that he may have either had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot travelled to the airway), or some kind of partial blockage of the airway from a piece of food. Did he continue with the labored breathing the entire time? I had a necropsy performed on my hedgehog after she died and she had a pulmonary embolism, which came from a tumor (she had breast cancer).
Take care and I hope that you can live with the fact that you may never really know what happened. If it is any consolation, it does not sound as if you did anything wrong, just an unfortunate turn of events.
RIP little one!
Susan H.


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## arthursmom (Nov 6, 2012)

Thank you all for your love and kind words, and suggestions. I'll try to reply to all of the questions; no he didn't have his mouth open when I found him, and the heaving/heavy breathing was not constant, it happened once for about 10 seconds then the next day one time for about 15 seconds. 
We did inform the breeder, she hasn't had any others with symptoms matching Arthur's, and believes it may have been some birth defect or something he developed internally. There was a heater within 6 feet of his cage, we made sure it was not blowing directly on his cage but kept the room at about 76 degrees at all times. He had good amounts of aspen bedding, a water dish as well as bottle, and stayed on the same food he was weaned into with his breeder which was purina's kitten food. He loved it, so when he started to not touch it the day before he passé we knew something was going wrong. It just happened so so quickly.


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## Toni Bunnell (Feb 6, 2013)

I have joined this forum specially so I can write a message for you. I found the forum while searching for an answer myself and came across your message. I have run a hedgehog rescue centre in York, England for 23 years. The hedgehogs that come in are sick or injured or orphaned babies. Those that can be restored to full health, which is most of them, are released back to the wild, usually with some support from gardens in the vicinity, in terms of food, water and housing. I had one hedgehog, Roger, who had had a head injury - probably from a strimmer on his head. He could not be released back to the wild as he could not fend for himself and refused to forage, choosing instead to wait by my back door for food to be put out for him in a dish. My garden is enclosed but at least he had some freedom. He was with me since October 2009 and was already at least one or two years old when he was brought to me, making him 5 or 6 this January when sadly he died very suddenly. Like you I blamed myself for not acting sooner but really there were very few symptoms. One day he ate all his food then the next morning he was breathing more rapidly but had no signs of pneumonia. He was inside in the warm and was always in a heated unit at night. He didn't eat his tea that night. I took him straight to the vet but when I opened his carrier just before going in to see the vet, he had died. It was such a shock. I have been told by a medic friend of mine that it sounded most likely to be a pulmonary embolism , a common cause of death in people apparently. There was nothing that could have been done for him, especially considering his age. I thought it might help you to know that losing your hedgehog was not your fault. It was just one of those things.


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## SpikeMoose (Dec 9, 2012)

I am so sorry for your sudden loss. Don't blame yourself, nature works in mysterious ways. I would have his body examined if you think that having answers will bring you peace. Hang in there, I can only imagine your sadness. Sending you all positive and healing energy!


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## Toni Bunnell (Feb 6, 2013)

Thank you Spike for your kind words. I am sure that Roger died from a pulmonary embolism and that his age was a major factor. Until then he had lived a comfortable life and was able to build a nest in summer and also a better one ready for winter. I have some lovely footage of him gathering grass to take into his little house in the garden.


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## AlexONeil (Nov 14, 2012)

arthursmom-- I am so sorry for your loss. If you would like a better idea of what happen, a necropsy is the way to go. It may seem invasive, but it may be worth the peace of mind it brings. Hedgehogs hide anything that could be wrong with them, so don't beat yourself up. He was well loved. RIP little man.


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

This breaks my heart. I'm so so sorry for your loss.


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## Sims (Jul 2, 2012)

I'm sorry for your lost.

He may have had an allergic reaction to the aspen.


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## grins&needles (Sep 10, 2013)

I would say the most likely culprit would be pneumonia. The green stools were likely caused by the physical stress of whatever his illness was. I'm so sorry for your loss!

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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

The original poster has not been on the forum since November 2012.


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## grins&needles (Sep 10, 2013)

Who keeps digging up these old threads !

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## ZeeMartin (Aug 5, 2013)

zombie thread 
back from the dead...


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