# Lily Update - Vet visit & diet changes for older age



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Just wanted to post about Lily's three-year vet visit yesterday, along with the new changes to her diet.

She did terrific at the vet, mostly because I went prepared with mealworm bribes this time. :lol: No balling up, and the vet (we had yet another one this time, but so far all of them have seemed at least familiar with hedgehogs, if not experts) was impressed with how calm and friendly she was. Everything checked out fine, though the vet was a tad concerned with the dry skin and did a quick skin scrape to check it. As I figured, she thought it was just dry skin (she hasn't been losing enough quills for it to be mites). I completely forgot to ask her to check her teeth, so that's a definite note to write for the next visit. I did, however, remember another issue I just discovered that was another reason for the visit - Lily had a curved quill that had grown back into her skin. :? I'm not sure how long it'd been there before I noticed it earlier this week, but at least it wasn't infected. The vet used a pair of scissor-like things (forceps?) to gently pull it out and it came with no problems. I've been putting Neosporin on the little hole each night just to make sure it doesn't become infected now that the quill's out of the way.

After checking with the vet, I have feline Cosequin (this stuff - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... ealth+Care ), that comes in little capsules that you can open up. I just dumped a bunch of capsules into a plastic container with a top, and I'm dipping a cricket into it every night to give it to her. The vet agreed with this method of giving it to her, and that giving it as a precaution against arthritis couldn't hurt. So far she's eaten her dusted cricket last night and tonight, so I think we'll be all set with doing it this way.

And...I'm very excited, I also got a bottle of Sunshine Factor from the vet.  I've been wanting to try it for awhile, after reading so many posts of people on here trying it and getting such positive results. I tried 0.1 mL of it on a kibble last night, and Lily wouldn't even give it a lick. Tried the same dose on a cricket instead...she chewed it up and spat it back out on me. :roll: However, we tried again with a cricket tonight and she ate it! 

So...I'm hoping I'm catching everything I need to for her getting older. I know I need to keep an eye out (as always) for any suspicious lumps or bumps, and make sure her teeth stay in good condition. Just to be sure, is there anything else that I should be doing or watching out for that could be a problem for older hedgies? I know I might be worrying about this all a bit early, but everything else that's been happening this year has made me a bit paranoid. :? I keep telling her that she's NOT allowed to get sick or have anything bad happen at all this year. So far she seems to be listening!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Thank you for the update! Now a 4th of July picture would be nice too!!!!! Think about it. I just love Miss Lily!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

So glad to hear she's doing good!! I'm going to have to start doing someting now for Zoey, she's at least 2 1/2 years old now & we want her around for a long time.
I'll have to look into that cosequin stuff too. Thanks!


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Thanks for the update  It helps out a lot. My oldest hedgie will be 2 years old next month and it's always good to know what things to look into. I want him around a long time too so thanks for the info


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Glad to hear everything went well with Lily!

Definitely get her mouth looked at if you can. It's the first thing my vet checks everytime we go. Chloe is only 2 and she's already showing signs of inflammed gums. They're doing much better now thanks to antibiotics and some toothpaste on a cricket once a week, but last time Puff was in her gums were starting to show wear and tear too.

It's my personal opinion that senior pets should be seeing a vet twice a year, every 6 months as opposed to every 12, and I think with hedgehogs who are so prone to oral tumours, getting their mouths checked out twice a year is a good idea too.

I'd call your vet back and just mention that they never checked her teeth/mouth (this should be a requirement for yearly exams for any animals) and they should let you bring her back in to have it looked at at no charge if they are a good vet.

Not to traumatize poor Lily more or anything :lol: 

The cosequin sounds like a great idea, what's the dosage your vet gave you? I think I might order some from the clinic I work at and start giving it to everyone. Chloe's 2 now, Puff is 3+ and Oakley is apparently 4+ so it can't hurt.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

SnufflePuff said:


> Glad to hear everything went well with Lily!
> 
> Definitely get her mouth looked at if you can. It's the first thing my vet checks everytime we go. Chloe is only 2 and she's already showing signs of inflammed gums. They're doing much better now thanks to antibiotics and some toothpaste on a cricket once a week, but last time Puff was in her gums were starting to show wear and tear too.
> 
> ...


I completely agree with the frequency on vet visits. Lily just had her last one 7 months ago, in November, and I intend to take her in again this winter at the 6-month mark from this last visit. I might call the office as you suggested and see if I can take her back in for a quick mouth check...Her teeth were in great shape last time we went, and I haven't noticed any problems eating, but it's better to be safe than sorry! Plus I have two days off next week, so plenty of time to take her back in. I'm still kicking myself for forgetting to ask the vet to check them, I must've reminded myself two or three times throughout the visit, but the words never made it out of my mouth. :roll:

The vet didn't actually mention any specific dosage for the Cosequin, just agreed that it'd be fine to dip a cricket in the powder once a night and feed it to her. Before the visit, I'd been searching through a couple of the forums to find older-age related posts, but anything I saw on glucosamine only talked about a pinch every so often, not even every night. So...I'm not really sure. :? I'm sticking with the dusted cricket once a night for now, I guess, unless anyone manages to get a definite recommendation on dosage from a vet! I haven't seen any allergic reactions or other adverse effects on Lily yet. If I take her back in for a mouth check, I'll try and write a note to myself to ask about dosage, see if I get any definite answers.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm sure her mouth is fine then  I always forget to ask something when I'm at the vet and then am kicking myself later for it, so I totally get it :lol: 

Chloe was showing signs of not chewing her food as well (she had tons of crumbs in her dish compared to the others) so that's how I knew something was up. 

Dusting a cricket in the glucosamine sounds like a perfectly safe dosage to me, I will definitely be doing that too


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