# Eating little after surgery



## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

My little guy had an internal tumor that was pushing up against his stomach and making it hard to eat. It's probably been 10 days since he last ate a full portion. 
Since the surgery 3 days ago he's still not eating much. If you force a spoon full of baby food (water, cornstarch, turkey/chicken) near him he'll take a bite or two and you can see on the food plate that he's eating a little bit of it. I think the most he's eaten in a day is maybe over half a tbsp of wet baby food. From the looks of it, he's not drinking either. I have a syringe but I'm not entirely sure how to force feed him or if he's doing enough on his own. 
He's not moving much since he has sutures under his arm, so he just kinda wobbles back and forth between his igloo and the other side of the cage. 
Any suggestions as to how much to force feed him would be appreciated.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Baby food will be lacking several essential minerals & vitamins; if he's been eating solely baby food for the past 3 days, stop - it will end up causing you even more trouble.

I would try offering him some complete wet cat food; not the chunks, but the pate or ground options will be easier for him to eat. 

If he still doesnt eat much by the 4th or 5th day post-op, I would strongly advise going back to your vet. They can also advise & show you how to safely force feed your hedgehog.


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

Baby food isn't the only thing I'm offering him, it's the only thing he'll eat. He's always been a notoriously picky eater so when he refuses to eat I put some baby food in there to kick up his appetite. It's not something he gets normally but at the moment he's not touching the other food.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

Has the vet prescribed him with pain relief? Lack of appetite can also mean he is in pain & discomfort after surgery - his reluctancy to move may also indicate that whatever pain relief he's on may not be enough.


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

We did not get any pain meds unfortunately. We didn't get any last surgery either.


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

I called the vet and they're in the process of getting some medication based on his weight last tuesday. I'll pick up some good wet cat food after work and give him some medication as soon as I get home. I'll likely mix some pedialyte in the food since he hasn't been drinking.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

No pain meds?! My girl had a surgery back in October for mammary cancer; it wasn’t even a huge tumor, and she was prescribed a 10 day course of pain killers & antibiotics. 

Definitely pick up pain killers when you go back. I personally cannot believe that they sent you home on both occasions without.

I hope they at least gave you antibiotics?


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

He acted a lot better last time he had a tumor removed. 
They didn't send us with anything. I stopped by on my lunch break and got 3 doses of pain meds. Gotta give him one dose every 24 hours. If there's no improvement by monday they said to bring him in as an emergency.


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

He took that medication like it was candy. I put a spoon of pate cat food (poultry flavour) near his igloo and put some of his regular kibble, more of the wet cat food and a tiny amount of baby food (just since that's what I use to kickstart his appetite.) I'm going to give him some peace and quiet and come back in a few hours to see how he's doing. 
Thank you for your support. I've been completely unable to think straight since the whole thing started.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

I'm a little taken a back by the fact that they didn't prescribe you pain meds to start with. And not even baytril either, which is pretty standard, is a little odd to me. _especially_ pain meds in particular knowing that hogs can be so dramatic to even the smallest amount of discomfort.

Anyway; you have them now, and that's what matters. Hopefully your little one starts making improvements!


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## Pmelyea11 (Apr 14, 2016)

Even after the pain meds the most he ate last night was two bites of the baby food. Didn't touch either the kibble or the wet cat food. I can hear him snoring but other than that it doesn't look like he's moved in the last 10 hours. 
When he takes the pain meds today I'll get a few ml of pedialyte in him and try force feeding him something. Unlike friday when I tried srynge feeding him, he didn't seem to spit out the pedialyte after he took the medicine. If not for the few bites of baby food, he probably wouldn't have gotten any water at all since the surgery.


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Sorry to hear about your boy. 

I’ve never been prescribed pain meds for my boy. I don’t live in the US though. 

Have your tried giving carnivore care yet? It is an emergency powder food to give sick animals, with a lack of appetite or recovering from surgery. Most people find it kicks starts the appetite. It’s a nutrient rich food so definitely try getting some (can order off amazon, buy in large chain pet stores and some vets stock it too). Can sprinkle it in his food or add water to make a paste and put in a separate small dish or if he won’t eat on his own, it can also be syringed fed. There is a guide to syringe feeding on here if you need help/tips.

I soak my boy’s hard kibble and add insects to it (he has mouth issues). It’s the only way he’ll eat kibble. You could try soaking some kibble, mushing it up and mixing with the baby food, carnivore care etc. My boy didn’t care for pate food either. 

Does he like insects? You can mash them up or cut up and add to the food mix, might entice him... my boy’s favourite is superworms.

Start syringe feeding from today, the longer they go without food the weaker their bodies will become and they can develop fatty liver disease. He needs to be consuming about 20ml of food a day to stay strong and healthy. For every mil he eats you can wait an hour and try again. So if he eats 4ml feed again 4 hours later. There’s more info in the syringe feeding guide. Also a probiotic can help settle their GI tract after the stress of surgery. Sprinkle a pinch in his food at least an hour after antibiotics. I used benebac small animal probiotic. 

Hoping he recovers soon x


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You need to start syringe feeding him. You can get a canned food called HIlls a/d from the vet. Its very nutrient dense and most hedgehogs like it. It's made for syringe feeding. You want to feed about 20-15 mls of food a day. After not eating much for a couple of days he probably doesn't feel like eating and needs the syringe feeding to stimulate his appetite again.


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