# I think my hedgie is dying



## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

New here and don't have time to go through previous posts before I head off to work. My hedgie hasn't been eating much (probably nothing) in the last couple of days. But he has been drinking. He's probably 3.5 to 4 years old. Took him out to check on him this morning and he noticeably lost weight and is weak (had trouble standing). Nothing about the temperature, his food or anything else has changed. Moved him from a water bottle to a water bowl about two weeks ago, but he's been using it just fine.

He's never eaten anything but cat food, he won't take any kind of treat. I can come home during my lunch and try to feed him something by syringe, but I don't know what. My kids will be devastated when he dies.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You need to take him to the vet. He needs food in him asap. Fatty liver disease can set in as quick as 2 days of not eating. You can either get some pate style canned cat food and mix it with water to syringe feed. Another couple of options is to grind up his dry cat food and mix it with water or get some Hills A/D from the vet and use that. The Hills A/D would probably be best as its very high in nutrients.

This is a medical emergency and your hedgehog may recover with proper help. He isn't that old yet. 

What's the actually temperature in the cage?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Got to agree with Nikki. Its time to teach your kids that pets need to visit doctors and need extra care when they become sick.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

Found a vet and made appt for tomorrow. Did manage to feed him about 2ml of water with some crushed up dried cricket. I don’t have a thermometer in the cage, but nothing about his location in the house or the usual temp in the house has changed. But since you asked, I’m assuming I need to get a thermometer. I will try the cat food tonight. Thanks.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

What heating system do you have? The temperature in your house should not be the same as in your cage. Let me remind you that hedgehogs need to be 72-80 Fahrenheit at all times. If you don’t have one already, I would get a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) set up. This includes a ceramic heat emitter bulb, a CHE dome, a thermometer and a thermostat. Thermostats control the temperature of the cage. Thermometers read the temperature (I am only mentioning this because some people don’t know the difference between the two.) Also, is your hedgehog getting enough exercise? Does it use its wheel?


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

I don't have a heating system. Got him from someone who had gotten him from a breeder and had him for two years. I've had him a year and a half. He typically use wheel a lot, though his use has not been as consistent the last month or so. 

The very I found is expensive. If it is FLD, there's no way we can keep up treatments between the expense and the distance.


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## belties (Oct 2, 2018)

Ok so I have been trying to figure this out for a while now. I have a lot of experiance in the camilid (lamma-alpaca) world. Actually teach a few classes of vet and vet tec students each year about them. They are prone to getting fatty liver disease also. But in them it is caused buy extended periods of being over weight, and a few do die from it. Most animals in a no eating situation go into starvation mode and their body states feeding on its self, fat being used up first. Lack of drinking will tend to cause kidney and liver shut down. Just trying to learn some thing.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

So you don't understand how lack of eating leads to fatty liver disease?


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## belties (Oct 2, 2018)

Yes ,seems kind of odd. Thats not to say it may not cause other liver disease,more of wondering if its not the wrong name for what happens. Not a real long time hedgie person but I do have 40 plus years make a living working on animals including exotics, which can be tricky because most haven't been kept domesticly for that many years.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

Heating is very important and one of the essentials for hedgehogs. YOU NEED A HEATING SET UP!! Don’t buy a heat pad though. I know they are cheaper than a CHE setup, but they can give your hedgie bad burns. If you don’t have proper heating, your hedgehog will go into hibernation (which is fatal for hedgehogs.)


I don’t know for sure, but your hedgehog might be in hibernation right now. An easy way to tell is by feeling it’s belly. If it’s cold, he DEFINITELY has gone into hibernation. Hedgehog’s stomachs are naturally warm, but when they go into hibernation, they will be cold. If this is the case, take him to the vet immediately (which I know you are already doing.)


If this isn’t the case, you should still buy a heating set up to prevent this from happening. It is very common for owners who don’t have a heating setup for their hedgehogs to go into hibernation.

I hope this helps!


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

I don't work with animals and never have, but it does seem odd that a disease could be brought on simply by not eating for 2 days. He hasn't been overweight the entire time I've had him. And when we got him he wasn't either. Seems to have been a consistent size for the past two years at least. 
He's also done fine with the temperature in our house for the last year and a half. I don't see him developing a sensitivity to that over a day or two either. 
Just sad he's sick and wish we could do more.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

Why would he go into hibernation now? Our house temperature is consistent during the winter. And we kept it the same temperature last winter.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

Yes, but hedgehogs need to be kept at a very specific temperature range.

Also, it would be safe to check his stomach just in case. It only takes a second to check.

I am not saying that you have done anything wrong or that he has gone into hibernation. I’m merely saying that it is a possibility and that you NEED a heating set up no matter what.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

I have checked his stomach. I checked this morning. He is cooler than normal. I have him on a heating pad right now on keep warm. I know it's not a permanent solution, but it's what I could do today.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

Ok, just make sure that it is not at a very high heat. Some people try to heat their hedgehog up really fast, but this can make it even worse. Hopefully you are planning to make that heat pad temporary.

A solution that could work to stop him from hibernating is skin-to-skin contact. This can be painful, but it actually can help your hedgehog get better (if your hedgehog’s condition is very bad, it will not work however.) What you have to do is put your hedgehog under your shirt (you have to share your body heat with him.) Some people say to use a towel, but this will not share your body heat efficiently enough. Press your hedgehog firmly against your body. You might have to keep him there for 40-45 minutes. Keep him like this until he is back to normal.


However, after this is done you will need to get him a proper heating set up because once they are back to normal... they can start hibernation again if they don’t have proper heating. 

I would still take him to the vet just in case though (and if this method doesn’t work, obviously take him.) This might be something else that I’m not aware of as well which. Keep in mind, I don’t know everything that can happen to a hedgehog.

Please try this method!! My friend has had something similar happen to him, and this method helped his hedgehog get better!


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## belties (Oct 2, 2018)

What is the normal temp in your house? Younger and older animals can need higher temps. And cooler temps can affect (reduce) their activity and eating.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

Thanks!


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

Normal temp in winter is 68. That's when the heater is on. We live in Texas, so there are many days where the house is 75 because it's just not that cold outside.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

Hedgehogs can’t really be below 72 degrees. This is why a CHE set up is amazing to use. I already explained before what these make up of. The thermostat actually can control the temperature of the cage. When it gets too cold, the CHE will turn on. When it gets too hot, it will turn off. The thermometer is necessary because the thermostat (can also tell temperature) usually isn’t as accurate as the thermometer. The heating pad is good temporarily... just know that (like I said before) they can cause burns to your hedgie.


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## belties (Oct 2, 2018)

76 to 80F is a better range for them. We heat with wood so the house is real warm and keep ours upstairs where its always warmest so the CHE never runs for long but it still turns on once in a while. It is there just to make sure her pen is as perfect as we can get it. It really turns on more in the summer with the AC on than now.


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

*update*

So I had my hedgie skin to skin for about 30 minutes, until he started to get wiggly. His belly was warm. He's eaten (by syringe) twice this evening some of his regular food mushed up in water. About 3 ml total. I'm going to try giving him some wet cat food before I go to bed. I moved him back to his cage, but put the heating pad (still on low) under the side he sleeps on. I'll check on him a few times during the night. But he does seem to be perking up a little. Looking into the CHE heating system.


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## Shaymin_Lover (Jan 27, 2019)

That’s great! I’m glad it worked. Please keep us updated. 🙂


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

The heating pad was on all night. He was a nice warm temperature this morning. His eyes look brighter. He did take some water and cat food liquid by syringe. I'm going to be home today so I can feed him more often.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

He still needs to see a vet. You need to feed around 24 mls per day of food. You will also have to get a proper heating set up for him. Glad he`s doing better.


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## Prickly Rose (Jan 29, 2019)

My 10 week old hedgie's wheel is covered in yellow stuff (urine?....no poop in sight. Is this diarrhea?


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## Chowder (Jan 28, 2019)

Prickly Rose said:


> My 10 week old hedgie's wheel is covered in yellow stuff (urine?....no poop in sight. Is this diarrhea?


You probably want to make this it's own post. No one is going to see it here attached to my post


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