# Vomiting Hedgie



## Liz

Hi. I am new to the forum and I am trying to figure out what could be wrong with my little girl. We recently got her from a friend and she has been fine up until a couple days ago when she started throwing up. I am not sure what I am doing wrong and that kind of scares me, so any help/advice would be GREATLY appreciated.


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## shaelikestaquitos

What color is the vomit? Has she been eating/drinking/pooping properly?

Go see a vet ASAP.


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## Hodgeroo

Did the vomiting start after driving somewhere? Some hedgies get carsick. Or it could be an allergy. Did you recently change foods? Did you use any cleaners anywhere around your hedgie's cage that she could be reacting to? Has your hedgehog been outside? It is possible if she ate a bug or plant outside that it had a pesticide or chemical on it. Those are some possibilities. You should still take her to a vet even if one of those seems to be the case, because it could be something more serious/she could be dehydrated and need medical help. I hope your hedgie gets better soon!


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## Liz

The vomit is kind of a dark grey color. Today, she seems to be mostly just dry-heaving. As far as food goes she has been eating normally. When it comes to water, I am not sure. For a while she was knocking her bedding into her dish and therefore it would soak up and we were not able to really keep an eye on how much she was drinking. We even tried a water bottle but all she would do with it was pull it back and let it bang on the side of the cage. She has not been outside or riding since we got her and we have tried different foods with her than what she was used to. But I can tell you this, she definitely does poop.

Previous owners gave her:
Wellness, 8 in 1 ultra bites for hedgehogs fruit and veggie treats, and meal worms (according to the previous owners, if you fed her a mealworm without feeding her something else first, she would vomit)

We have fed her the same except for the meal worms but also introduced her to:
banana-would not touch it
chicken and gravy organic baby food- Loves it!
turkey and gravy organic baby food- likes it but not as much as the chicken
3 crickets (petco ones)- she ate them faster than you could imagine but I am not sure if they may have been what could have made her sick
8 in 1 premium ferret fruit and veggie crunch treat- she only ate some once (the day after we got her) because after trying the pieces with her, we decided to feed her her other food and use the ferret stuff as a "last resort" if we run out of food because we had heard both good and bad things about giving it to hedgies


Thanks Hodgeroo


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## shaelikestaquitos

Liz said:


> The vomit is kind of a dark grey color. Today, she seems to be mostly just dry-heaving. As far as food goes she has been eating normally. When it comes to water, I am not sure. For a while she was knocking her bedding into her dish and therefore it would soak up and we were not able to really keep an eye on how much she was drinking. We even tried a water bottle but all she would do with it was pull it back and let it bang on the side of the cage. She has not been outside or riding since we got her and we have tried different foods with her than what she was used to. But I can tell you this, she definitely does poop.
> 
> Previous owners gave her:
> Wellness, 8 in 1 ultra bites for hedgehogs fruit and veggie treats, and meal worms (according to the previous owners, if you fed her a mealworm without feeding her something else first, she would vomit)
> 
> We have fed her the same except for the meal worms but also introduced her to:
> banana-would not touch it
> chicken and gravy organic baby food- Loves it!
> turkey and gravy organic baby food- likes it but not as much as the chicken
> 3 crickets (petco ones)- she ate them faster than you could imagine but I am not sure if they may have been what could have made her sick
> 8 in 1 premium ferret fruit and veggie crunch treat- she only ate some once (the day after we got her) because after trying the pieces with her, we decided to feed her her other food and use the ferret stuff as a "last resort" if we run out of food because we had heard both good and bad things about giving it to hedgies
> 
> Thanks Hodgeroo


8 in 1 ultra bites is not good for hedgehogs. It contains foods that are a choking hazard. All snacks containing dried fruits and nuts should be avoided ad they can be choking hazards.

If she's dry-heaving, she's not eating D:

Please try to get her to drink water (give it to her in a bowl). Change her bedding to cloth liners, that way you can avoid the bedding getting in the water.

I have never heard of a hedgehog vomiting after eating mealies and nothing else first. Maybe someone who has more experience will chime in... but I really think you should go see a vet ASAP.

Ferret food is also not good for hedgehogs; it's too high in protein!


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## Liz

shaelikestaquitos said:


> 8 in 1 ultra bites is not good for hedgehogs. It contains foods that are a choking hazard. All snacks containing dried fruits and nuts should be avoided ad they can be choking hazards.
> 
> If she's dry-heaving, she's not eating D:
> 
> Please try to get her to drink water (give it to her in a bowl). Change her bedding to cloth liners, that way you can avoid the bedding getting in the water.
> 
> I have never heard of a hedgehog vomiting after eating mealies and nothing else first. Maybe someone who has more experience will chime in... but I really think you should go see a vet ASAP.
> 
> Ferret food is also not good for hedgehogs; it's too high in protein!


Ok. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately these are things I have heard as far as the foods go but I was doing as told (the 8 in 1 as a treat and crush it, water in a bowl[thats what i have her water in], ferret food only as an emergency. I am going to get in touch with a vet tomorrow and see what I can find out. I just wanted to see what yall thought as far as immediate care/help til I her to the vet would be.


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## Hodgeroo

Definitely try to get her to drink water, and maybe put the dish on a cloth or something solid to keep it up off the bedding. I don't suppose you use some sort of paper bedding/liter? That is the only thing I could think of causing gray vomit. It may be that she ingested some of the bedding, and as some kinds of paper bedding have chemical residues, she could be reacting badly to that. If you think that is possible I would pull out the bedding for now (if you don't have any cloth liners, you could use some old t-shirts or a fleece blanket as a substitute for now). Also, I'd just stick to the Wellness food tonight just in case she has a food allergy to one of the new foods. I'm sure the vet will be able to help more!


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## Liz

Hodgeroo said:


> Definitely try to get her to drink water, and maybe put the dish on a cloth or something solid to keep it up off the bedding. I don't suppose you use some sort of paper bedding/liter? That is the only thing I could think of causing gray vomit. It may be that she ingested some of the bedding, and as some kinds of paper bedding have chemical residues, she could be reacting badly to that. If you think that is possible I would pull out the bedding for now (if you don't have any cloth liners, you could use some old t-shirts or a fleece blanket as a substitute for now). Also, I'd just stick to the Wellness food tonight just in case she has a food allergy to one of the new foods. I'm sure the vet will be able to help more!


The bedding is Carefresh in [i believe] "ultra", its the totally white one.
The reason I dont think it is the bedding is because it is the same that the previous owner had her in.
The food allergy could be a possibility though so I will stick to the wellness.

Thanks for your help


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## SnufflePuff

You still NEED to take your hedgehog to a vet. This is not a suggestion or a I'll find a vet if I'm worried situation.

Vomitting in any animal should not be ignored, ESPECIALLY hedgehogs - because honestly they very RARELY vomit and when they do it's usually something serious. Even if your hedgehog is still pooping, she could have a partial blockage in her intestines (especially if you were feeding those treats), she could have a gastrointestinal issue such as an infection or vomitting can even been symptom of liver or kidney failure.

Even if the vomitting is from something as simple as an allergy your hedgehog WILL get dehyrdated. Pick up some children's pedialyte electrolyte solution and offer it in a bowl or syringe it into the mouth (sideways not directly in).

That being said if she's DRY-heaving I'd be REALLY concerned that she either has nothing left in her to vomit or that she could have something stuck in her throat.

Please please please find a vet ASAP and get this checked out!!!!


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## Liz

There are not any vets around here that specialize in hedgehogs or even exotics.
However, I did find a vet that knew about them and agreed to see Sugar and me today.
Since I had gathered Sugar's feces for the past two days, the vet used it to look for parasites, worms, etc. and found nothing(yeay!)
When the vet listened to Sugar, she heard congestion but mostly in her right side.
The vet ended up giving Sugar 3 different medicines and sent me home with one to give her every day and check back with her if the problem persists.
The vet said the medicine I have to give her tastes like banana pudding but she does not like bananas and so the vet said I should try to mix it with something to give it to her. 
(any suggestions?)


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## shaelikestaquitos

Liz said:


> There are not any vets around here that specialize in hedgehogs or even exotics.
> However, I did find a vet that knew about them and agreed to see Sugar and me today.
> Since I had gathered Sugar's feces for the past two days, the vet used it to look for parasites, worms, etc. and found nothing(yeay!)
> When the vet listened to Sugar, she heard congestion but mostly in her right side.
> The vet ended up giving Sugar 3 different medicines and sent me home with one to give her every day and check back with her if the problem persists.
> The vet said the medicine I have to give her tastes like banana pudding but she does not like bananas and so the vet said I should try to mix it with something to give it to her.
> (any suggestions?)


Is it in liquid form? Any chance you can syringe feed her, or inject it in some crickets and trick her into eating them?

You are a good hedgie mommy for taking her to the vet ^_^

What exactly was wrong wither? I mean, what did they mean by congestion? @[email protected]


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## Judi

My hedgies love soy yogurt...that might disguise the banana flavor, especially the peach yogurt. You might just put it on a spoon and see if she'd lick it first.

I've never had an animal who enjoyed taking medicine, so my general method (works on toddlers too) is to grab them and squirt the medicine far enough back in the mouth that they have to swallow. If you blow in their nostrils, most animals will automatically swallow. If she'll let you hold her by the scruff, that makes giving medicine easier.


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## Midevalmiss

Judi said:


> I've never had an animal who enjoyed taking medicine, so my general method (works on toddlers too) is to grab them and squirt the medicine far enough back in the mouth that they have to swallow. If you blow in their nostrils, most animals will automatically swallow. If she'll let you hold her by the scruff, that makes giving medicine easier.


LOL Works on todlers to!! :lol: :lol:


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## Midevalmiss

oh for getting them to take the meds I just get a little bit of wet cat food and mix in the meds and put a few millworms in ther for good measer


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## Liz

shaelikestaquitos said:


> Is it in liquid form? Any chance you can syringe feed her, or inject it in some crickets and trick her into eating them?
> 
> You are a good hedgie mommy for taking her to the vet ^_^
> 
> What exactly was wrong wither? I mean, what did they mean by congestion? @[email protected]


Yes it is a liquid that the vet measured into syringes for me.

Thanks for the compliment! I do my best with all my animals!

The best way to describe the congestion is instead of the "huff" noise they make while in a ball, hers sounded wet. Kinda like when you or I do when we get sick and our coughs sound a little wet. The vet said when the meds she gave Sugar in the office and by me stinking with giving the meds to her, then she should be fine soon.


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## Liz

Thank yall for all of the suggestions! They really mean a lot and have really helped! 
but please do keep them coming if you do not mind!
I would like to be able to have options in case she does not like some of them cuz trust me, 
She is PICKY!


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