# another ear infection



## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Last night when we had Quinn out we realized that her ear is bleeding again  . I just called the vet to see if I can give Quinn the ear drops that she had last time and I explained to them that I can't really afford to take her in again. Since I just took her in last month and took Sasha in 2 weeks ago...I'm broke and have no vet reserves anymore. Anyways they're going to call me back and I'm hoping that I can just give her the drops again. I hope she's ok and its just an ear infection again. I will keep everyone updated! :x


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Oh no! Poor Quinn  I hope you can get the drops without having to take her in. Hopefully she feels better soon. Sending her some good health vibes!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Since it's back so soon, perhaps she needs more than drops. Often they prescribe both antibiotic and drops.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Hahaha Nancy you're too smart! Because when I called the vet they said to try the drops again and if it reoccurs then we have to take Quinn in and they would give her some antibiotics. They probably would of done it now but I couldn't afford the appointment (because of Quinn and Sasha both going to the vet recently). But I'm saving up again for a vet reserve so I can take her in again if I need to in a couple of weeks.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Update:
So I've been using the drops since Mon. and it's not going away  . I think it might be hurting now because she's getting huffy with me which she never does. She even had her quills up when I picked her up which again she never does. 
The vet called me yesterday to check up on Quinn and they told me to call them Mon or Tues when the dosage is up. If the ear infection is still present then I will take her in. I feel so bad for her right now and she hates the drops soooo much!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I would take her in now and get her on antibiotic. Ear infections are nothing to mess with and if she is showing behaviour changes, it needs to be dealt with now rather than 3 or 4 days from now. If the drops were going to work, they would have been working and she wouldn't be getting worse. 

Hugs


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I'd go in now and get oral antibiotics. If it doesn't start to clear up soon, I'd be asking doc to do a culture & sensitivity just in case. If this continues to get worse, his ear drum may rupture. If it does you will likely find yellow/white fluid or blood coming from the ear. Inner ear infections are painful, ruptured ear drums appear to be more so (based on what I saw in Cooper). If it does rupture, do not freak out. They do heal. It takes a while but they do heal.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! the problem is I don't get paid until Monday anyways and I have family over from Calgary this weekend, so I really don't have the funds or the time. I would have already taken her but since I took both her and Sasha recently have gone to the vet my funds for the vet were used up. 
I'm glad to hear that if it ruptures it will heal. But when they give me oral antibiotics next week how do I get her to take it? Also, when she's on antibiotics how long before she feels relief? Thanks for all the help and advice everyone has provided.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

oppps sorry one more question: What's a culture and sensitivity? Im pretty sure I know what a culture is but sensitivity?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Culture & sensitivity is where they take a sample and try to grow it to determine what bacteria/fungus etc is causing the problem. The sensitivity test is where they take whatever grows and test to see what antibiotics will kill it, which antibiotics the growth is the most sensitive to, ie which works the best.

Antibiotics can be a trick. If you are able to get ear drops in, you should be able to approach the side of her mouth with a syringe and give her meds that way. Sometimes you have to be very patient and continually tell them what you are trying to do to get them used to it. Antibiotics typically start to work fairly quickly. But ask this question to your vet as each infection and antibiotic works a little differently.

Oh one more note, I don't mean to sound like to not take a ruptured ear drum seriously, it should be seen by a vet as it may require flushing and treatment. Seeing blood coming from your hedgehog's ear though can be absolutely frightening though.


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Oh no, poor Quinn! I can't believe she's been struggling with ear infections again  I wonder if it's like with human babies - some little kids are really prone to inner ear infections, and get them really frequently, but eventually grow out of them. I hope she feels better soon...

When you get oral antibiotics, they're not fun. I had to scruff Misha to get him to take it, because he would just ball up if the syringe came anywhere near him. And it's important they you don't give them to her on an empty stomach. So, what my boyfriend and I would do, is I would prepare a bowl of carnivore care or hills a/d... sometimes with a tiny bit of pumpkin mixed in, too. Then I would put on gardening gloves, and scruff Misha, and my boyfriend would gently insert the tip of the syringe in the corner of his mouth, behind his back teeth. Then after a syringe of food, we'd follow with the antibiotic syringe. Stressful for everyone involved, but it worked!

I hope the eardrops start to work soon though, and if not, that the antibiotics make everything better. Good luck and post updates!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I just realized I called Misha a her. My brain was obviously in neutral this morning. :lol:


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Nancy said:


> I just realized I called Misha a her. My brain was obviously in neutral this morning. :lol:


Hehe, Nancy, in this thread you called Quinn a her, which is correct... and in my thread about Misha's odd eating habits, you called him a him, also correctly, so all is good! I think you may have mixed up the two threads, AFTER the fact :lol: I think too many overlapping threads about hedgie sicknesses are confusing. And I don't know where we'd all be without your advice, so whatever pronouns you use is fine by me


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

That's what happens when I go from one thread to another. At least I got it right even though I didn't think I did. :lol:


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Hahaha! it is quite confusing with the names and who's who when you're reading so many threads! @ Nancy
I went to the vet yesterday (because some people were making me feel bad and now I litteraly can't afford any groceries this week. I'm not saying my hedgies isn't important to me but really its more impotant for me to eat. And now I know how some people feel when they are pretty much attacked) and they gave me oral antibiotics. Im going to try to trick her into eating it on her owm lol by putting it on a cricket or a mealie. It's only 0.05mL so hopefully she won't notice lol. I want to try this first because it sounds scary and stressful trying to force it with seringe lol @ moothecow, but hopefully its working for you and Misha is getting better  .
Anyways if anyone has any advice on how to get them to take the meds orally that would be great! And if you don't have anything supportive to say or try to make people feel like a bad hedgie owner then please don't say anything at all. Thanks!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I had one of my babies die from an ear infection. She started digging at her ear 8 weeks after going to her new home. It was thought to be mites because the owners other hedgehog was being treated for mites. They treated her for mites and for a week or so, she quit bugging her ear. Then she started again and was taken to the vet and diagnosed with an ear infection. She was put on antibiotic but after it was gone, she was still digging at her ear so was put on baytril. After 4 or 5 days on baytril still no improvement and she had an appointment to go back for a culture and sensitivity but the owners came home from work and found she had passed away. It was felt that the infection just got too bad and it overwhelmed her little body. 

This is why I say that ear infections need to be treated quickly. Not to say that all ear infections are going to end up like that, but it can happen. 

Nobody is trying to make you feel bad. None of us have a money tree in our backyards and we all understand finances. Unfortunately, illness rarely waits for a financially convenient time to happen. If you are a regular client of the vet, they should be able to bill you and take payment next week when you get paid.


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

How's Quinn doing? Poor hedgie. And poor you... I'm so sorry you felt pressured and attacked. It's not easy, and it's especially not easy when balancing minimal finances. Can Dr. Munn bill you later, in the future? It might be an option. Or, credit card? I'm sure you explored lots of options, but these are just-in-case suggestions. 

Did you manage with the antibiotics? Misha's antibiotics process had been stressful for all involved. Scruffing was the ONLY way we could get him to take them, especially since he wasn't eating, yet had to take them with food. But two people doing it is much easier, as I scruffed and Will syringed. And after scruffing I apologized to Misha profusely :lol:


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Dr. Munn's office is great! They gave me 50% off the appointment price and I put the cost on my credit card (which I hate doing because I hate debt) but I really appreciate the discount. They also call about twice a week to check in with Quinn to see how she's doing, they really care and they're amazing!
They gave me some oral antibiotics and an oral pain killer. I tricked her into taking it though lol. I cut a cricket in half but not all the way through (easier if they're frozen) and use the syringe to put the required amount of meds into the cricket. It takes 2 crickets for each med and she gobbles them all up. The vet also gave me some extra syringes to use for the ear drops (the vet said to keep doing the eardrops too), that way they pressure being used to push out the drops into the ear is greater and it should find its way better into the ear.
All of this is definately helping because she's back to her regular wheeling habits and is back to loving laidback personality. Hopefully this is the end of this ear infection! 

How's Misha doing? Getting better?


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Oh I'm so glad she's feeling better! Did Dr. Munn say how to prevent future infections, or at least to lessen the chance of them? (Also, they're so great. So nice of them to charge you only half as much and to keep following up. I'm glad we have an actual hedgehog vet in our city).

Crickets with antibiotics sounds like a great idea! I'll try it next time Misha needs antibiotics (though hopefully there won't be a next time). 

I think his minimal eating is definitely because of the heat. There were two nights that were especially hot, and he only ate 4-5 kibble on those (but then ate a lot the following nights). Because of the extreme heat alert, Will is staying home to change Misha's rice ice packs every two hours or so, to make sure he survives the day :| I'm buying an air conditioner as soon as I'm back from vacation.


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