# Blood all over Olives cage!



## OliveJuice (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi I am new to the forum! I have had my Olive for 3 months now! So far so good! Took her to the vet the first week because she was sneezing and I think I was a little paranoid! But other than that she softened up to me just after 2 days and has been remarkably social and fun!
However, this morning I woke up to find blood all over her cage. I use carefresh bedding on one side and paper towels on the other side where her wheel and food is.
I looked to see if i could find the source and all i saw was blood on all four paws, nowhere else. 
She let me pick her up, as usual. Then I gave her a warm foot bath. Once all the blood was washed away I could not find any source. 
To my surprise she was warm and didn't seem bothered, but it looked like she lost a lot of blood, so I soaked her dry food in some water and she ate it right up... my goal was to try and hydrate her.
My biggest concern was when I was cleaning up the mess in her cage there was even more blood in her comfort wheel and even blood on the wall. I have her cage backed up to the wall so she must have been climbing. I have never seen her climb before and didn't even thing she could.

What should I do now? Take her to the vet? Keep monitoring her?

I am contemplating getting a large plastic tub for her to stay in the next few nights without her wheel. I fear that if i just take the wheel out of her cage she will get board and climb again... and possibly break a limb.

Thank you all for your time! I am excited to be a part of this forum now!


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Comfort Wheels are not safe- the ridges in the plastic can hurt sensitive hedgie feet! You can put a soft covering over it, but that makes it difficult to clean. I suggest either making a bucket wheel or buying a CSW- the smooth surface is hedgie-safe!

My suggestion is to take out the wheel and buy a new hedgie-safe one immediately. Hedgie feet heal fast, so if she's eating and drinking and pooping normally then there is no need to take her to the vet. Watch her of course, just in case, but if she's acting normally then a vet visit is just an expensive and unnecessary stress. Read up in these forums about cage setups, lining, wheels, etc-- you can avoid a lot of stress, fuss, and heart-ache by learning from all the smart people here! Good luck with cute little Olive, she's adorable btw!!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

DasIgelPoggie said:


> Comfort Wheels are not safe- the ridges in the plastic can hurt sensitive hedgie feet! You can put a soft covering over it, but that makes it difficult to clean. I suggest either making a bucket wheel or buying a CSW- the smooth surface is hedgie-safe!
> 
> My suggestion is to take out the wheel and buy a new hedgie-safe one immediately. Hedgie feet heal fast, so if she's eating and drinking and pooping normally then there is no need to take her to the vet. Watch her of course, just in case, but if she's acting normally then a vet visit is just an expensive and unnecessary stress. Read up in these forums about cage setups, lining, wheels, etc-- you can avoid a lot of stress, fuss, and heart-ache by learning from all the smart people here! Good luck with cute little Olive, she's adorable btw!!


Comfort wheels are perfectly safe for hedgehogs. A hedgie's feet will bleed, whether it is a CSW or a CW, if the hedgehog is not used to running that amount of time (your hedgie's a baby, and this seems to happen sometimes with soft baby feet! It happened to Kashi too).

The ridges might have contributed to your hedgie's peeling feet, but it should be okay once his feet toughen up. Their feet heal incredibly fast so as long as you don't see visible scabbing anywhere, I don't think it's a problem. If you see scabs, put some regular strength polysporin on it 

EDIT:
A thought occurs: How often are you giving your hedgie a foot bath? Often, if poop/pee collect on their feet for long periods of time, it can cause cracks on their feet which can lead to bleeding.


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Lol I mixed up Comfort Wheels with Silent Spinners-- my bad hahaha.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

DasIgelPoggie said:


> Lol I mixed up Comfort Wheels with Silent Spinners-- my bad hahaha.


 :lol: Most commercial wheels = crap. It's easy to get mixed up


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Just for my own clarification-- Silent Spinners are what I was thinking of with the gap between the two kinds of plastic, and it has ridges where the pieces meet that can be sharp and then voids that hedgie toes get caught in? This is the wheel I thought the Comfort Wheel was before. But I've got them straight now, right?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

DasIgelPoggie said:


> Just for my own clarification-- Silent Spinners are what I was thinking of with the gap between the two kinds of plastic, and it has ridges where the pieces meet that can be sharp and then voids that hedgie toes get caught in? This is the wheel I thought the Comfort Wheel was before. But I've got them straight now, right?


Yes, that would be the Silent Spinner.
Here's a pic of it on the Petsmart website:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2753369

The Comfort Wheel is made out of one plastic piece, and while it has ridges, they're not dangerous to the hedgehogs (getting poop off is a b!*%h though).
And here's a pic of the Comfort Wheel:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=4191237


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> (getting poop off is a b!*%h though)


Word!


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## OliveJuice (Jun 26, 2011)

I'm looking a little closer now that it has been over a day and there are scabs on all four of her paws 
She didn't eat much last night and didn't touch her wheel.
Rinsed her feet off again, any more suggestions?


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## Andreanne.Tache (Jul 1, 2014)

OMG HELP I JUST FOUND BLOOD ALL OVER MY HEDGIE'S WHEEL (FLYING SAUCER) I'M TRYING TO LOOK BUT I CAN't FIND WHERE HE'S HURT :'(


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## Andreanne.Tache (Jul 1, 2014)

I washed his feet and removed the wheel. Can't find the scars. I am worried :-(


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

Andreanne,
I cannot imagine that the blood would have been a result of the flying saucer wheel. I would recommend that you put your hedgie on plain paper towels or the white care fresh - or even a baby blanket that is white and see if you notice any blood tonight. It could be coming from his urinary tract. If you no longer see any blood I am not sure what to think - but if the feet look alright I am not sure what else you can do other than take him in to the vet for a once over.
Good luck,
Susan H.

P.S. As for hedgies running their feet raw, I have heard of it happening but have not experienced it myself.


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## Shainahmac (Jun 23, 2014)

In response to Susan:

I can see the flying saucer producing bloody feet, it does have grip ridges like the comfort wheel does. If that one can cause bloody toes, so can the saucer.


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