# I inadvertently ticked off my breeder



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

I took Petunia to the vet because she was vomiting. The vet took some X-rays to make sure there weren't any abnormal growths and whatnot. We came to an agreement that I should get her off the Purina kitten chow the breeder had her on. I have been consulting this forum to find the top recommended foods.

I keep the lines of communication open with my breeder. She got all upset to learn that I had been taking advice from other breeders instead of her. I told her that I only did so because I wanted to find a different food from what she used. She was also upset to learn that I had let the vet take X-rays of a baby hedgehog, exposing her to radiation.

Good gravy, I was only doing what I thought was best! Am I in the wrong?


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

This is just my own opinion. Whether we are experienced, new, or breeders none of us know everything and can learn a lot from each other and continue to learn more about these odd little creatures each day and should keep an open mind to better their lives. Yes radiation isn't good for babies, but sometimes it is necessary to rule out a blockage of the intestines or some other serious condition that can be found on an xray and if that's what the vet felt was necessary at the time then it probably was (not saying vets are always right because we all know that there are times even they don't know everything so sometimes its good to even double check them ).


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Sounds like the breeder has a 'holier then thou' personality. I feel like an X Ray was fine, considering the radiation was probably a low dose and it helped reassure that there were no problems.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

You did what you felt was best for your hog  the breeder will get over it.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I think you did the right thing. Better to do the xrays and rule out a blockage or other nasties. Chow brand foods are CRAP so weaning her off it is a good idea.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

My expression right now is :roll: (at the breeder, not you!). It's a bit ridiculous for a breeder to get mad at you for wanting to get opinions from numerous experienced people, not just one. It also shows that it's very likely this breeder doesn't bother to collaborate with other breeders and experienced owners, finding out what works for those people or what they had problems with. With animals in general, and hedgehogs in particular (since they're so new to the pet world), it seems like the best course of action is to keep in contact with many other owners and breeders that you can share experiences and information with. We all encounter different situations and problems with our animals, and someday you could have a problem that another person has already experienced and they can share advice on how to deal with it based on their knowledge of it. If you didn't have that person to ask, you'd be clueless and possibly cause more harm. That's why these forums are so great, that people can easily get in contact with others and share experiences and information and learn new things about these amazing little guys.

I honestly don't see where you did anything wrong, with food or x-rays. Purina kitten chow shouldn't be fed to kittens or hedgehogs with all the dyes and crap they use, and if the vet thought it was best to have x-rays done and make sure there were no serious problems...Well then, fine. Hedgehogs are small animals, but I don't see how a couple x-rays could cause a huge amount of damage.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

As a breeder I would be happy if a new owner took her baby to the vet and made sure everything was ok, even if it required x-rays. I also agree with Nancy that Purina kitty chow is crap and the breeder shouldn't be feeding it to start with.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I was feeling a bit stressed over the situation.

I'm not trying to make her look bad, I know that she's very experienced with hedgies (certified, been breeding 13 years, has 8 year old hedgehogs). However I agree with all of you that there are many different ways to care for hedgies, and while her method seems to work for her, it might not work for everyone.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

This is coming from a vet tech instructor...

Our pets do NOT live nearly long enough for the effects of x-rays to TRUELY show their colours. So we must do what we must to help solve problems of our pets, who cannot talk. If we must x-ray, then we must x-ray. In the long run, it really doesn't matter whether or not we expose them to x-ray, because they are not here for nearly as long as humans. 

At least with the x-rays, we can hope to prolong our pets for as long as possible, to find out what may be wrong and solve it to allow them a long and happy life. 

Quite honestly, it sounds like your breeder is a bit insecure. Most breeders should LOVE to learn different opinions on how something can be done. It's how society as a whole learns. If everyone stuck to doing just what they know, what's the point of going to school? What's the point of working with other people? The purpose of life is to work with others and try to improve upon the current knowledge. If people didn't communicate and learn from each other, we'd probably still be stuck in the dark ages  (this is coming from taking prehistory as a gen.ed)


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