# Spaying question and bathing for new rehome



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Hi. I just brought home a rehome hedgie yesterday named, Izzy (Isabelle). I was wondering about spaying. I'm taking her to the vet for the first time on Thursday and maybe you all can help me with some information and helpful questions to ask the vet.

(Some of this information was posted on another thread.....the original topic got off-topic, so I wanted to move it).

*Part A:* I understand that females can have problems if not neutered and not breeding. What are the pros and cons of having a one year old female neutered?

1) Will there be a personality change after surgery? (Although she's very huffy and sounds like a rattle snake because she hasn't been handled.) Maybe a personality change might be good. 

2)Also, if she is fixed right away, will she relate the pain of surgery to me and interfere with our bonding?

3) Anesthesia is risky for any hedgie, but do the risks increase because she is a year old?

4) Is she too old to benefit from the good the surgery would do, or does her risk of cancer and other problems increase still? I've heard some horrible stories about precious girls (hedgies) expelling their uterus......are these females who have been bred and gave birth or "virgin" hedgies?

Basically, I want some opinions on if the benefits outweigh the risks. I can make it so Harvey and Izzy never meet face to face (or other parts meeting  ), if the risk is too great for surgery now.

*Part B:* Another question is about bathing. She really smells, but her skin looks like it's in good condition. I don't think the younger brother ever bathed her and the woman I got her from probably didn't either. I haven't seen her feet to see the condition they are in (nail length and poopy boots, etc). I just wanted to let her settle and get accustomed to her cage and not being in the car for several hours.

When should I bathe her? I don't want to overwhelm her with so many changes at once.

Concluding this novel, any information about spaying and about a good time to bathe her would be great.

Thanks so much for your help and support.

P.S. She is currently in quarentine away from ALL of my pets for the next thirty days. I imagine that she may have some issues because she was neglected. Plus her immunity to anything my pets may be carrying would be low from a stressful car trip home.


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

I don't know on the spaying, but I bathed my new hedgehogs on the 4th day of handling because they were REALY bad! Hedgie had a infection on his foot because he was never bathed, EVER! The people had him for a year and I felt SO bad for him, we cured his infection and gave his bath and he loves baths now. Norah my little girl got her bath because her quills were bothering her, I gave her one and she acted like she was in heaven! I got positive responce with my hedgies, maybe you will too! I guess hedgehogs think that warm water soothes them or something!


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Thank you for posting.  I think I will give her a couple days then try a bath. I will try to give her a look over tonight to check her feet. She is just a ball of tight little quills because she wasn't handled. If worse comes to worse, I think I have a clear baking dish I can set her in and look at her feet that way.

Harvey really likes the water, but does not like the toothbrush I wash him with. :roll: I hope Izzy reacts the same way.....to water, not to the toothbrush. :lol:


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## JLF1995 (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm sure she will relax in a warm bath, I think everyone enjoys a warm bath every once in a while!


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

Clémentine was spayed this spring and I didn`t notice any change in personnality. She had a bad reaction to the anesthesia (she was really lethargic and had temporary paralysis in one of her feet) but I don`t know if it could be because of her age. She`ll be 2 years old next month.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Olympia said:


> Clémentine was spayed this spring and I didn`t notice any change in personnality. She had a bad reaction to the anesthesia (she was really lethargic and had temporary paralysis in one of her feet) but I don`t know if it could be because of her age. She`ll be 2 years old next month.


Thank you so much for posting that. That is certainly something that I can bring up to my vet on Thursday. Did you spay her for the health benefits or because of other reasons?


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I got a look at her feet tonight. It takes her a long time to come out of a ball and stop hissing. Then if I even move a bit, we start the process all over again. 

I could only see from her walking around. It looks like her back nails are extremely long. I'll have my vet give them a clip on Thursday. I just want to build rapport right now. Better she associates that with him than me. That will give me some time to play with her feet a bit so she's used to me handling her.

Also, I got a good look at her ears. She is missing most of the left one. The thin part that sticks up is completely gone. It's just like looking directly inside her ear. It looks like an old injury/problem. The woman I got her from has no idea how it happened and I believe that it did not happen while he was in her care. She told me she got Izzy from her little brother and that he was abusing/neglecting her. It looks completely healed though and no sign of infection/swelling.


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## KathyTNY (Jan 21, 2011)

Lots of hugs for taking a rehomed pog! I was given a rehome 2 year old female for my first hedgehog and now Tiggy and I are joined at the hip! She is the most loveable, sweet hedgehog !!!!!   She was not abused, but she was just left alone pretty much....... Then it "got out" that I love hedgehogs and the next thing you know, I was given one of Tiggy's poglets - Pippin. He also was not abused just totally ignored by an 11 year old who thought he wanted a hedgehog!!!! He is a harder "nut" to crack - I know he is so much happier and definately spoiled rotten, but he is not as warm and fuzzy as his mother! :roll: I love him just the same!  

Having said all that, I just wanted to let you know that with both pogs, I did not wait but a couple days to give them a nice soothing bath. They were needless to say, filthy and I needed to check out their feet/nails etc. It was a little while before I did their nails.

Good luck - just love Izzy and all the rest will fall into place...... with time! 
Kathy


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Thanks KathyTNY! I'm headed up stairs right now to put her in the sink then cuddle her in a towel. Some hedgies aren't cuddly. Harvey really isn't, but he gives me other clues that he loves me. <3 Just like people, hedgies all love in their own way.


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

> Did you spay her for the health benefits or because of other reasons?


`

It was for health reasons. There was some white substance in Clémentine's urine almost every day with no other symptoms or problems. After some tests and x-rays, the vet concluded it was probably a uterus problem and we decided to spay her. There is still some of the white substance in her urine once in a while (but it happens really rarely now) so I'm not sure if the problem was really with her uterus. The week after the surgery was difficult for her (and me!) but now she's doing great.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2011)

I read through a few older topics and this is what I drew up as a conclusion to your question (by no means am I an expert)

Part A: I understand that females can have problems if not neutered and not breeding. What are the pros and cons of having a one year old female neutered?

1) Will there be a personality change after surgery? (Although she's very huffy and sounds like a rattle snake because she hasn't been handled.) Maybe a personality change might be good.

_1A) Not to sure about this its always possible if her huffiness were somewhat hormonal imbalance related but being induced ovulation animals I don't think that's likely_

2)Also, if she is fixed right away, will she relate the pain of surgery to me and interfere with our bonding?

_2A) That's not likely in my opinion but I suppose it would vary on the individual personality, I am sure after the recovery all would be forgotten._

3) Anesthesia is risky for any hedgie, but do the risks increase because she is a year old?

_3A) I've heard it can be risky and I am sure age factors in to it, only heard of a few not waking up and I think a lot of them were already ill. I know it can make a hedgehog less active and temporarily paralyzed._

4) Is she too old to benefit from the good the surgery would do, or does her risk of cancer and other problems increase still? I've heard some horrible stories about precious girls (hedgies) expelling their uterus......are these females who have been bred and gave birth or "virgin" hedgies?

_4A) I have heard that spaying can save them from their more common cancer and they still can live healthy_

As I stated in the other thread even if she is spayed I would really avoid introducing her to the male as he will still have his hormones and will actively seek out mating with her which I don't think she'll enjoy every time they meet for play time and stopping your male from performing it when he is near her will just result in making him sexually frustrated which IMO could result in a very disgruntled hedgehog.

That's just my opinion on it since no one else has commented on this part of it and I thought they would by now. By no means am I an expert in hedgehogs, just my thoughts.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

For a healthy female, spaying when done by an experienced vet is no more risky at a year, two years or even 3 years. We had a 4 year old spayed due to uterine issues and she came through it great. Of course there is more risk as they get older, but not at a year. As always, there is a risk with an anesthesia as some will react adversely to it. 

Being spayed will eliminate all risk of reproductive cancers that our girls are so prone to. 

It is highly doubtful that spaying will improve her temperament. Time and gentle care would do more for that then a spay. 

I'm also not sure if she would associate the spay with you or not but I think if I were going to have her done, I would do it sooner rather than later so you can start working on the trust immediately after the spay.

Does she have a wheel? If not, don't give her one until after the spay. What she doesn't have she won't miss and she won't be able to have the wheel for a week, sometimes two after the spay and often they go nuts when the wheel is taken away.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> I read through a few older topics and this is what I drew up as a conclusion to your question (by no means am I an expert)
> 
> Part A: I understand that females can have problems if not neutered and not breeding. What are the pros and cons of having a one year old female neutered?
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for your response. The personality change was just a joke because she's so huffy and timid right now. The people I got her from never held her or really interacted with her. She was just kept in a very small aquarium. I don't expect her to "come out of her shell" after the spay. I was just wondering if things would get worse, really.

I think it is a good idea to keep Izzy and Harvey separate. You're right, Harvey still has all of his equipment and would get frustrated and even change his personality. I'm sure it would scare Izzy too because she's never had a lot of interaction, especially with other hedgies.

Thanks again for all your help! It is much appreciated. Can you think of any questions I could ask my vet that I didn't think of?


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Nancy said:


> For a healthy female, spaying when done by an experienced vet is no more risky at a year, two years or even 3 years. We had a 4 year old spayed due to uterine issues and she came through it great. Of course there is more risk as they get older, but not at a year. As always, there is a risk with an anesthesia as some will react adversely to it.
> 
> Being spayed will eliminate all risk of reproductive cancers that our girls are so prone to.
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing your experience. I didn't think her temperment would improve with a spay, that was just a joke. I was just wondering really if things would get worse.

Yes, she does have a wheel. I stopped at the store on the way home with her to buy a comfort wheel because she had none. I felt so bad for her not being able to run. An hour after I put it in the cage, she knew exactly what to do with it. She loves it, so I guess I'll have to take it out when she recovers.

But, what about extra play pen time to make up for not having a wheel? Do you think that would help or would it be just as dangerous as her wheeling?

Also, can you think of any questions that I've missed so I could ask my vet? I take Izzy this evening at 5:00 Eastern standard time.

Thanks for all your help.


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## Annabelle (Mar 19, 2011)

I agree with what's already been posted. I had Annabelle spayed this May due to health issues, there was persistant blood in her urine and it turned out she had endometriosis (sp?). I opted to get a biopsy done so we'd know for sure, thank god it wasn't cancer (!) otherwise it could have spread and well... 

In future I would/will look into getting the females hedgies spayed to avoid further problems. The surgery itself was expensive enough, without the extra costs of all the previous vet visits and test they'd dont before hand. Also, because she was losing so much blood she was anemic and surgery was risky, but if they didn't do it she'd lose more blood and the cycle continues.

I've had her since September and we got this done in May so we were as bonded as we'll ever be :lol: she's never been super friendly but I think when I went to pick her up she was actually happy to see me. I'd say it probably wouldn't really affect your bonding. It's just hard to pick them up post-surgery for about a week until the incision heals better. But I still took her out everyday and pet her. I'd suggest waiting until she crawls into a hedgie bag or something that you can gently pick up without touching her belly and then petting her. Best of luck


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