# Ralph - update



## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

So i followed the vets instructions and gave Ralph carnivore care - following a potential 4 times daily schedule and it just didn't seem like enough at the time.....not at the rate he was losing weight.
I got home yesterday and weighed him and he had lost even more weight and he was the sorriest sight I have seen in a very long time. I managed to give him another cc of carnivore care but he was so weak and frail. His body went inwards where it should have gone outwards, I could feel his bones and he looked just like an empty bag of bones and spikes. He could barely stand up and was really unsteady. Of course I was a snivelling, bawling wreck by the time my boyfriend came in about 20 mins later.
So a quick call to the vet and the emergency animal hospital, we decided that we were just going to feed him as much as he would take every couple of hours, hence a mercy dash to the local vet just as they were closing for Hills A/D as we really hadn't been given nearly enough Carnivore care for our needs and I'm certain Ralph would not have made it to today otherwise.

Last night was quite stressful for all concerned. Ralph has figured out that if he clenches his little teeth, there's no way a syringe is going in and Hills A/D is waaaaaay messier than Carnivore Care - well it is in our experience :roll: 
We fed him every few hours, even in the wee hours of the morning - it's so sad, we have to unball him and make him take the syringe - I'm sure he's giving me the hedgie death stare every time - we're getting a couple of cc or so into him each time - i did manage to find a new technique to get the syringe in before he clenches his teeth.....but he has to start chewing first....
The other thing was, that we cooked him his favourite treat....hamburger - which thankfully he tucked into on his own...so my boyfriend added a bit of extra fat to it - Ralph then wouldn't touch it!! we couldn't believe it...the little guy is essentially starving to death AND he's being picky about his food!!!! :shock: so we just let him tuck into the regular hamburger.... *sigh* We also mixed a bit of hamburger with the Hills A/D...yeah.....no.

We have managed to pump him up by 15g by doing this - BUT he hasn't pooped yet...I am kinda hoping this is not all a bad thing and means his little body is hanging onto the food and he is actually getting some nutrition from it instead of it going straight through him.
i was going to bring him into work today but we decided we will let him sleep and have a relatively normal day without constant interruption and the stress of a car ride - we left him some hamburger - and so he could calm down a bit.

I have called the vet for the results from the lab but nothing yet.....

It is heart-breaking to see him in this state, frail and weak...I just hope we're doing enough to keep him going until we find out what's wrong. If there's nothing we can do then fine, but if we can do something and help the lil guy through, i'd much rather be doing that than nothing.

Thanks for listening (reading.....whatever :| )


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## I<3Hejji (Aug 29, 2010)

Oh I am so sorry you are going through this! Hopefully Ralph will let you feed him more and start gaining weight. He might not be pooping if he is not moving around/wheeling as much as normal because inactivity can slow down the GI tract. I hope your vet gets results soon and you will get answers on what is going on with Ralph!


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm so sorry Ralph is sick! It sounds like you're doing everything you can which is great. 

It really breaks out hearts to see the little buggers sick and weak. It was devastating to see Mustard so debilitated when she got very sick and dehydrated a couple of months ago. 

Has he been drinking water? I know they can get dehydrated very fast and they do look miserable when it happens. If you're not sure, pinch the skin on his back -- it should go back to normal immediately. If it takes a few seconds he might be dehydrated and you might want to start giving water with a syringe or talk to your vet about giving him sub-q fluids. 

I hope you get the results from the lab soon and Ralph recovers from it in no time!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Poor, sweet Ralph. I hope he feels better soon! I really feel for you. I know you're so worried about him.


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

thanks for the replies, kind words and for the tid-bits of info.  

We have been giving him some fluids in the syringe but i will check him properly when i get home today...i think the vet mentioned about sub-q fluids too...

i never really thought about the lack of activity = lack of pooping....that might be a reasonable explanation.

i keep checking my phone to see if it's still working every 5 minutes.....just waiting for that vet call......


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

the vet called.....the results of Ralph's poop test are inconclusive - it was kind of a small sample - but the best we could do at the time...... so she is prescribing a broad spectrum med which is an anti-inflammatory and an anti-biotic (and he's not going to like the taste apparently - not sure of the name of it) She said that they couldn't see any parasites or bacteria but it doesn't absolutely mean that there isn't anything because of the size of the sample BUT there were alot of white blood cells apparently, probably due to the inflammation she said (?)
She did say about growing a culture with the sample but that can take 3-7 days and i don't think we would have that long....he was 125g yesterday.......

Hopefully this is going to work for the lil doodle and he'll be back piling on the g's soon!!


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

not to worry you even more, but not pooping is not a good sign. how does his tummy feel?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

The med is probably Metronidazole. It is horrid horrid tasting so be sure you mix it with a bit of the A/D. I've had a couple that vomited it back up if I didn't disguise it enough. 

How much weight has he lost? Poor little guy.


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## PJsMom (Nov 20, 2010)

i am so sorry for little ralph and for you for going through all this so soon. i'll keep you both in my prayers..


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Sorry to hear what you guys are going through, I hope he bounces back and makes a full recovery. Sending well wishes your way.


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

Thanks all for the well wishes, I'm sure Ralph is as appreciative as we are 

Ralph had pooped when I got home, so we are relieved about that as only hedgie owners can be i guess  
It was a reasonable colour and consistency too so fingers crossed his insides are doing their job!

The vet did prescribe that metronidazole for him so i guess we try that and hope it works.
I did manage to get his first dose down him just now with no problems at all - kind of a "ready, aim, fire!" kind of affair (used to making sure my cat keeps pills down) and then we managed to get 4cc of Hills in him...he weighs 135 right now which is better than yesterday!

Going forward we'll give him his meds, keep giving him the Hills and a side of hamburger and hope to god he pulls through.
I do feel more positive about him now that we are getting food inside him  and that it is moving through him. He did look a little brighter.

Nancy, he got down to 125g yesterday and quite frankly it was horrible and sad to see. He lost 50g in just a few days. He has never been a big guy, so he didn't have any wiggle room weight wise. The vet said he should be at least twice that for 5 months old. He is like a little porcelain doll right now. Just weighed him again now and he's at 135g.....so here's hoping he keeps going up and we'll just keep trying to get him up there....


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

Ralph seems to be doing better today and holding onto his weight - he was at 146g this morning when we left for work. That extra 20g of weight has made a huge difference to how he looks ie, he doesn't look quite like a starved shell anymore thankfully. Also the 'tude seems to be returning. :lol: 
He ate some hamburger on his own overnight and we'd left a bit of Hills A/D in the cage too which he seemed to have scarfed down, so his appetite seems to be returning. When we syringed him last night he took the food really well and we got 1cc of carnivore care down him and 4cc of Hills without any problems.
This morning he was quite feisty and didn't seem to want to assume the position for syringe feeding quite so readily which I'm taking to mean that he's on the mend and has some of his strength back  
He pooped and peed on my boyfriend - which is um...great! in the hedgehog world... :lol: 
We still have a week to go on his meds and i guess we'll syringe feed him less and less, to encourage him to eat for himself and try and get him back on kibble. Obviously we'll be monitoring him like hawks!

It has been a stressful week for sure and we are so relieved that Ralph seems to be heading in the right direction.
Thanks to all for your words of encouragement and support and most of all - for being here! (I'm sure Ralph sends his gratitude too )


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

so glad you're feeding him back to happiness!


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

So glad he's recovering!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

That's great news..I was really rooting for him. Go Ralph!

Just curious...does he still wheel?


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

Thanks Everyone!

He hasn't been wheeling, he hasn't had the strength but I am hoping that "normal" activity will be resumed over the next day so or so as he gets better.....i'm not overly concerned about that right now as I'm thinking (hoping) he's working on building his strength. We'll be watching though, thats for sure!  

I know when I'm sick, the last thing i want to do is exercise - actually scrap that - even when i'm well, the last thing i wanna do is exercise..... :lol:


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

RalphsMum said:


> Thanks Everyone!
> 
> He hasn't been wheeling, he hasn't had the strength but I am hoping that "normal" activity will be resumed over the next day so or so as he gets better.....i'm not overly concerned about that right now as I'm thinking (hoping) he's working on building his strength. We'll be watching though, thats for sure!
> 
> I know when I'm sick, the last thing i want to do is exercise - actually scrap that - even when i'm well, the last thing i wanna do is exercise..... :lol:


This is going to sound like a long shot, but did his wheel get taken away when he became ill? Maybe he wasn't eating because of that? I know, it's a total stretch, but I know if I took Herc's wheel away he would go insane. When I take it out for cleaning in the morning he runs around his cage like it's the end of the world! :lol: Anyways...just a thought.


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

Herc's got you trained  though admittedly Ralph has us on the end of a string ( so has Cleo :roll: )
We left his wheel in with him, just in case he wanted to use it....which he didn't. He's just been lying under his blankies these last few days. 
I think it was Sunday that I was (laid on the floor in the dark :roll: ) straining my eyes to watch him do his routine...wheel, then eat, then drink, then sit, poop and ponder life, then run to the edge of his cage, then run back to his wheel: rinse and repeat...
Then all of a sudden he wasn't doing anything at all and his weight dropped like a brick and he just became really sick...so i do think it was some kind of bug - we just don't know what...


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

RalphsMum said:


> wheel, then eat, then drink, then sit, poop and ponder life


 :lol:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm glad he's starting to do better & hope he keeps improving and stops making Mommy worry.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

RalphsMum said:


> Herc's got you trained


Yes, he definitely does!


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