# Sawdust looking stuff in food bowl - worried :(



## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

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I didnt know what topic to post this under. I came home today and saw this saw dust looking stuff in Winstons food bowl - i have attached a picture. He is on a mixed catfood diet i get from the breeded and i feed him mealworms a few times a week usually only 2 at a time. he is housed on fleece liners and carefresh in a seperate litter box bin and has some plastic toys and stuffed aniamls. I looked in ana around his cage and cant find a cause... it was in clumps but when i poked it it fell apart. He hasnt been in contact with anything saw dusty or plywood or anything.

Help


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Could he have thrown up and it dried? Also, could it be the food itself? Is it a new food he hasn't tried before. I know the Blue Buffalo food Percy is on looks like dried dust once he chews it, unlike the other brands in his mix.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Nope he has been on the same food from the breeder from day one. 
I buy from her because i want a good mix and mixing it myself would waste alot of food going bad and be alot more expensive. 

Also if he indeed did chew up food and then throw it up - why is he throwing up? Is that normal? If it like cats and dogs where he could have just eaten to fast?


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Also i dont know if this matters but i have noticed from day one little white bits of food in his water dish. I assumed it was just stuff stuck in his teeth or something that fell out when he was lapping up water - its literrally like 10-12 little tiny crumbs... NOTHING even remotely like this!!


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## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

The food residue in the water is normal. They sometimes get messy with eating and drink water while they still have some food bits in their mouth.


The food in the bowl looks like possible chewed up food or throw up. Any chance you could have dropped some oatmeal/dust that the mealworms are in? 

Keep an eye on poop changes too (turning green/diarrhea)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It looks like dried vomit to me. Vomiting can sometimes be from them choking on a kibble, but otherwise it could be something that requires a vet visit. I would keep an eye on him for a few days, see if it happens again, and maybe try crushing the food up a bit if it's on the large side to see if it helps. If he vomits again or has any other symptoms, I would schedule a vet appointment to be safe.

On a side note...Do you know what foods are in the breeder's mix? I'm asking because to be honest, not all breeders have the best foods in their mixes. Looking at the picture you posted, half of those kibbles are colored, which means food dyes, which is NOT a good food. You might be better off buying your own food for your little guy - if you get only two different good quality foods, you can mix them together, and store them in the freezer. You won't end up wasting a whole ton of food, since it can last up to 6 months in the freezer.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

What other symptoms should i look for? Most of his poops are fine but sometimes when i have him out his poop will be normal and one that kinda greenish goey... but the others all look normal and he poops on me ALOT! lol 
He also seems a bit sluggish today - could the house being to warm have done this... its usually around 78 which seems to make him the most happy/active and today i gott home and it was 82 in his cage - i instantly took him out and moved him to the living room which was cooler so he could hang out with me. 

Today was a bit colder than other days so i left the heater on in the house where normally i only have space heater by his cage and a heat lamp with a thhermostat. 

I have no idea what vet to take him to :\ i kinda live in the middle of nowhere and i just moved here not to long ago.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

What food do you recommend? I am looking for the paper she gave me when i picked him up - apparently there are directions to mix the food but i dont remembr seeing them. 

Either way i am going to wait to switch if i decide to do so until after he is acting more normal - that way i dont confuse any loose or weird stools to food change and miss an actual illness 
oh... i am so worried :\


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, being too warm can make them a little slower too. But other things to look for are slimy poops, different colored poop, gel or mucus in the poop, lack of appetite, and lack of activity. Sudden behavior changes (like biting when they never have before) can sometimes indicate not feeling good too. Even if it seems like he just choked and you don't need a vet visit, I would recommend starting to look around and call around to any vets that are around you and start figuring out who has hedgehog experience or would be willing to work with a hedgehog. It's not good to wait until something's wrong, you want to make sure you know where to call or go to in an emergency.

Yeah, waiting a week or so would be a good idea before changing any food, until you know whether he just choked or whether he's sick. Some foods that are popular on the forum are Blue Buffalo, Innova, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Natural Balance, and Solid Gold. There's plenty of other good ones too - what you want to look for is a meat or meat meal as the first ingredient, no corn, all meats/fats should be named (no poultry meal, poultry fat, animal fat, etc.), no BHA/BHT/Ethoxyquin, and protein between 28-35%, and fat around 15% (more or less than that depends on his activity level).


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Just make sure you have enough of the mix left to be able to transition to a new food. Switching cold turkey should be avoided. I agree with Lilysmommy, from the looks of the kibble, the mix isn't very good at all.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Moxie - your on the peninsula - any idea if there are vets in port angeles, wa - or can you reccomend one in sequim or near you? I'm willing to drive to seattle if i have to although i would def be eating ramen noodles for the reest of the month after gas - i need a car not a truck! lol 

Yes i have a gallon zip lock of food and enough to transition. :/ i'll start looking around for food in the pet stores around here, theres a petco 45 min from here i think they have blue buffalo.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

he has been on my lap for a while now and seems a bit more lethargic than normal :\ igave him a bath last night with aveeno baby wash, firstt time using it... maybe he swallowed some? 
I am wracking my brain... anything i can or should do to help him till i can get to a vet tomorrow? i am def going..... i couldnt stand to see him get sick and pass away. I have only had him for a month or so and i love this little guy so much! 
i dislike living in the middle of nowhere - i miss city 24 hour vets! i feel helpless


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Try not to panic too much, though I know that's hard! If he's only thrown up the one time, it's probably still early if he's actually sick. For tonight, just make sure the temp stays stable and warm, at 78-80. Try having two bowls of food in his cage, one crushed and one normal (because some hedgehogs won't eat crushed food, so just in case he decides to be picky about that). Just try and relax and see how he does tonight. The few threads I can remember about vomit where the hedgehog was sick, I think they were bacterial infections (I could be remembering wrong), and they were a pretty easy fix with some antibiotics. You may not be able to find a vet open tomorrow, since it's Sunday, so if there's only super-expensive emergency vets open (and if he eats okay tonight, no more vomit, etc.), I would go ahead and wait until Monday to take him in.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I replied to your PM, but since then I dug around for a Port Angeles/Sequim area vet, since none of the ones on my list are close to you. I found this one that treats small animal/avian/exotic pets: http://greywolfvet.com/


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Bacteria/fungal sounds plausible... he is quilling and has very dry skin kinda flaky but i have read on here that its normal for some of them to have bigger flakes. He just started loosing hair also with an increase in quill loss. All have the ball at the end and he is in the home stretch so to speak of getting rid of his baby quills... who knows, he isnt balding anywhere so i wasn't worried about it. Plus he has been acting normal :\ well as normal is for him - he is kind of a weirdo lol 

Thanks Moxie - i will try and call an emergency line if i can and see if they can see him... sequim is alot closer than bothell! 

Well i am going to go try and not panic. Thanks for all the help guys!!! I really appreciate it - i will keep you updated.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

No problem.  This doesn't sound like something worth panicking over, so just try to relax. If he doesn't vomit again, it was probably just a piece of kibble that got stuck. Everything else sounds normal.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Well i am no longer super panicked! Still going to keep a close eye - but he just went into his snuggle sack and i peeked in and he is um... doing his boy hedgie thing. LOL so he cant feel too horrible - awkward! 
:lol:


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

LOL, I'd say he's doing pretty good.


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## PirateHedgie (Oct 28, 2012)

Yes!! last couple days been energetic and running around - looks like we are in the clear!  Thanks for all the help guys!


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## Shell (Aug 23, 2012)

Awesome news!!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Glad he's doing better!


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