# Vomit & causes...



## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

I just got up to find a splatter of vomit in Eva's enclosure. Wes is calling the vet to see if I can bring her in today... I'm just wondering what the some of the common causes might be though.

It looks like there's a chunk of yesterday's news in it... I'm not sure why she'd suddenly start trying to eat her litter though! (Pic: http://www.arthappens.com/eva/evavomit.jpg)

Could one of her foods have gone bad? Should I chunk them and get her new, fresh bags?
_(Edit: the wellness I keep in the bag, the other two - green pea and duck and csftcls - are in plastic containers... she usually just picks out the chicken soup and ignores the others also.)_

...one other kind of weird question - I know a living creature shouldn't really "go bad" - but the only thing different about last night than normal was that I accidentally fed her a rather old mealie... I had forgotten to throw out the old (almost empty) tub of mealies when I got her new ones (I really hate digging around for them when there are only a few left - I'd rather just get more), and last night I forgot I already had the tub out and asked Wes to grab her mealies from the fridge... Not knowing, he gave me the old tub that I should have gotten rid of. I know it was alive because it was squirmy and whatnot, but could it have been, you know, an unhealthy mealie or something?


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I would switch the litter to a paper towel if she's starting to eat it. She might possibly have started eating it and got choked, which made her vomit. Same for kibble--were there any big chunks of kibble in it?

Was there any mold in the container the mealie was in? I'm not sure about "old" mealies because I don't keep mine in the fridge, but I would be a little worried if there were mold growing in it, either on the container or in the substrate.

Odds are she just got a little choked on something, but it might be a good idea just to go into the vet for a checkup. Hope she feels better soon!


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

It's just weird to me, she's never tried to eat her litter before - and she's had the same litter since I got her. :? 

It definitely looks like a chunk of yesterday's news though...

Nope, no chunks of kibble in it... and no mold with the mealies either. I didn't even realize it was the old container until this morning... I accidentally left it out overnight and so I went to put it up - then I noticed there wasn't another container in the fridge like usual (and then I looked across the room to find the new mealies sitting on my printer, doh).

Thanks, I hope she's not actually sick or anything.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

I agree - if you're finding litter in her vomit, it might be time to change from the litter to something else - like paper towels... even if it hasn't been a problem before. 

I've figured out that too much excitement & activity soon after eating can cause vomiting... at least that's what I suspect. Mine has vomited twice - light brown, kinda "soft"/frothy. Both occurred right after footbaths where she was really insistent upon getting out of that sink. She scrambled and scrambled, then got into the towel, vomited, then went on about her business as though nothing had happened. But it sure worried the heck out of me, so I know where you're coming from when you see that.

I hope she's okay!!


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Hmmm, that could be it too... It looks like she ate a lot last night - and also like she ran a little, but not much (just a little bit of poop, some with a greenish tint too, in her wheel - doesn't look like she ran through it a whole lot).

...and great, my vet freakin' moved.

I guess I've got to find a new vet here. :|


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Eva seems totally fine right now, so I'm thinking it was probably just a fluke - like she had an accident with chewing on her litter...

...but now I'm trying desperately to find her a new vet regardless.

If anyone knows of any in Memphis, please let me know... The one that keeps coming up (and is also listed on HHC's list) is a Dr. Hannon at "Vet Pets," whom I've heard some not-so-good reviews about from 2 sources. (Apparently he misdiagnosed a friend's cat and said that she'd probably have to be put down - my friend changed vets and his cat is doing fine right now... and my friend who took her iguana to him had no good words either.)

I'm going to keep calling around to see if anyone has experience with hedgies specifically, but so far I'm not having much luck.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Ahhhh, there was a mixup regarding the vet somehow... Apparently our guy is still here and it was a different guy that moved. Anyway, he said we didn't need to bring her in, just that we needed watch her carefully to see if she throws up again and call him if she does.


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