# Seizures Due to Calcium Deficiency--HELP!!!



## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

After last night I am a very concerned with Sonic's health. My son told me on the second night after we got Sonic that he noticed that he was falling over when he transitioned from the area rug to the stone floor we have in our living room. I told him not to worry about it and that he probably just slipped.

Last night when my son was playing with Sonic I noticed that he stretched his back legs back and they kind of locked. He then tried to walk across the floor dragging his back legs until eventually he fell over on his side, it only lasted about 1 min or less. It almost looked like he was having a seizure. Today when I took Sonic to the Vet for his first check-up he had another seizure. Unfortunately the Vet did not see it nor was I able to get a video. When the Vet came in he checked for mites and did a fecal test. All came out negative. When I told him about the seizures he said it was common in exotic animals and that it was due to a calcium deficiency.

He told me that I should switch away from Cat/Dog food and feed Mazuri Insectivore diet. When I questioned the quality of the ingredients in the Mazuri he seemed to get frustrated. He also gave me a Calcium Glubionate Syrup and told me to give .25cc 2 times a day. In addition, he told me to start feeding fruit 2 times week and vegetables 2-3 times a week and add some insects to his diet. He also asked me to buy this calcium supplement and sprinkle it on the vegetables and fruit.

I don't agree with the suggestion to eliminate Sonic's Mix in place of Mazuri but what about the Calcium being the culprit for the seizures and adding this supplement to his diet?

Also can someone give me the weekly feeding regiment of Fruit/Veggies/Insects...

On a side note Sonic weighted in at 193g


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I have never heard of seizures in hedgehogs caused by a calcium deficiency. If you want to increase his calcium intake you can crush up a "TUMS" antacid and sprinkle a tiny pinch on his food. Some people do this for nursing mothers but I never had an issue with my mom's being deficient. I would not switch to the Mazuri food and would stick to a good quality cat food.

When he stretched out his back legs was his body shaking? Did he have a period of time after it that he seemed "out of it"? After a true seizure there is a "post ictal" phase where the person/animal having the seizure is disoriented or confused for a while after. If there wasn't a phase like that it probably wasn't a seizure.

Did the vet do a blood test to check the calcium levels or just assume that's what it was?


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Geez, do vets get a kickback or something for pushing Mazuri? My vet recommended it to me as well, but the ingredients look like garbage. Is there another vet in your area that will treat exotics? I'd really get a second opinion before making drastic changes to your hedgies diet. Especially a change like adding supplements without any data from tests to back up the decision to add them to begin with. The remark about seizures being common in exotic animals to me sounds like a "i don't like treating difficult animals so therefore will not put in the effort to do so properly". I can't say I'd return to a vet like that if there was another option available.


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## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

nikki said:


> When he stretched out his back legs was his body shaking? Did he have a period of time after it that he seemed "out of it"? After a true seizure there is a "post ictal" phase where the person/animal having the seizure is disoriented or confused for a while after. If there wasn't a phase like that it probably wasn't a seizure.
> 
> Did the vet do a blood test to check the calcium levels or just assume that's what it was?


Yes I did notice shaking in his back legs...and for a period of about 1-2 minutes after he seemed out of it...then he seemed to be back to normal. No blood test was performed. He said that in order to do this he would require putting Sonic under since he was so small.

What is your feeding routine outside of the cat food? What foods, how much and how often?


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## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

shinydistraction said:


> Geez, do vets get a kickback or something for pushing Mazuri? Is there another vet in your area that will treat exotics


He did not have the food in the office so I doubt that it was any type of kickback. I truly believe that he thinks that it is a good food source since it is used in Zoos. This Vet's office was recommended by our members so not sure who else may have a good vet in South Florida...Ft. Lauderdale area.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I always have kibble available to my hedgehogs and I feed a partial raw diet. The problem with your vets advice is that while it is awesome to introduce veggies most hedgehogs won't touch them. You cant force a hedgehog to eat. Trust me. 

How old is your little guy? I had my little girl put under for a few minutes to check her teeth and she was perfectly fine. Most hedgehogs need to be put under a little anesthesia to be seen properly.


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## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

He is only 7 1/2 weeks old now


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Where did you get him?


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Here is another issue. If he was weaned at 6 weeks, it means that he was on momma's milk with some kibble till then. A week and 1/2 does not seem long enough to cause a calcium deficiency unless the mom was deficient as well. 

I really think you should get another opinion before doing anything. It all sounds off to me.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I didn't feed much for vegetables to my hedgehogs, 95% of them wouldn't touch a vegetable and only about half of them would eat mealworms. I just fed a good quality cat food and never had any issues not even with my pregnant or nursing moms.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Honestly I'd grab the phone book and start calling the vets in your area and ask them if they treat hedgehogs and if the vet has prior experience with them. Then go with the one you like the best. This is the eternal struggle of having an unusual pet I'm afraid. Especially one that has had so little research done on it.


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## AlexandPersephone (Nov 14, 2014)

Switch vets, he only seems to know what happens to REPTILES when they're kept in captivity. This is a hedgehog not a bearded dragon he's dealing with. That and it's highly unlikely your little one is already deficient in calcium.


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

http://www.hedgehogwelfare.org/vets_by_state.asp?s=FL worth a shot!


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## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

Everyone thanks for the support...

Last night we did not see any issues...hopefully we are out of the woods. Sonic is now eating the Orijen and Acana but is being a little picky with the Fromm. I posted a link earlier in this post with the food details. He also ate meal worms for the first time last night. I only gave him 6 but he could have eaten more if I would have given them to him. I tried some celery and apple but he did not want anything to do with them.

Another two points to mention is that Sonic had not been running on his wheel the past 4-5 days until last night. Funny to say, but I was happy to see Poo all over his wheel...:-D

The other point to mention is that Sonic's cage is in my living room. Since I brought him home I have been sleeping on the couch with the TV on all night. I am now wondering if the light from the TV may have been causing some of the issues. Last night I turned it off around 2am and my wife said that at 4am she heard Sonic running like a mad man. As soon as she turned on the light to check him out he went straight to bed.

Finally I received my CHE 2 days ago...the heat had been running around 73-75 prior to that with one night that the temp reached a low of 71. The past two nights the temp has been 75-80. I am now wondering if he may have been starting to hibernate and this is what was causing his legs to lock up.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Yeah TV light is a bad thing to hedgies. I'm wondering if he was just all wired up from sleeping so much that caused his problems. Babies sleep a lot but they still are active for some parts of the night. 

While hedgehogs need a good 12-14 hour light schedule, this means they also need that amount of darkness, as dark as you can get it. 12 to 10 hours of pure darkness is also needed. If you turn off the TV at 2am and the sun comes up at 6 like in my area, that's only four hours of darkness for him. Either turn the tv off sooner or cover his cage (avoiding any heating elements) so that it's dark and he can wake up.


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## DSPO631 (Nov 28, 2014)

Yeah he was sleeping all the time....day and night. Would that cause weak back legs?


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

If he wasn't using them much, I'm sure it would cause them to be stiff and/or weak.


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## Nick120180 (Oct 27, 2014)

Probably a silly idea but could he have been just enjoying man time. Mine will drag his back legs and 'thing' across the fleece quite often with apparent shaking across his legs and back. First few times I saw it I thought he was having a seizure until I worked out the truth!


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