# Little Poop



## PricklePants.15 (May 24, 2015)

Hello, my hedgehog is 5 years old and has always had good poops but for about a week she has not been popping or eating as much. There has been little tiny poops and I have noticed everytime I check on her she has a new tiny smeared piece of poop stuck to her butt. I thought she would get better on her own but so far no improvement.
She still is acting like herself and I tried touching her belly and she didn't seem in pain or to have an discomfort. We have tried syringe feeding her pumpkin starting 2 nights ago like we read on other topics but so far it doesn't seem to have helped. I plan to call the vet on either Monday or Tuesday (depending on when they are open due to it being a holiday) but I wasn't sure if this was more urgent or if there was something else I should do. Thanks


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## Hedgo (May 24, 2015)

I have the same question but mine is almost 4 yrs old and having pooping problem since last three days.. I have tried to change his diet but no apparent difference is there.. help please.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

My questions are for both of you, since you guys have the same issue going on with your hedgies. What are you feeding your hedgehogs? Brand/type of kibble, any insects (and whether canned, freeze-dried, live, etc.), other treats, & so on.

Did you notice the pooping slow down first or the eating? If they're eating less, it stands to reason that there will also be less poop. How much are the hedgehogs eating & how much do they normally eat? If they're producing any poop, what does it look like? Dry, wet, mushy, brown or different colors, etc.?

Not eating is a serious issue for hedgehogs - they shouldn't go more than a day or two without eating or with only eating a little bit. If they're eating very little, I would start syringe-feeding them, especially if the eating went down before the pooping. There's more information about syringe-feeding here - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...yringing-tutorial-syringe-feeding-sticky.html You can use canned cat food (a good quality brand - not Friskies, etc. unless you have absolutely no other option), baby food (chicken or turkey and sweet potato mixed together are good & usually well liked), or crush up their usual kibble to powder & soak it in water.

If your hedgie is still not pooping even if you're sure they're getting enough food, definitely get them into the vet ASAP to see if there's an impaction or if they're just constipated. If they go back to normal pooping & eating after syringe-feeding for a day or two, you may not need a vet appointment, just keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't suddenly stop eating again.

If they're pooping fine while being syringe-fed, but don't want to eat on their own, that's another "vet visit" situation to find out why they don't want to eat. That frequently means a mouth or tooth issue, especially since they're both old hedgies.


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## PricklePants.15 (May 24, 2015)

I feed her spikes delight mixed with chicken noodle soup for the cat lovers soul. Every once and a while we give her live mealworms. I have tried making her eat fruits and vegetables and even hedgehog treats I have seen at the store but she has never really liked them. I think I noticed her eating less first. 

With syringe feeding I feel like I don't know how much to do because usually I just fill her bowl up with the dry food and she eats however much she wants (which I don't really know how much that is I just noticed her food area cleaner than normal). Is there a recommended mL amount to feed per weight of the hedgehog?


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## PricklePants.15 (May 24, 2015)

Wait sorry I just clicked on the link and found it 1mL/hour. Also her poop normally is a very dark brown and it still looks like that just much less than normal


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Alright, that helps a lot! If you think she was eating less first, I wouldn't consider constipation or impaction to be causes in this situation, though I suppose they're not completely out of the question. Go ahead & try syringe-feeding her & see how she responds to that. Getting a little more food in her might "kick-start" her appetite. For tonight, give her a few options - her normal dry food, some of her regular food, but soaked in water so it's soft, her normal dry food crushed (not completely into dust, just smaller pieces), and maybe some of whatever you decide to syringe feed her (if you decide to try baby food or canned cat food). Make sure you weigh or otherwise measure the amounts of each food so you can check again in the morning. 

If she goes for one of the softer, easier to eat options, then that's a good indication it's probably jaw/mouth related & she needs to have a vet look in there to check for problems. That could be anything from a loose tooth to an abscess or infection in her mouth to a tumor or just simply that her jaw is getting weaker with old age & she can't crunch her food up anymore.

If she doesn't go for anything, I would still recommend a vet visit to see if there's something going on, and you'll need to continue syringe-feeding her (aim for 24-30ml for a day). I know she's getting up there in years, but since it's very possible this is an easily-fixed problem, it's best to find out exactly what's going on so you can go from there. Good luck and let us know how she's doing!


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## PricklePants.15 (May 24, 2015)

I tried all of the options. Regular food, crushed food, soaked food, cat food, and baby food. She didn't touch any of them except for the baby food which she ate about a dime to nickel sized glob of it. I am not sure though if she didn't eat much because it got dry and hard. But still sadly little to no poop even though I syrine feed her about 12mL yesterday. I did try calling a vet today but they all still seem to be closed for Memorial Day weekend. Thanks for all the help. I will try to keep you updated


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, hedgehogs seem to know when holidays and weekends are and aim to get sick on those, I swear. :roll: Just go ahead & continue syringe-feeding her for today & try to call a vet tomorrow. She might just be feeling icky & not interested in eating anything, which is a little harder to figure out what might be going on. Hopefully the vet will be able to help narrow down what's going on with her! You can also ask about either Carnivore Care or Hills A/D food while you're there - both are meant for syringing to sick pets and are usually well-liked. Maybe she'll be interested in those even when feeling icky.


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## Ally's_Oliver (Feb 8, 2015)

I just wanted to add something for the future for both on this thread. It might be helpful to start weighing your food or counting kibble. You can start with somewhere around 15 grams of kibble, and then adjust it more or less you your hedgie over the next few days to where almost all of the food is eaten but for 5 or so kibble. I would wait until they hogs are back to eating normally, but this will help you gauge how much your hogs are eating or not eating. My hogs are at 12 grams and I can tell if it off the bat in the morning if they ate well or not. If it looks like they didn't eat so much, I mark the date down in my hedgehog log and anytime you get 2 or 3 days in a row, you know there's an issue, and it's time to use some alternative measures to get them eating. I also regularly weigh my hogs as well. If you hog isn't eating but gaining weight, this can be a sign of an underlying issue. Same as if they are are eating and rapidly losing weight. I usually do weekly weigh ins of the hogs and food is weighted and replaced daily.


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## PricklePants.15 (May 24, 2015)

So I did finally go to the vet and he said that she seems healthy and in no pain (no gum, teeth, or intestinal problems). He said that there are no reasons he could see for her not to be eating. Instead he thinks that it is just how she is progressing in her old age. He suggested that I weigh her regularly and if she starts loosing weight to increase how much I syrine feed her. But he didn't seem sure how much to give her other than however much I can get her to take.


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