Luna's Saga Continues

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Raindog

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Feb 1, 2009
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Chicagoland area
Ok so pretty much the next day after the last post here Luna stopped eating and didn't want to get out of bed at night. So back to the vets this past Monday. Rechecked everything, couldn't find a single thing wrong with her, more blood tests, and now some antibiotics. Monday she ate and ran pretty good, Tuesday night she got up on her own and ate and ran well. Last night ran a lot and didn't eat much.

The vet called yesterday with the blood test results and they showed a large number of lymphocytes which could be a virus or cancer, (guess which I was sure it was?) so the vet sent it back to pathology to check for abnormal cells. An eternity later (the next night) The vet called back. It is not cancer but, of course, that can't be ruled out completely. The test showed some young red blood cells which shouldn't be in the blood stream yet which would point to internal bleeding or hemorrhaging but the CBC is fine. Doesn't show anything like that. So the doctor is thinking Luna might have an ulcer. I am picking up some Pepcid tomorrow for her and she has a recheck early next week.

Anyone have any experience with this kind of stuff in a hedgehog?
 
I suppose, on the bright side, at least she's starting to show some issues that the vet can actually see and address. But, oh boy! What issues.

I haven't experienced ulcers nor any internal bleeding situations with a hedgie. The closest was some really terrible vomiting that led to some belly meds including infant gas drops -- this as Texie. Though I have heard of things like this happening with other hedgies...

Regardless, it sounds like Miss Luna is definitely due for a giant round of snuggles. Sending lots of hedgie hugs to both of you!
 
Ok. Its been a week now. I feel I can say but I am scared I will jinx it so I am going to whisper. Shhhhhhh..... Luna is eating very well. She made it up to 50+ kibbles 4 days this past week and gained 14g. She is running, not as much as before, but still running. She was on Pepcid for a week and some immunity booster and vitamin supplement. Very happy.
 

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Aww... what a cutie pie!

I'm going to be really subtle now to try and ward off any jinxing:
Glad she's been doing better on the Pepcid.
I really hope she's able to keep that up.
Running and eating!!! Such good news
:)
I've had the kids on Sunshine Factor before as a bit of a booster. Satin and Tex loved that stuff. Bella... not so much. What is Luna on?
 
She is on Vetri DMG liquid. Luna has adamantly said "no more medicine!" So I mix it in with her carnivore care. Last night she ate almost every kibble in her cage, so probably close to 70 kibbles, she only ran enough to go to the bathroom. Should I be worried or is it normal for hedgies, after hardly eating for so long, and then eating so much to not want to run? Is she still adjusting. The night before she ran a mile, before that a half mile.
 
Oh, DMG. Satin and Texie had that for awhile. It made both their poops more liquidy. Especially for Satin. I was glad that we were able to use the SF for her. She loved that stuff. Glad it's been working out well for Luna!

I've never put an odometer on my kids' wheels, so I kind of go by the amount of messiness on the wheel as a rough indicator. That and listening to the pitter patter of their little feet. Love that sound!!!

It seems to me that wheeling can be fairly variable. So I wouldn't necessarily make too much of one night vs the other. Seems like just about anything odd (a funny scent in the air, unexpected noises, mealie vs no mealie night, etc...) can have an effect on a single night's wheeling. I'd look more toward trends over time. So, half a mile, a mile, just enough to go potty after eating 70+ kibbles -- seems okay as is... for now... especially if she runs more tonight and tomorrow than she did last night. You can always do a quick run-through of all the normal things to check - wheel freely spinning, temp just right, nails nice and trimmed... Though if tonight and tomorrow are back down to zilch, I'd start getting more concerned.

The 70+ kibbles and putting some grams back on are certainly encouraging.
 
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