Vomitting?.. And pooping alot.

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snowindry

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
22
Location
Texas
Well we bought a 3 month old hedgie for my little brother a week or so ago and she's become a family pet, well last night i went to check on her and her cage smelled awful, and there was vomit and feces all over the place. we cleaned her wheel (where most of the stuff was) and the cage and she seemed fine. then today her wheel was filled with poop again but no vomit. we think she just overate and overdrank? because we tried giving her catfood instead of her old food because she didnt like it very much. but she chowed down on the catfood like crazy. we also filled up a water dish with water with the water bottle thing.
..suggestions? i'm a little worried about pebbles (the hedgie)
 
Okay so we called the pet store we got her from, and they said cat food is NOT good for hedgies! So our friend's family was wrong and we'll be changing her diet.
 
I don't own a hedgie, but I believe most people here do feed their hedgies cat food. What were you feeding before cat food? What kind of cat food did you switch her too?

I'm going to do a bit of research and will get back to you with what I come up with.

Okay, nothing on vomiting yet, but make sure you read this: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114. It mentions temps. that are suitable for hedgies and also lighting requirements. It also mentions that the wheel may need to be cleaned daily.

While we're on the topic of temps, I noticed you may be interested in getting a chinchilla. Please note that chins must be kept cool while hedgies require warmer temperatures. Just something to consider.

I'm going to continue my search for foods...

Okay, here is the link to the FAQ's for foods: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=842.

Hopefully this can help you out until someone more knowledgeable can come along and answer your questions better. :)
 
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Cat food is what we feed hedgies. Don't go by what pet stores tell you because often they are wrong.

A sudden food change can upset their tummies and typically when they are given cat food over hedgehog food, they do eat more. Most hedgehog foods are crap.

What cat food did you get for her?
 
Cat food is appropriate for hedgies. I got my girls from a reputable breeder who feeds a mix of high quality cat foods. The cat foods in that FAQ are all good quality.

It is possible that the stress of a new environment as well as the sudden food switch may have caused issues. Poop all over the wheel is normal for a hedgie, unless it is runny or green. I have to clean my wheels every other day because they get pretty nasty. Hedgie poop does smell rather foul too. Sounds like she is active, since she has been running in her wheel. Are there any other symptoms that concern you?

If the vomiting continues, a vet visit may be in order.
 
A high quality low fat cat food is definitely the best thing compared to most options including hedgehog food. Most knowledgeable vets will tell you exactly the same thing.

As Nikki and Nancy mentioned, a new environment and new food may upset her tummy. You will need to clean up her wheel daily as they can be quite messy. Vomiting can lead to dehydration, so that is great that you have both a water bottle and water dish to ensure she can drink in the way she was used to before coming to live with you. You'll probably find that she prefers the water dish (it is easier for them).
 
Okay thanks. Hmm, okay. well, the hedgehog isn't /mine/ it's my brothers so the chinchilla would be in my bedroom (separate from the hedgie) we did notice that she ate more of the catfood than anything else, and drank more when the water was in a bowl. c: she hasn't vomited again since then, so that's good. thank you for the links too. I'm not exactly sure what type of food, it's our cats food, i think it's friskies.
 
I have a question, are you certain it was vomit? Was it just white and frothy or was there food chunks in the vomit you saw? I ask because if it was just white frothy stuff it may have been spit from anointing. If you offered the hedgehog a new food, it may have anointed with it. I've had a couple that got overly zealous with their anointing and I found the white frothy foam all over my hedgehog, and the cage liner. For me it was red foam since the item being anointed with was a strawberry puree.

Pooping all over the wheel is very normal behavior. Get used to it. However, if the hedgehog is still a baby some of the smell and amount of stool may get better as they reach adulthood.

Most grocery store brands are utter crap foods. If the hedgehog is being fed Friskies there is a high likelihood that the smell of the feces could be from that food. Poorer quality foods can cause really smelly stools. Look for a high quality low fat cat food. You'll spend more per bag, but hedgehogs eat so little that it really isn't that expensive.

Also, most foods labeled specifically for hedgehogs are utter crap. Some are even dangerous as they contain peanuts, raisins and other foods that are choking hazards.

Look through the forum, there are plenty of threads where we discuss what foods we feed.
 
Thank you! I'll buy a different brand then. c:

And, the 'vomit' was orange ish, but i'm pretty sure there was poop in there with it if not all of it. No I'm not sure if it was vomit or not.
 
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