Semi-Hibernation Post-Wobbling

Hi. My name is Grace and my hedgehog is Maxine.
We got her in August of 2005 which makes her almost 4 years old.
Maxine has been a very healthy and spoiled hedgehog, but I realize she is getting older, which is why I am very scared.

Tonight, I pulled her out of her cage to play with her and she was very slow and lethargic and cold. Immediately, I warmed her up with a heating pad for a while because I knew she had attempted to hibernate. She started acting like herself after a while, becoming more active and like her old self.

When I put her back in her cage after hours of keeping her on the heating pad, she's very wobbly. She has been running around her cage in circles which she normally does, but she's more hyperactive than normal and somewhat twitchy. Her back legs sometimes stop working and then she kind of stumbles over then continues running. Sometimes, her front legs seem like they stop working as well and she bends her head down to what looks like she's biting or licking them. I'm worried about her and don't know what to do.

I plan on taking her to the vet in the morning as soon as they open. I'll tell them the same thing, but what can they do?

Is this a normal post-hibernation reaction? Should I keep her on the heating pad or allow her to run around her cage? Help, please!

Grace

It could still be from the hibernation attempt. Often it takes a while for them to be totally back to normal. Has she been eating well and everything else normal? Hibernation attempts can happen from illness as well as being too cool and sometimes they require more warmth when they get older.

I suggest putting the heating pad under her cage for a few days. Wrap it in a towel and keep it on low to ensure it isn't too warm.

Some can take longer to fully recover from a hibernation attempt. Some as they age also start to require a warmer environment. Did you discover any reason for the hibernation attempt? If not, it could be a symptom of something else is going on. How is she doing now?

Good Morning. I am Gracee's mom and I want to thank you both for responding to her post. Grace was up until 3 this morning sitting with Maxine. When I checked...Grace is a sleep and Maxine is awake, in her igloo, on the heating disc, and very grumpy. Apparently she has been up all night. It looks as if she has eaten and had some water but I see no signs of poop. We had a few very warm days (70-80) and Grace had turned off Maxine's heater. Yesterday the temps dropped to the 50's and the heater had not been turned back on. Normally this would not effect Maxine but perhaps with her age she is more vulnerable. What would your suggestions be for today? The vet that she has seen for well visits is not that knowledgeable of hedgehogs. Grace sent an email to the breeder last night but has not gotten a response yet that I know of. If this is a hibernation attempt as we both feel it is, will her symptoms resolve on their own? I am sure that her age and overall general health have a lot to do with this. Any help or guidance you can give us is greatly appreciated.

Well Me and Maxine have both calmed down a bit now.

Last night, she wouldn't go to sleep and kept running around her cage over and over and over. Today, she's stopped running, but still won't get to sleep. My mom heated up her igloo and she's in there, so she must be warm, except she's still acting funny.

I watched her all night last night from around midnight to 8am. At first, I was holding her in my lap, but then she started to move around a lot more and run around my bed. Then she pooped, which made me excited and I decided to put her back in her cage.

When I put her back in her cage, that is when she started being hyperactive and twitchy and not going to sleep. She would trip or stumble and then get up and keep running. She ran for a little bit on her wheel, hardly stumbling or wobbling at all. Also, she would stop pull her head in and like nudge or lick or bite her feet. I'm wondering what that meant. She drank water a few times, but I didn't see or hear her eat any food. Plus, there's no crumbs, which means she hasn't been eating.

I don't know whether we should wait a few days and see if she gets better on her own, or take her to the vet today. Any advice or reassurance would be great. Thanks.

Grace

Sounds like you know the cause for the chill, it can take our older ones a little longer to recover. I would follow the instructions given by Nancy above for providing a little extra heat. Are you seeing any improvements in her gait (wobbliness)? If she isn't wobbly, I'd let her rest and occasionally check her tummy to ensure she's toasty. Her activities last night may have been from both of you being stressed last night.

Usually warming them up will resolve the situation if it is only caused by her getting chilled. However pay close attention to her health for the next several weeks. Hibernation attempts can cause the body's defenses to slow and allow an illness to more easily set in. Watch her weight and that she is eating and drinking properly.

For eating, I would count her kibble. Count out enough to feed her for the night and recount in the morning. You will know then with certainty if she is eating or not. If she isn't eating, you will need to take her to the vet and prepare yourself to syringe feed her.

Out of curiosity, what is the temperature of the room where Maxine is kept?

During the winter with the heater we keep Maxine's room around 78. For the short period of time that the heater was off it might have dropeed to 72. It is back to warm and toasty tonight. She stayed awake most of the morning hours but then settled in to nap about 2 or 3. She's been up to drink water, sniffed her food but did not eat. Kinda early for her to eat. You can bet we will keep a close eye on her tonight. Thanks for all the concern.

Just curious. How were things last night? I'm hoping for a great report of things are normal again

Last Night

Things were better last night.
She ran on her wheel for a bit, peed, pooped and drank water.
I still don't think she has eaten which is obviously not a good thing.
I took her out of her cage to let her run around my bed (something she loves doing because there's so many blankets) and she was acting completely normal.
Hopefully she'll eat today.
Thanks!

Count her kibble so you know exactly how much she is eating. Try putting some kibble in bed with her.

At her age, she may be having difficulty eating hard kibble. You can try dampening it with a bit of warm water. Even dampened you can still sort of count the kibble.

She needs to eat and if she isn't you will have to start syringe feeding her.

A quick and final update on Maxine's recovery. She is back to normal, running with no wobble, eating and acting very much as she should. Needless to say it was a scary situation for all of us and the information provided on this forum is invaluable. Grace is back at college and I am back being the primary caregiver with a much greater sense of how fragile these little ones really are. Thanks again for all your help.

Yeh! Thanks for the update on Maxine. These little guys really are quite durable, but you are right they can become very fragile very quickly with just a simple thing as the temperature dropping a bit too low.

That's great news. Glad we could be of help. Thanks for keeping us updated.

Glad she's back to normal! :cute: