Got a sick hedgie and need some info

[philogirl]

Hey all,

I was on here awhile ago, but apparently lost my login info. I've been away mostly because the hedgies have been great lately... until today.

My youngest, Jack, stopped eating over the weekend. I took him into the vet this morning. We did every single test possible-- blood work, fecal analysis, urinalysis, physical exam, x-rays, ultrasounds... found masses in his abdomen. We're waiting for pathology to tell us what's up.

In the meantime, he's home with me. But not drinking or eating at his own will. They gave him two sub-q injections today and he urinated about an hour ago. I've only been able to get about 1.5 mL of food into him and only about 1 mL of water. The vet said the goal was 22 mL of water and 9-15 mL of food daily. I just wanted to check with everyone that this was appropriate. I figure I'll just try to get a little into him every couple of hours and hope it adds up.

He's on Flagyl right now for a bacterial GI infection.

We've got Hills A/D, but he hates it. Got him some organic baby food--- turkey, chicken, beef, with squashes, apples, and sweet potato in various combinations. The doc said any food is fine, so I'm trying different things to see if he'll eat any of them. No luck... just squirting into his mouth hoping he'll swallow instead of spit it out.

Any tips or advice to keep him alive and happy until Wednesday would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kalandra]

Poor little guy. Does Jack have a food that he enjoys normally?

You can try just about anything with them. I often use canned cat food with a little water or vanilla or strawberry flavored Boost (human nutritional supplement). If that doesn't work, you can try ground up kibble moistened, and any of the baby foods that you list above.

I also recently tried Oxbow Carnivore Care. The hedgehog I tried it with really liked it. Its a powdered diet that you can mix to the consistency you want. Your vet may carry it. I had good luck with it as it is nutritionally dense. It didn't take much to get my hedgehog to gain back some weight.

Keep me updated on what the pathology comes back with. Hopefully the Flagyl will start to help and he will get some appetite back.

Oh one last thing. If you are comfortable with needles, ask your vet to give you a supple of stuff to do the sub-q at home. If he isn't getting enough fluids in, and starts to fail the hydration test, a sub-q at home can make them feel so much better.

 

[philogirl]

I thought I posted a reply, but it's not showing up... mod review first?

Anyway, test came back this morning... he's in renal failure. Levels of creatinine and phosporus are really high. They want to try 48 hours of IV fluids, plus 2 antibiotics, and a bunch more stuff.

I don't think Jack is up for it. They can't give a reasonable percentage chance of him making it--- it depends on if the IV takes, if he gets his hunger back, if he has an ulcer or not, etc. I can't tell if there really is hope or not.

Nothing has improved in the past 48 hours with sub-q fluids and flagyl. He's not responding more and he's not eating still. He chewed up a kibble last night, but won't take any other food.

They're not putting euthanasia on the table as an offer, though I think it's the right decision. Battling right now for what to do that is best for Jack.