I don't share problems very often. I've been down this road many times and sharing before I know what is going on, isn't usually what I do. But today, I thought I would start a thread so that people can see what happens and how things can progress.
A little history: Cooper is a rescue that I took in almost 7 months ago. He was an owner give up whose owner no longer had time for him. He will turn 3 at the end of this month.
In the beginning dealing with Cooper was problematic. He either was curled up into a tight quill ball, or he would bite, clamp down and grind his teeth (an aggressive biter).
Lucky for me he figured out that life in my home was pretty good and he stopped biting. That's probably been 4-5 months ago. Since then he has become a real sweet heart. Oh he has quite an attitude and doesn't hesitate to snuffle if he doesn't get his way (he's actually a bit spoiled). But now Cooper will splat out on my chest and lay under my hand. I can do just about anything with him.
Twice a day I wake my hedgehogs for health inspection. Once in the morning to ensure that nothing happened during their play time and once again when I take them out for the evening. My hedgehogs have learned that when I roll them on their back to kick out their legs. Even Cooper has figured this out. If I tell him, "Legs," he almost immediately reacts with feet sticking out. I do this so that I can get a good look at their faces and legs. I also do a quick rub along their chest and abdominal region to check for bumps/lumps. This is our routine.
During last night's inspection, Cooper kicked out his legs and everything appeared normal. Except he spit something out of his mouth. I wiped it off his lip and it felt hard. Before I could determine what it was, it fell to the carpet. I had my suspicion of what it was though. Time for a mouth check. While I was gently separating his lips to look inside, Cooper spit out another hard white thing. It's a tooth. Cooper has a bump on his lower jaw/gum line and is now missing two teeth from that spot.
We have a vet visit scheduled for later this afternoon. I expect it will either be an abscess or cancer. I'm REALLY hoping it is an abscess. If you don't mind, please send some healing energy for us today.
A little history: Cooper is a rescue that I took in almost 7 months ago. He was an owner give up whose owner no longer had time for him. He will turn 3 at the end of this month.
In the beginning dealing with Cooper was problematic. He either was curled up into a tight quill ball, or he would bite, clamp down and grind his teeth (an aggressive biter).
Lucky for me he figured out that life in my home was pretty good and he stopped biting. That's probably been 4-5 months ago. Since then he has become a real sweet heart. Oh he has quite an attitude and doesn't hesitate to snuffle if he doesn't get his way (he's actually a bit spoiled). But now Cooper will splat out on my chest and lay under my hand. I can do just about anything with him.
Twice a day I wake my hedgehogs for health inspection. Once in the morning to ensure that nothing happened during their play time and once again when I take them out for the evening. My hedgehogs have learned that when I roll them on their back to kick out their legs. Even Cooper has figured this out. If I tell him, "Legs," he almost immediately reacts with feet sticking out. I do this so that I can get a good look at their faces and legs. I also do a quick rub along their chest and abdominal region to check for bumps/lumps. This is our routine.
During last night's inspection, Cooper kicked out his legs and everything appeared normal. Except he spit something out of his mouth. I wiped it off his lip and it felt hard. Before I could determine what it was, it fell to the carpet. I had my suspicion of what it was though. Time for a mouth check. While I was gently separating his lips to look inside, Cooper spit out another hard white thing. It's a tooth. Cooper has a bump on his lower jaw/gum line and is now missing two teeth from that spot.
We have a vet visit scheduled for later this afternoon. I expect it will either be an abscess or cancer. I'm REALLY hoping it is an abscess. If you don't mind, please send some healing energy for us today.
