suspicious of WHS???

[Weeble]

Hello,

I was hoping that anyone might be able to provide opinions or insight on a few questions I had about my little hedgie. I am suspicious that he has WHS. He's almost 3 and about a month ago I noticed that he started "slowing down" a bit, however, everything else seemed normal (regular eating, pooping, peeing, getting around, being alert) so I thought maybe it was just old age starting to creep up on him. He stopped using his wheel as much and it progressed to him not using it at all and sleeping a lot. He then stopped eating as much as he normally would.

About 2 weeks ago I finally took him to the vet because I had gone to check on him one afternoon and he couldn't walk. He kept falling over whenever he tried to walk and he wasn't able to get himself upright on his own. This was SO scary to see, especially since the night before he had been okay. So I brought him to the vet right away. He doesn't "wobble" though, and when the vet checked him out he said physically he was fine. No injuries that he could tell, no masses or lumps that he could tell, and he had plenty of energy.

He gave him a non-steroid anti-inflammatory injection, an injection of an antibiotic, and some fluids. His theory was that it was either neurological or he might have an inner ear infection. So for the past 2 weeks he's been on antibiotics, but no change in his mobility. He still can't seem to support himself when he tries to walk, and falls over. He can't get himself back up on his own, and just wiggles and pulls himself around his cage. (it's so devastating to watch) however, he doesn't wobble when he's stationary. Could this be WHS even though he doesn't seem to wobble? I know there are a lot of things that can mimic it, but with everything I've been researching, WHS seems to be what he might be experiencing. He also seems to be a little "hunched", when he sits in his normal stance, or when he's in my lap his "posture" doesn't seem normal, like he's hunched a bit and not stretched out as he normally was.

He's always been super healthy, not a single health issue up until now, his room with his cage is nice and warm, kept btw 75 and 78, and he's never attempted hibernation.

My main concern is his quality of life. I don't want him to be suffering in any way. In the last day he really didn't eat at all, and I'm afraid he's not able to get to his food and water on his own. (I've been giving him water through a syringe and today tried syringe feeding him a bit) My husband and I have begun to contemplate euthanizing him, which breaks my heart. But I don't want him to be having a miserable or painful quality of life.

Any info or opinions would be great. I just love him so much and it's scary not to know what's going on, and breaks my heart that he might be suffering.

 

[Nancy]

Was he having any difficulty walking, or shakiness, or random tipping over during the time you say he was slowing down? WHS typically doesn't come on to the point of not being able to walk at all without some sort of previous mobility issues. Usually it starts with almost imperceptible movement issues which gradually get worse. Going from walking to not walking over night is not usually WHS.

There are so many things that can mimic WHS, stroke, tumour, nutritional deficiencies, arthritis, and basically illness of any type can cause mobility problems.

Typically, loss of appetite is not a whs issue until they reach the severe stage. Have you tried him on dampened kibble or canned food. At his age, they often start to have difficulty crunching the hard kibble.

Is he loosing weight? With WHS they loose muscle mass.

You could try giving him a heating pad under his bed. If this is arthritis, more warmth may help.

Can he still raise is quills in particular his visor quills? It has been said that WHS hogs cannot raise their visor.

Poor little guy. It's a tough decision to know when to help them cross, especially when we aren't certain what is wrong.

When he poops, is it normal and does he get it out easily? Yeah, sounds weird, but my WHS girl, had a difficult time squeezing out the poop. I've heard that with many other WHS hogs. It's because of the loss of muscle.

If he were mine, I would syringe feed him a few times per day, give him some heat in his bed, and see if there is any improvement.

 

[Weeble]

Thank you so much for posting!
When I started noticing that he was "slowing down" he didn't have any random tipping over, or overt shakiness. He just seemed to be walking and getting around slower. I wish I had paid more attention to it. At the time it didn't seem very alarming. He just didn't seem to have as much energy as he used to.
I had started to dampen his kibble a few weeks ago, because I did notice that it was taking him a longer time to crunch and chew them, and the last few days I've started syringe feeding him. He doesn't seem to mind that. In fact, the last few times, after he's eaten the syringe food, he's gobbled down quite a few kibbles. However, he won't eat from his dish unless I prop him up in front of it. He's stopped seeking out his food and water dishes on his own. At least in the last few days.
What is also really concerning to me is that he has lost weight. He's become much skinnier, it's so sad, he seems so small now, and not his robust self. :-(
We do have a heating pad that is in one corner of his cage, we've had that for about a year and a half. I've noticed that he is spending most of his time on it, and seeks it out to sleep on. Whereas before, he's always been an all over the cage sleeper, or sleeping in his wheel.
He is still able to raise his quills, including his visor, and is still an expert on balling up. He seems not to have lost any energy or mobility in that regard. But this afternoon I noticed that he has developed a little tremor in his front left leg. When he's on his side it trembles a bit, which is new. :-(
And as far as his poop, he doesn't seem to have trouble getting it out. Although, the last 2 days it has looked awful. It's this horrible really dark green color and this terrible gelatinous consistency. They've been really small too. I don't know if being on meds for the last 2 weeks has something to do with it, or the change in his diet with the syringe food, and just not eating as much in general. But I added a probiotic to his food to see if that helps his tummy.
Tonight I picked up some higher quality canned food and am going to give that a try.
Again, thanks so much for your post. I really appreciate it. It's so hard to not know what's wrong, and to not know what to do to make him feel better. It's just such a helpless feeling.