Unusual behavior. Uncertain

[cmitan]

Ok, so my boyfriend and i have a hedgehog named Cosgrove. I think he's 3 close to four. I'm not sure since we got him from a friend who couldn't take care of him anymore. Anyway, we went away for a few days and on coming back Cosgrove's been acting weird. Note, we didn't leave him alone, roommate were looking after him.

He's been laying outside of his igloo and not doing anything, even during the day when he's normally sleeping. He's barely been eating or drinking, which is weird since he normally eats a ton. He's a little overweight. He doesn't seem to want to use his back legs, but they didnt appear broken, and he didn't huff or anything when I tried touching them. He pulled his foot away, but he always does that.

Our roommate said that he found his wheel tipped over while we were gone, and maybe he hurt himself. If he did would taking him to a vet do anything, or would it just need to heal on its own anyway?

Is this behavior normal for an injury or could he be sick? I haven't been able to notice any new poops to check color and consistency, probably cause he hasn't been eating as much. He's not cold, and the temp in the house is consistent around 75-76 F.

He's really worrying me cause he's normally very active when we take him out and he just lays there. I put his food bowl right by his head while was laying on a soft towel and he just hung his head over the bowl and didn't eat, it was so sad.

I only get paid every four weeks because my college is stupid with paying student workers, so i wont have the money for a full on vet visit till next week.

 

[Narcissus]

I dont know much about hedgehogs, but my opinion is he needs to see a vet NOW! It could be an injury, illness..... I have no idea. but he needs a vet. RIGHT NOW

 

[Raindog]

I agree. If it is any question of an injury or illness needs a vet immediately.

 

[Stellara]

He needs to get to a vet NOW. He may have seriously injured himself on his wheel and yes, vets can do a LOT that we cannot do especially if he is in pain. This sounds very serious, good luck and I hope he ends up being okay :-/

 

[Stellara]

you can also apply for care credit- you will get approved right away and most vet offices take it. If it's as serious as it sounds it definitely cannot wait till next week.

 

[cmitan]

I agree, and I'm going to call the vet tomorrow morning. But I was hoping for a little guidance as to what might be the issue. I don't want to get swindled by a vet i don't know who wants to test everything and charge me a thousand dollars. I can list his symptoms, but I'm not sure what it means exactly. He doesn't seem to be hibernating, or be itching or any physical signs of a problem other than not really using his hind legs (expect he will when he really wants to or needs to).

I bought a syringe and dropper meant for hand feeding small animals, as well as some meal worms. He went after the meal worms like crazy like he normally does, but he totally rejected his normal kitten kibble until I handed him one and he still wasn't super fond. I might try wet cat food or baby food-chicken is what i've been reading is ok to feed them. He took some water from the dropper, but not as much as I would like.

It feels like he perks up and is attentive for the first few minutes when I wake him or interact. He's interested, and eats the meal worms/drinks. BUt then he just lays his head down like "well, I'm not gonna move" and is depressed about it.

I also apologize for the long posts. Typing it all helps me get my thoughts in order and better think about him too.

 

[lmw142]

He definitely needs to go to a vet. The sooner he can get checked out and start treatment, the more likely he will recover from whatever is wrong. When any animal stops eating and drinking they should have an immediate intervention, and it is even more important in chins and hedgies because they are so small. Good luck! I hope there is nothing seriously wrong with him.

 

[cmitan]

So we went to the vet yesterday morning. Apparently, he didn't seem to want to move because he was weak from having trouble breathing. He has fluid around his lungs and his heart. His heart wall she said looked really thick, which can happen over time just like it can thin, so its been having trouble working to its full. Since he stopped eating his liver was also starting to process all his fat (as he is obese), and causing fatty liver disease.

She gave him an injection, and then some take home medicine that will reduce the fluid around his organs. He also has medicine for helping his heart muscles work. We got some Clinic Care (its like Ensure) to hand feed him. He first needs to start eating so the liver can rest again, and then we need to get him on low fat foods.

Even then, we're not sure how long he has because of how thick his heart wall is. But we are treating it and I'm making sure he's comfortable. Even late last night he was doing so so so much better after the injection and taking some of the Clinic Care. He was alert and even moving around quite a bit. I gave him the medicine and he loved the flavoring so feeding him that is not an issue.

The vet was absolutely great. If you're in Columbus, Ohio I definitely recommend Capital Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center. They're even open 24 hours and treat a lot of different types of animals.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Glad to hear you brought him into a vet. Definitely wasn't a situation where watchful waiting and extra snuggles could have fixed.

I'm curious - do you know the name of the meds he received? Both the injection and the take-home meds?

Sending hedgie hugs to you and Cosgrove.

 

[cmitan]

Enalapril .05 ml once a day.

Lasix .05 ml twice a day. I think this is the one is the one that was injected. It has another name on the label that I can't remember.

They are an emergency clinic so she mixed the medicines and stuff in the office right then and I can get more when they run out. Do you recommend anything for helping him loose weight once he eats solid food again?

He's also moving around enough to go get his own water from his bowl, I had to give him water from the dropper before, so good things, we'll see.

 

[cmitan]

Also, with him having trouble breathing, is it ok to put him back in his cage with his wood shavings? (Aspen). Right now he's been in a large shoebox since there is better airflow. He has his food, water, towel and flannel pillowcase right now.

 

[charlie]

I'd keep him away from the aspen but he would probably feel more comfortable in his cage. Keep him on a pillow case liner as long as he can get around okay and keep the temperature of the cage nice and toasty (76F). Keep feeding him and keep give him fluids even if he is drinking on his own. Poor little guy, don't give up, sounds like you are doing everything right.

 

[cmitan]

Do you have any suggestions for low fat foods? Also, he seems to be rejecting one of his medicines. I think he started not to like the taste (one is turkey, one is chicken), but I'm not sure which flavor it is lol. Until I can ask the vet for a different flavor is there anything I could mix it with? Like would wet cat food or baby chicken food work? I think he's more annoyed with how many times I stick a dropper in his face, he gets a little attitude.

 

[Stellara]

Beechnut meat baby foods work great to disguise meds especially since you can just use a tiny bit and it will go a long way. I usually use chicken and chicken broth, just make sure the only ingredients is chicken and chicken broth, no garlic or other extras.
I believe Gerber is okay too, I just said Beechnut because we use it at the hospital so I know it is safe.

 

[smhufflepuff]

He may have decided he doesn't like the taste or figured out that, not too long after eating that, his tummy feels bad. To counter the bad belly feelings, you could give a bit of food, give meds, give a bit more food. That way, he's not getting meds on an empty belly.

Stellara's right about the meat baby food. You can suck the chicken and turkey kinds up in an oral syringe. Often, what I've done is to suck up the meds in the syringe, then suck up a little bit of baby food. That way, the first thing hedgie gets out of the syringe is the yummy food. Only, later, does the not so good stuff come along. I also prefer the Beechnut over Gerber. Take a look at the ingredients - Gerber tends to add something like starch (I forget what it is and don't have one in front of me at the moment) while the Beechnut is just the meat or meat plus water.

The one downside to the baby food is that it isn't a terribly strong flavor. So it's not going to mask anything yucky very well. For that, I've turned to wet cat food - especially the Blue Wilderness stuff. Unfortunately, that stuff does not go into or come out of an oral syringe very well at all, so I just give it as a treat. You can also poke the end of the syringe around in it, so the tip has a yummy flavor. But, really, don't load the syringe full of it. Even if you can get it in there, it won't come out consistently and you're likely to find that either the plunger won't move down. Or it does in fits and spurts and then you've blasted your hedgehog with food and meds all across the face... or, maybe, you get to clean food and meds off the wall

 

[cmitan]

I think i'm going to try different wet cat foods an baby foods. I picked up one gerber chicken and some organic beef and liver cat food. He seemed interested at first, but then I think he rejected them. They were left in his bowl so I wasn't poking at him all the time, but he ignored it. And he didn't eat the kibble that was in there. He doesn't take the syringe feeding much anymore, I may have bothered him too much. I don't know what else to do, I'm probably gonna call the vet again and see if they have any suggestions too. So stressed.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Medicating most hedgehogs is not an easy task. They are little ninjas with more moves than a fleet of UHaul trucks. Stick with it. Take a few deep breaths... and then a few dozen more.

Hopefully, your vet has some good ideas about him not eating.

The meds, though... you are not alone.