African pygmy hedgehog

Alyjane

Can anybody please give me any advice? I got my hedgehog in March, since then I have had nothing but trouble.. Latest was she was getting sick, I brought her back to the pet shop..it stopped..the day I brought her home was puking in car and then pooping blood, I brought her to a vet straight away, he didn't know much about them but was helped me anyways,she has been on antibiotics the last five days for a bladder infection..two days ago she started this sneezing sound.. Like a huffing to clear her nose, her nose is so watery and is rubbing it off anything to remove the water as well as licking her nose..I rang a vet which is going to see her tomorrow a more equipt one, but yet knows little about hedgehogs.... The same with anywhere I ring .. I just want her better, yet nobody seems to be able to help me! Its frustrating and heartbreaking I hate seeing her this way.. I'm living in Carlow so if anyone has any advice at all please feel free to leave a comment

muddypaws

Maybe contact Bev at the Hogsprickle, she deals with wild hedgehogs, but may be able to help.

http://thehogsprickle.weebly.com/

Fluorescence

Bring her to Bairbre o Malley in Bray. She's one of the only exotic vet specialists in the country - these creatures need very specific specialist care you can't just ring around normal vets with no experience.

Fair warning, she is expensive. My own hedgehog cost me a small fortune in vet bills before Christmas

Cherry Blossom

The go to vet for smallies is Bairbre O'Malley in Bray, an hour or so away from you? I think she would be worth a call.

http://www.veterinary.ie

Does your hedgehog have a heat lamp and did she have one in the shop?

Alyjane

Fluorescence wrote: »

Bring her to Bairbre o Malley in Bray. She's one of the only exotic vet specialists in the country - these creatures need very specific specialist care you can't just ring around normal vets with no experience.

Fair warning, she is expensive. My own hedgehog cost me a small fortune in vet bills before Christmas

Thank you so much I will 100% check this vet out..I don't mind how much it costs I just want her better.. I think it is a bit ridiculous that they are being sold as pets but yet nobody is able yo treat them , or knows about them properly, Bray is such a good bit away from me , im obviously willing to travel, but per say if a hedgie owner didn't drive in Ireland, Bray is the only place they can be seen?

Fluorescence

I think there's a guy in Cork as well, but I'm not too sure of the details there, and I presume the UCD Vet Hospital would have some experience with exotics, bit again not sure on that. They're massively popular pets thanks to the internet, but that's a recent enough phenomenon and most veterinary practitioners will never have encountered one in their careers. Not really their fault!

Until you can ring the practise (I'd advise calling first thing in the morning as it sounds flu-ey!) keep hedgie warm and dry. I don't know if you use shavings or anything but I'd pop her on a blanket and keep an eye out for the colour of her wee and poops.

Alyjane

Fluorescence wrote: »

I think there's a guy in Cork as well, but I'm not too sure of the details there, and I presume the UCD Vet Hospital would have some experience with exotics, bit again not sure on that. They're massively popular pets thanks to the internet, but that's a recent enough phenomenon and most veterinary practitioners will never have encountered one in their careers. Not really their fault!

Until you can ring the practise (I'd advise calling first thing in the morning as it sounds flu-ey!) keep hedgie warm and dry. I don't know if you use shavings or anything but I'd pop her on a blanket and keep an eye out for the colour of her wee and poops.

Awh I completely understand fads and stuff making them such a popular animal, but to be uninformed of the lack of vets that can actually treat them upon purchase I think is such a set back.. Fair enough they probably wouldn't sell as much, but then again I would travel anywhere to make her better.. As I said I don't drive and bray is gonna be a nightmare to get to, at least I'm only an hour away, but it's gonna be a few days before I can organize to get there... How many hedghogs are dying here because there is insufficient knowledge of them?... I know I'm ranting but I am fuming.. I have her basically all on fleece just sawdust for her litter tray, as this is what was supplied to me by pet shop hut I recently found out that they are not supposed to be near saw dust because of the dust!,..misinformed, and raging

scudzilla

You seem hell bent on blaming the lack of vets, and the lack of info from the pet shop for the predicament you're in, did you not even research any of this before buying such an animal? Irresponsibility at it's worst

Alyjane

scudzilla wrote: »

You seem hell bent on blaming the lack of vets, and the lack of info from the pet shop for the predicament you're in, did you not even research any of this before buying such an animal? Irresponsibility at it's worst

To be honest at this moment In time yes I am blaming vets and the pet shop.. The vet I brought her to done the best he could considering the circumstances.. Yes I did research them ? Why would you get an animal you actually know nothing about.. I'm giving out the lack of care available for them? .. I rang a vet today, and was told If I left it over the weekend that she would be dead by Monday.. Thats why I'm giving out..

Cherry Blossom

I got your pm OP.

Just a little info, the forums here don't work like Facebook where you reply to a comment and it appears underneath. All posts appear in the order posted with the newest at the end. You can quote the post you want to reply to but I just address the person by their username.

Now, you can't keep a hedgehog in a room constantly heated to 30 degrees. They need a warm area and a cool area and enough space to move freely between the areas. Heat lamps are better than heat pads because there is a bigger variance of temperatures and the hedgie can choose the area with the most comfortable temperature. You need to have her in a much cooler room with a good heat source at one end of the enclosure. I really can't imagine a rabbit hutch would be big enough to allow for this.

I'm afraid this might explain why she was better when she went back to the shop and deteriorated when she came back home. She still needs to see a vet as a matter of urgency though. Pet shops really don't give very good advice sometimes I'm afraid.

Best of luck.

Cherry Blossom

scudzilla wrote: »

You seem hell bent on blaming the lack of vets, and the lack of info from the pet shop for the predicament you're in, did you not even research any of this before buying such an animal? Irresponsibility at it's worst

Scudzilla, this is not helpful. The OP like many has been given bad advice and is trying to do the best for her pet. If you can help or advise her/him then do but ridiculing new posters only serves to ensure they won't come back to ask for advice again in future.

scudzilla

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Scudzilla, this is not helpful. The OP like many has been given bad advice and is trying to do the best for her pet. If you can help or advise her/him then do but ridiculing new posters only serves to ensure they won't come back to ask for advice again in future.

That was not ridiculing in any way, read my post again, i was only stating facts that the OP had stated him/herself. As for being irresponsible, given the facts then i'm spot on.

Cherry Blossom

In all honesty though if a vet or petshop was anyway competent they would have asked about the setup at home.

Alyjane

Haha okay thanks I still don't really grasp it, but I was just recommended here by a friend.. Yeag I get ya, she actually has quite a good vir of space, also majority of cage is not covered BT heat mat.. And because she is getting a bit older I have ordered her a much bigger hutch.. The tank In the pet shop was actually tiny believe it or not.. There wasn't room for her to explore.. Thanks for standing up for me in the last post by the way, I really just want her better and I don't think there is much help available is all..

Alyjane

scudzilla wrote: »

That was not ridiculing in any way, read my post again, i was only stating facts that the OP had stated him/herself. As for being irresponsible, given the facts then i'm spot on.

I'm only trying to do my best. Don't see why your getting yourself into such a knot for.. I'm clearly only stating facts too..that healthcare for headgehogs is far And in between and people need to know that.

Cherry Blossom

If you are going to see Bairbre she can advise how to best manage your setup. Until you get there get the heating in your house off and the heat mat on.

Closing this for now, if bloody three will let me

Cherry Blossom

I'm reopening this thread in case the OP wants to update or ask more questions. Can we all go a bit easy on her please, she is after all putting a lot of effort into trying to resolve her pet's issues.

Fluorescence

Hey Alyjane, since there seems to be some confusion, can you describe the set up you have for your hedgehog at home and we can advise how to improve it? African pygmies require some specific husbandry for their good health so fixing those issues might help prevent problems in the future.

I do agree with you though in the sense that pet shops have no business selling these as pets to uninformed potential owners. The pet shop employees barely know how to care for them as it is, let alone selling them to people with no advise on how to manage at home. The exotic trade in this country has a lot to answer for.

Cherry Blossom

I'm sure she will clarify but from what I can gather she has a rabbit hutch with no lid, a heat mat with glass on top and the OP keeps her home very warm.

Fluorescence

OK that's pretty far from ideal but not awful!

Rabbit hutches are fine, once they have a lid on and a glass/plastic door instead of that chicken wire stuff.

Heat mat is no good except for short term use - the air needs to be warm not their feet! Get a ceramic heat lamp from a pet shop or online, I use a 150w one, and make sure it's just heat, not heat and light. Have it high enough in the hutch that she can't touch it and scald herself!

You can get an on/off thermostat to go with the heat lamp, so that hedge doesn't overheat and pass out! She should be between 26-29*c, I have mine set to 28*c but each hedge thrives at a slightly different temp. I have two regular air thermometers at opposite ends of the cage as well to make sure the thermostat is accurate.

As for bedding, don't use those woodchips or sawdust, as hedgies are allergic and they can cause respiratory disease. Fleece blankets are safe enough, as are those recycled newspaper beddings. I have fleece at the bottom of the cage and a corner of bedding for her to burrow in.

What are you feeding her btw? The best quality cat food you can afford would be ideal, especially as they eat so little you get a long time out of one bag. Depending on how active she is, you could probably feed a neutered cat food as they're prone to getting fat :P

Hopefully you got in contact with Bairbre anyway and they advised you on how to help hedgies out. If you're really stuck on getting her out to bray I might be able to help today. I'm a sucker for a hedgehog sob story :pac:

Cherry Blossom

Maybe when you come back OP you could also tell us about her diet?