Philogirl
09-28-2008, 09:02 PM
Okay, so this has been quite a hectic week with the hedgies... aside from the mite infestation, which seems to be under control, Spike had a small blood/smear of blood on the paper towel we put down under the wheel. It's a blood stain about the size of a quarter with three little tiny spots nearby. This occurred at some point in the evening yesterday. My boyfriend was the one who discovered it and saved the paper towel for me to examine. We proceeded to thoroughly examine him- looking for a wound or something that may have resulted in that amount of blood. Feet- all clear. Tummy area- all clear... no sign of a scratch, or a scab or anything that looked injured. Penis- clear. Anus area- clear. We combed through his quills and no sign of any injury to his body. I then gave him a foot bath to see if maybe he had cut his foot or something. No blood came off and his clean feet showed no sign of any cuts or soreness. There was no blood on the wheel and no bloody pawprints anywhere else in the cage or on the paper towel. I assumed it wasn't from his urinary tract- since it was the color of fresh blood, not blood mixed with urine. No sign of intestinal blood, since there was no poop near or in it. While he was in the tub, he pooped and I smooshed it to make sure there were no traces of blood. After drying him, he ran to the corner by his cage and peed- and no blood in that either. His face, ears and everything else looked clear. However, we noticed a smear of blood on his quills right behind his right ear. But nothing at skin level. I could not for the life of me figure out where this blood came from. Upon placing him back in his cage, he ate and drank. I put him in a white fleece so that any other blood would definitely show up. This morning and this evening, there is no sign of anything abnormal- he ran (there's poop on the wheel), he ate all his food and all his poop and urine stains look normal. I talked to my friend about it and she said that he may have vomited or coughed up the blood, which did not occur to me last night. My idea though- wouldn't he be dead by now if it were internal bleeding of some sort? He's totally normal right now- not lethargic at all. He already has a vet appointment in the morning. Any ideas?