Razzle's Vet Appointment

[razzle]

I took Razzle to the vet on Saturday morning since I noticed a couple mucousy looking stools in the past couple of weeks. Come to find out, he does have a little infection (the vet said she saw a lot of yeast too). :confused: Razzle was given an antibiotic (metrodozine..or something like that) which he has to take for 10 days; and also something called "BeneBac" (beneficial bacteria) to correct the intestinal flora, which he has to take for 30 days. :eek:

The vet also recommended that I give Razzle 50mg of Vitamin C a day (powder I can mix in with food). She also said that I need to cut back on the fatty treats. :|

Razzle was a real trooper during his appointment. He even had to get knocked out so they could listen to his heart & lungs and look at his teeth (all were fine). They even clipped his nails for me. The vet brought him back into the exam room and he was still a little woozy. The poor thing looked drunk!! He couldn't walk and was just flopping and falling over himself. If there was a chandalier in the room, he would have been swinging on it. I was getting worried, but after a few minutes, he hissed at me and he was back to his old self! :love:

Anyway, I have to give one medicine 2x a day and the other one 1x a day by syringe. The first time was easy - Razzle didn't know what it was, so he bit the syringe and in his mouth it went. But he wised up real quick and it wasn't so easy the next time! He didn't like the medicine and now wants no part of it!!! So now every day I have to fight with him to get him to take his medicine. He thrashes his head from side to side saying, "no no no no no no no!!!!" and makes little fists and bats my hand. :banghead: I feel so bad for the poor little thing!

I am so glad I took him to the vet, and this vet seemed like she really knew her stuff. She asked what I was feeding Razzle, and I told her CSFTCLS and Royal Canin Slim and she said those were excellent foods. She just recommended the 50mg of Vitamin C (she told me to get the Vitamin C Crystals at Trader Joe's - so both Razzle and I can take it :laugh: ) and I need to not feed him so many worms and crickets. She said crickets were a better choice and have less fat than the worms, but mealworms and especially WAXworms are like little pastry puffs to hedgehogs and full of fat.

So hopefully my little boy is on his way to better health and doesn't hate me by the end of all this!!! :rolleyes:

[Ododad]

I bet little Razzle knows just how lucky he is to have such a loving parent.
I had to laugh out loud when I read of him beating your hand with those little fist! lol

I am glad that Razzle is going to be fine and you are to be commended on the excellent care you have given him.
When they gassed Odo, Frodo and Marco I was scared to death! They looked like they were dead. Odo and Marco was only under for a short time, it didn't take long to determine they were healthy. Frodo was under for almost an hour. He had to have a lot of care. All of them came out of it just fine, but I was still scared to death. Were you?

[razzle]

Luckily, they took Razzle out of the room when they put him under and examined him. I know I would have freaked out to see him "conked out" like that. It was bad enough seeing him all woozy! I was scared though - there is always that thought of maybe he'd have some weird allergic reaction to the gas or something. I was never so happy to hear him hiss at me and spike up his quills after the gas wore off.


Do you give your clan Vitamin C ? The vet highly recommended it to all her hedgie patients. I had not really heard of that before, so I wanted to pass it on to others here as well.

[Ododad]

No, my vet didn't say anything about vit. C at all. I am going to call tomorrow though and see what he thinks about it.

I watched all of my babies being put under the gas. It was really scary to me. They just looked like they were dead. He did Odo first, then Marco and did a full exam on them. Teeth, rear end, belly, heartbeat the works. I have never had a physical that complete myself! Then, I took them back to Dar in the exam room and I went again to the back area. By this time he had Frodo passed out and was working on him. Poor little guy had quite a few problems. He worked on Frodo for almost an hour. I asked questions the whole time and the vet took the time to answer each one. He is a really great vet, stayed overtime for Frodo and didn't charge me for it. Due to the care of the vet, Frodo has become quite heathy and does not even look like the same hog. The entire bill was under $300.00. Concidering the exam given Marco and Odo and him working for almost an hour on Frodo, I thought that a pretty good price. It also included three fecals and ear drops.

[razzle]

OMG - they worked an HOUR on Frodo?? What was wrong? The poor little guy!

[Ododad]

Little Frodo had a very severe case of an ear infection. They flushed out his ears four times, then put some stuff in them, waited a little while then flushed them out again. You would not believe the pus and junk that came out of his ears. His front nails had turned under his little feet and had imbedded themselfs into the pads of his feet. They had to be extracted and the infection there treated. He had a open, runny sore on his belly which they scrapped and tested then treated. It was about the size of a penny. They scrapped the scabs that were all over the tips of his ears and treated the open wounds that were left. The tips of his ears were infected and the scabs on them were green. They brushed his teeth which were black and put some ointment on his gums so he had to be passsed out for that ointment to take effect. He has taken all of his ear drops now and the scabs are gone. His belly sore has closed up and drains no more and is healing quite nicely. Beautiful pink skin is growing in it's place. He is back on hard food and dosen't seem to be having a problem chewing as he eats like a pig now! He is a very lucky litte guy. His immune system was so low from his previous diet and the infection that the vet was kinda worried that he may develop something serious. He seems to be almost out of the woods now. He is very, very active and so very curious about his surroundings now. He can hear now, and loves to play with his little kitten ball that has a bell inside it. He will push it, then tilt his little head when the bell makes a noise. The front of his house has a mesh barrier and he will make a nest right in front of the mesh and stare out watching all that is going on. I can't say enough of how very curious he is about everything. He is not the same hog that he was. His quills, which were kinda a dingy off white are now high glossy white, full and long. His back skin is a very healthy glossy pink now. He is just an amazing little guy! After all he has been through, he seldoms balls up and has never tried to bite. He is just so friendly! Dar and I have already fallen head over heels for this little bundle of engery!

[razzle]

Oh my Gosh, that is both a sad and wonderful story. I'm so glad Frodo is thriving now. He really is a very lucky little boy to have such loving parents. I had to smile thinking about him pushing his little cat ball with the bell inside! :love:

[Ododad]

Thank you! Yeah, this little guy is special to me. Of course, they all are for different reasons but Frodo shows so much affection all the time. He only balls up and huffs when I wake him up for medicine time. But he sits real still while I put the salve on his belly and a different creme on his ears. He would hold his head real still for the ear drops before they were all gone. As soon as I tell him that it's all over, I am done, he starts squirming around wanting down to run and explore. He will run and chase that stupid little ball all over the place!
My vet told me that the infection in his ear was nothing new and a lot of the junk that came out of them was old and had been there for awhile. He had been almost deaf for a long time the vet said. Frodo plays like a little kitten. He will stick his head into that little tp tube and prance all around with his head held high! I have laughed so hard at the antics he pulls. It's a real shame that the couple who didn't want him to begin with didn't give him a chance. They just have no idea what a very special little guy he is. I have just got to take some photo's of him playing and post them. So everyone can see what I mean.

[Nancy]

Awww, Billy that is so cute. What an awesome little guy he must be. :D It was meant for you are Dar to save him. :)

[razzle]

Oh yes! Please post some photos! We love photos!!

Frodo really has gotten a 2nd chance at life because of your caring. Odo, Marco & Frodo are such lucky little hedgies! :)