Death.

[hemi_mygirl]

Hey everyone...I just have a couple questions to the more experienced hedgehog owners.

My friend rescued a hedgie from the Humane Society about 2 months ago, and just this morning...he passed away. My friend is going to get an autopsy done just to find out what happened. I already told him to put the animal in the fridge, not freezer and to get the autopsy done ASAP.

He was a really shy hedgie, but had been coming out of his ball more often, and was running around and everything. He was really fond of licking and annointing with my friend's nose and fingers. In all, he was really warming up to everyone.

My questions are:
- What could have caused this sudden death? He was only about 6-8 months old. He hadn't eaten anything new. I told him to check if the poor thing had choked.

- He's already ruled out hibernation. The little guy was toasty last night, and quite warm before he passed. And we know he's not hibernating now because he's not breathing at all.

- Could it maybe be a ruptured tumor that wasn't discovered, or a stroke? I'm not quite sure if hedgies get strokes, though.

Any other input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you from both of us.

[Nancy]

It could have been a heart defect or a stroke. Sometimes these things just happen really quickly with no warning.

I'm sorry for your friends loss.

[hemi_mygirl]

It could have been a heart defect or a stroke. Sometimes these things just happen really quickly with no warning.

I'm sorry for your friends loss.

Thank you, Nancy. He thinks his sister somehow damaged the little guy's internal organs, so he's thinking bleeding. But the kid would have had to squeeze the little guy, or drop him or something for that to happen.

A heart defect seems most plausible in this case, because he was healthy in every other aspect. Clear eyes, healthy back of quills, lots of fur, no sneezing/runny nose...nothing. My friend, Brad...he's just in shock.

[razzle]

:cry3: That's so sad....and frightening that something like that could happen without warning. It's good that Brad is going to have an autopsy done. Please let us know the results. I'm so sorry this happened. I'm sure Brad is totally shocked. You just don't expect this to happen with such a young hedgie that seemed to be healthy. :(

[hemi_mygirl]

:cry3: That's so sad....and frightening that something like that could happen without warning. It's good that Brad is going to have an autopsy done. Please let us know the results. I'm so sorry this happened. I'm sure Brad is totally shocked. You just don't expect this to happen with such a young hedgie that seemed to be healthy. :(

I'll be sure to let you guys know the verdict. I sent him the link to this topic so he could keep track of what was being said. He's mostly in shock because the little guy was finally opening up and relaxing. For the majority of his time with Brad...he was a big, hissing ball of permanently erect quills. He'd walk to his food bowl with his quills up, hissing, eat quickly, and then snap back into his ball. And last night, Brad finally had a break through with the little guy. He found him, dead, this morning at around 11 am.

Of course, I ran right to Hemi to give her a cuddle.

[Beck79]

Sorry for your friends loss. I was actually afraid to read this thread because I though something happened to Hemi, thank god no, but too bad something had to happen to anyone's hedgie.

[hemi_mygirl]

Sorry for your friends loss. I was actually afraid to read this thread because I though something happened to Hemi, thank god no, but too bad something had to happen to anyone's hedgie.

No...Hemi is just fine. In perfect health, and her temperament continues to improve daily.

[groovychic]

No...Hemi is just fine. In perfect health, and her temperament continues to improve daily.

I was also scared to read this thread. Glad to hear that Hemi is doing great. Sorry to hear about your friend's loss. It's hard enough to lose a hedgie, but especially hard when they leave so soon and unexpectedly

[Kalandra]

Did he know how old the hedgehog was? I'm assuming since he came from a HS that the age would be questionable. Hedgehogs can hide illness extremely well. How was the hedgehog's weight doing beforehand? I ask because I had one whose only sign he was sick was a very very gradual weight loss (~1 gram a day) that we couldn't stop. The night before he died he was up running on his wheel. A few hours before he died, he was eating mealworms. His necropsy showed a systemic cancer (every organ but his kidneys were affected).

Please let us know what the necropsy shows.

[hemi_mygirl]

Did he know how old the hedgehog was? I'm assuming since he came from a HS that the age would be questionable. Hedgehogs can hide illness extremely well. How was the hedgehog's weight doing beforehand? I ask because I had one whose only sign he was sick was a very very gradual weight loss (~1 gram a day) that we couldn't stop. The night before he died he was up running on his wheel. A few hours before he died, he was eating mealworms. His necropsy showed a systemic cancer (every organ but his kidneys were affected).

Please let us know what the necropsy shows.

The Humane Society had only gotten the hedgehog a week before my friend got him. He was surrendered by his owners, and the owners said he was 6 months old. He was awfully small though, which I know isn't a huge factor. He was the same size as my Hemi, and Hemi was only about 4 months old at the time.

As for his weight, I'm not quite sure, but when I was holding both Hemi and the other hedgie in separate hands, they seemed to weigh about the same (368 grams approx.). This was about a month ago, so he could have lost weight. He was a very hefty eater, though. He was on Royal Canin 38 Slim with a mix of that Pretty Pets stuff.

And I will definately post the results here. I'm also passing on these suggestions of what it could be to Brad, just so he makes sure that the vet has checked for all of these.