Tigger's sick

[Titanium]

Tigger, my 3.5 year old female, has lost close to 50 grams over the past month.

When I got her, she was overweight, tipping the scales at 590g. After switching to a better feed (Wellness and Royal Canin) plus more cage space and exercise, she thinned down a bit to around 450g. She maintained that until January, when she began to drop. She is now just under 400g.

From what I can tell, she is still eating and pooping. The only change I have made over the past year is adding another cagemate in October, to share the 24 square feet with her and Heidi. All three have their own igloo, bag, bowl and wheel and get along well.

Is she just losing weight with age, or is a vet visit required? Thanks.

[PrettyHate]

Perhaps seperate her out so you can monitor her food intake, poops, activity level etc. Sharing a home with two other girls makes it difficult to see who is eating what, and who is pooping.

[Ododad]

Perhaps seperate her out so you can monitor her food intake, poops, activity level etc. Sharing a home with two other girls makes it difficult to see who is eating what, and who is pooping.
Good idea, I concur.
Remember, a hedgehogs weight goes up and down at different times. A constant weight loss that dosen't come back may signal trouble. Since she is acting normally, I agree with Laura. This way you can keep track of exactly what she is eating and drinking.
JMO

[illinidairychic]

You may want to try to feed her things like Mealies or other treats to get some weight on her as well. I do this with a lot of my hard core runners that would rather run all day and night then stop to eat. Make sure you don't change tooo much tooo quickly though a little at a time is best, hope she gets better.

[HamorHollow]

Take urine and fecal samples into the vet. S/he can look for things like a UTI and parasites.

It's never a bad idea to have samples looked at any time there is a behavior change or weight loss. 50g is pretty major.

[Titanium]

Her weight has went up about 5-10g over the past two days. I haven't been on in a couple days, but just after posting, I put Tig into a little cage, like the ones you use to take a small dog in the car with. She is still eating and pooping regularly, and still doesn't seem to be acting oddly. I also gave her some extra mealies.

The temps in her room are normally hovering around 73*C, but she also has a heat lamp in one corner, so I've ruled out hibernation, despite the -20*C temperatures outside. I think I'll call either tonight or tomorrow to make a vet appointment if she doesn't gain a little more. Thanks for all your help!