Loss of Appetite

[Twizted]

Hello.
The first time I realized it was on Thursday when I noticed my Hedgehog hadn't eaten. Sometimes he will do this, so I just made a note of it and expected him to start up again.. He hadn't touched a single thing on Friday, and by Saturday morning I brought him into the Vet as a Emergency to find out what's wrong with him.
They did a routine exam, fecal float, skin scape incase he had mites, x-rays, and blood tests (which I think they won't get back until Monday, I believe), and didn't find a single thing. I had brought him in a month ago just for a exam, since he hadn't been there in a year, and he has lost almost 100grams since then.
I normally feed him RC (is it Lite 27? The one they changed from Slim 28), Chicken Soup, and Wellness.
He just.. doesn't act interested in anything. Just this morning I put him next to a plate of pork, strawberries, raisins (I don't normally give him these, but I'm desperate), and a peice of cucumber. Nothing, just barely a sniff. I put the plate with him in his travel carrier with bedding, and he just decided to go to sleep. We've been syringe feeding him baby food, so he's getting something, but if he doesn't start eating on his own by Monday-Tuesday, the vet wants to give him medication to make him eat, and I'd really rather try anything else before it has to come to that.
Some other info is that he is/is almost 4 years old (which is why I'm so worried, getting older and everything..), and acts totally normal when he is out of his cage/house. You wouldn't know anything is wrong with him other then the appetite issue.
Is there anything I can try to get him to eat? We are going shopping tomorrow, so I'm going to get some random hedgie-safe things then.. but other then that I have no idea. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
-Twizted and Jax

[paris26]

At 4 years I would be concerned about a number of cancers that hedgies are prone to.
Have you tried grinding up his kibble and mixing that with the chicken baby food? Also keep a log of how much he eats, drinks etc. I usually have cans of science diet a/d, chicken babyfood, pedialyte, strawberry boost and Critical Care for Carnivores. The CC for carnivores and a/d can be purchased through your vet. Also, have you tried giving him SQ fluids? It's amazing how fast these guys can dehydrate and if they are dehydrated they have no appetite.
When Annabelle went on her brief hungerstrike, my vet gave her a tiny injection of Winstrol which is an appetite stimulant. It worked like a charm because she started eating once we got home.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Twizted]

Yeah, and thats one of my main worries too. We go to a exotic vet and he knew about the cancer issues they can get later life, and he looked for any tumors on the x-rays and he said he didn't find any of those. Also forgot to mention he wants me to try and get a urine sample to check for kidney issues.. not sure how successful that'll be, though.
No, I don't have any CC.. I totally forgot to ask him about that while we were there, and he never mentioned it so for some reason I didn't even think about it. And I'll try to get some of the other stuff you mentioned tomorrow.. The Strawberry Boost stuff is one of those diet shake-type things, right?

I'll try to grind up his dry food into the baby food tonight, but he doesn't even seem interested in the baby food so I'm not sure if it will work any better. Doesn't hurt to try though.

Hopefully this won't sound like too stupid of a question, but what are SQ fluids? I'm not positive if he is drinking from his bottle so we are giving him atleast 2 syringe full of water when we feed him to try and keep him hydrated, sometimes he'll take 3.
Thank you very much for the advice. :)

[TGoss]

SQ fluids. They are used for all animals i believe hey are basically hydration shots.
o yea also. Hes 4 correct? I was reading up and 2-4 years is the average life span of a hedge. Maybe hes just becoming a old man?? Thats my 2 cents.

[paris26]

The strawberry boost is a liquid nutritional supplement. I found mine by the pharmacy. Some hedgies like vanilla, but mine seem to like the strawberry best. This is going to sound gross, but I would mix that boost with some of the a/d and chicken baby food, make a slurry, nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds. It seems like they were eating more.
Giving oral fluids is okay, but check the elasticity of the skin. Kind of like you would scruff a cat. If the skin stays up for a few seconds, your hedgie is dehydrated. SQ fluids is when you place a needle under the hedgies skin and inject fluids into them. You can get a fair amount in and it's more readily absorbed than orally. I would also offer him water in a bowl. They seem to drink more and it's easier to access.

I would also suggest you get a digital scale and weigh your hedgie daily. Hopefully the bloodwork will come back okay. I've lost 2 hedgies to lymphoma and it showed in the bloodwork :(

We'll send good thoughts your way.

[Twizted]

My mom was able to swing by a store and got some pedialyte, so we will be giving him that now along with the baby food. I'm not sure where we are going tomorrow but if I can convince her to go by the Vet I will be getting some CC and the A/D stuff and mix it up like you said. If I can't convince her to tomorrow, I will definetly get it Tuesday, if it isn't already too late. I should also be able to get the Boost.. I pretty sure I know what it is now, so that shouldn't be hard to find.
I do actually have a digital scale, and I was planning on taking his weight at dinnertime. I'm not sure if it is working correctly though, but since I know what it was yesterday at the Vet's I'll be able to keep an eye on it.

As far as the SQ fluids go.. no, I haven't. I'm not even sure we have a needle here, but maybe I can stop by the pharmacy tomorrow and get one there. Is there anything specific I should do with that though? Like, specific places to inject, and should I use plain water or the pedialyte? And how much should I give him each time? Even if he isn't dehydrated tonight, I'll probably attempt it after I get a needle anyway just incase.

Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate all the help and well wishes. <3

[Twizted]

Alright, the Vet called this morning and told us that he didn't see anything wrong with the bloodwork. Perfectly fine. He prescribed Prednisolone and Liquid Pet Tinic for him to try and increase his appetite, so we went there today to pick it up - also grabbing some Carnivore Care that he gave to me. He didn't say anything about the a/d, so I was able to grab that at the place that our Dog/Cat Vet works at. Also got some Strawberry Boost at the store.
Didn't get a needle, and after telling my mom about it she said she didn't want to do that and due to the fact that I don't think I will be able to do it myself with him rolling up, we will just try our hardest to keep him hydrated. Last night I put a bowl of pedialyte (I figured I might aswell try that, then water if he didn't) in his cage like you said, and after seeing him come out and walk over to the bottle and walk away, he then found the bowl and started drinking out of that. Not much, but he did successfully.
We are suppose to give him the medication every 12 hours, so we will be giving it to him later tonight so we will be able to keep with the schedule during morning hours. Since we are feeding him 3 times a day by syringe, and will now be giving him medication and CC during 2 of them, when should I start to slow down? I'm afraid we will be filling him up that he won't bother eating dry food. Or do you think he would naturally start eating more food with the medicine I'm giving him?
I'm glad the bloodwork came back fine, but now he just needs to let me know when he's ready to quit this little hunger strike. x)

[paris26]

Glad to hear that your hedgie is starting to feel a little better. Hmm.. I was hoping the bloodwork would explain some things. Hedgies are sneaky little buggers when it comes to hiding illness.
I would continue to offer both the dry food and continue the handfeeding. How much are you getting into him when you handfeed? The steroid should help stimulate his appetite and hopefully he'll feel like going back to his old habits. Take it one day at a time.

As for the SQ fluids, I was able to get a 1000 ml bag of LRS and needles from my vet for my one hog and I purchased an additional bag to add to my first aid kit. Ask your vet about it and s/he or a tech can show you to safely adminster them.

[Twizted]

I was hoping for atleast a little explantion on the bloodwork, too. I wasn't actually the one that talked with him during the phone call - it was my mom, and she said he didn't say anything other then "it looked fine", so I guess I will just have to trust his word on it.
Lets see.. The biggest syringe we have was a 60mg, and he's taking atleast 1 and a half of them with the babyfood/Boost/a/d mixture. We go for 2, but I'm sure he looses a bit of it. Another full syringe of water or pedialyte, and after that he wants nothing to do with anymore of it.
The Vet wrote on the little instructions to give him 1.5 - 3cc's of the C. Care, and we got him to take the full 3cc's tonight. We are suppose to give him that every 8-12 hours, along with the medicine. He also took the required amount of medicine that the Vet wanted us to give him, can't remember how much it was though. I think both of them were .10 cc's.

Tonight when I had him out for bedding change/playtime he made a normal hedgie mess on his wheel, so it all looks like it's going through fine. Couldn't keep the urine for the Vet. The syringe -he- gave me for it didn't work. I tried, though. I also put a freeze-dried mealie a little ways away from him and once he found it he bit into it, and I swear he made a face like "wait.. thats what you want me to do, right?" then he ignored what fell out of his mouth. He still has the daily dry food and water bowl in his cage, so he will be able to get some if he wants it.

I will definetly look into the SQ fluids next time we are able to go there. Normally he is pretty busy whenever we are there, but I'm sure one of the vet tech's will be able to show both of us how to do it.

[paris26]

He's eating pretty well then! Sometimes we have to baby these senior hogs a little bit.

Thanks for the update and I hope this means he's on the mend!!