The Perils of Self Diagnosis

The Perils of Self-Diagnosis


Wherever possible, a professional diagnosis should be sought. The reason for this is pretty straight forward: some symptoms can have more than one possible cause, thereby potentially complicating treatment. The table below has been compiled to explain what we mean. As you can see, hyperactivity, for example, can be a sign of a heavy worm infestation, an infection, dehydration or stress - each potential cause has a different, specific treatment. So, if a hyperactive hedgehog were diagnosed with dehydration when it actually had a lungworm infection, rehydrating fluids wouldn't solve the problem and may waste valuable time. Remember too that these are likely causes and not an exhaustive list of possible causes. A coughing hedgehog, for example, is likely to be suffering from either a lungworm infection (active or residual) or pneumonia. Coughing can, however, also stem from nest fouling -- if a hedgehog defecates in its nest, the faeces can often cause the hedgehog to cough --, dust on bedding hay/straw, or from being in an environment that's too dry.

The moral here is simple: if you think that the hedgehog needs medical treatment, take it to a qualified animal welfare centre or veterinary surgeon.

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I always hand the wildes i find over to Gill I'd rather not try to guess whats wrong .