Hedgehogs
Because hedgehogs are so difficult to examine, they should be anaesthetized with Isoflurane, as lightly as possible and for the shortest possible time.
It is possible to pick a hog up by its rear end and providing its front feet are allowed to rest on a surface you can look underneath at his tummy,
but it isn't very easy and you only get a fleeting glance before he curls up.
Placing the hedgehog on a transparent sheet, waiting for it to unroll and then having a look is also possible but can be time consuming.
So for a proper examination they have to be anaesthetized.
Examination
Always thoroughly check them, which includes making sure they have;
4 legs in working order, no breaks, cuts or sore pads. Nails on every toe.
Tail and rear end ok? No prolapse, and in case of a male, penis not damaged.
Tummy plump and furry, no lumps or wounds, check under the front “arm pits” and behind the back legs.
Check around the neck, open the mouth and gently pull the tongue out a little to see back of throat and to check the teeth. .
Teeth should be intact, check lower jaw for breaks, especially at the axil.
Check top palate inside and out for breaks, especially if the hog came in with noisy breathing, but with lungs appearing clear.
Check the nose, and feel the top of head for fracture of the skull
Eyes should be bright; one missing isn’t too bad.
Ears should be clean, inside and out.
Turn the hog over and check his back, spines and general shape, and have a good sniff.
If he has an infection, maggots or mange etc. you should be able to smell it.
A healthy hog just smells animal like, with nothing to take your breath away.
Skin wounds
Clean the wound as thoroughly as possible, clip away any spines or fur that may be in the way, if the wound bleeds it is all the better.
Spray the wound with Betadine and give a short course of antibiotics.
Give 0.2 Synulox for 3-5 days, check the wound daily when administering the injection.
Hedgehogs are notorious for producing lots of thick pus very quickly and this needs to be squeezed out.
Deep wounds
If the wound is very serious or deep it may need stitching, so the hog would need to be anaesthetized.
Always use dissolving suture, hedgehogs are great escape artists.
Clean the wound very thoroughly and clip away any spines or fur that will interfere with the mending process.
Flush it out with dilute pevidine using a syringe (no needle) If it is a deep wound fill it with intracite gel and push an antirobe capsule in as well.
Stitch the wound up, leaving a small gap for flushing and draining. It will need checking every other day for pus.
If it does get nasty, flush it out well and squeeze out any pus, and instead of intracite gel use proflavine to fill up the wound with another antirobe capsule.
Do this until it is clean and dry and mended.
Abscesses
Hedgehogs are very prone to these and they need squeezing out on an almost daily basis.
The pus is usually so thick that they will not drain, and needs manual cleansing.
Abscesses need to be kept open and flushed out daily using dilute pevidine.
If it is very bad hydrogen peroxide, diluted 1-10 can be used once and after it has fizzed and more muck has come away, flush with warm clean water.
Fill the hole with proflavine and an antirobe capsule.
Abscesses have to heal from the inside out so need to be opened up if they have scabbed over.
Each day they should get shallower and produce less and less pus.
Give 0.2 Synulox or (0.15 Baytril 2.5% 750g bw ) for 5-7 days.
Rehydration
If a hedgehog won't eat it is usually dehydrated and needs fluid therapy. They can be given sub cut fluid twice a day.
Give10 to 15 % of their body weight, add some B12 or Multivet to it and the hog should start to eat within 12 hours.
If it doesn’t then check for a more serious problem.
Broken legs
If a hog has a broken leg, it is best to try and mend it.
Amputation of a front leg is not advisable; hogs find it difficult to walk with one front leg and get ulcers and sores where their body hits the ground.
Back legs are less of a problem, they can lose one back leg and function perfectly well, but always try and save the leg before resorting to amputation.
Whether the break is compound or not, it can be splinted.
Clean the area very well, dry thoroughly, and apply Intracite gel if there is an open wound.
Place a piece of gelnet over this and wrap one layer of bandage around the leg.
Place a splint along the bone that needs stabilising and continue to wrap the bandage around the leg and foot securing the splint.
You can leave the toes just peeking out.
Cover the bandage with elastoplast, making sure it is stuck onto the top of the leg so the bandage and splint does not slip.
Check the animal daily when injecting to make sure that the splint not too tight, rubbing or slipping.
Medication
Antibiotic cover plus a painkiller must be given when trying to mend a break.
0.2 Synulox for 5 days and 0.1 Rimadyl for 3 days.
If the animal seems to be ok, is eating and gaining weight, leave the splint on for at least 2 weeks.
If the leg feels stable, apply a supporting bandage, minus the splint.
If it still feels unstable splint it again, but omit the Intracite gel if the wound has healed.
If on the other hand the hog seems unwell, losing weight etc. remove the bandage and splint and check that the wound is not festering.
If it is, clean it again, and resplint. It is worth trying again as they often mend against great odds.
If after a second attempt it is still no good, amputate the leg as high as possible so it doesn’t leave a stump which could develop sores
and wounds open to infection.
Amputation
If the leg has to amputated give 0.3 Synulox for 7-10days or until the site is clean and dry plus 0.1 Rimadyl for 3 days.
The higher dose of antibiotic seems to prevent infection. Check the amputation site every 3 days or so for pus.
Keep the hog for another week and if the wound has stayed clean and dry it is ready for release.
Lungworm
Hedgehogs that cough usually have lungworm. This can be cured if caught at an early stage.
0.1 Levedin 400g - 700g body weight by injection
0.2 Levedin 700g - 1000g body weight by injection.
Give again a week later.
Another treatment for lung worm is:
For a 750g hedgehog
Day 1
0.2 Levedin, 0.15 Millophyline, Depo Medrone, Clam LA
Day 2
0.15 Millophyline
Day 3/5/7
0.2 Clam LA
Day 8
0.2 Levedin, 0.15 Millophyline
Day 9
0.15 Millophyline
Day 15
0.2 Levedin, 0.15 Millophyline
Day 16
0.15 Millophyline
All medicines are given by subcutaneous injection.
It works well, but is a lengthy process if one was hoping for a quick release.
Chest Infection
If the hedgehog is still coughing after two days and the lungs sound crackly it may have a chest infection so A/B’s should be given.
A 5-10 day course of 0.1 - 0.2 Borgal depending on size of hog, plus a single dose of corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation.
0.1 or 0.2 Dexadresson for 400g-1000g body weight.
Bisolvon can be sprinkled onto the food if the hog continues to sound choked up.
Give a pinch on food every day for a week or two, then every other day for another week.
If the hog is still coughing and wheezing after all this treatment, the lungs may be too badly damaged for the hog to ever get better.
Then you have to decide whether the hog can ever be released or whether it would it be kinder to put it to sleep.
Broken jaws
These can be fixed by stitching the two pieces of jaw together firmly, it works well when the break is at the front or to one side of the jaw.
If the break is at the axis but the jaw lines up perfectly, the break should mend on its own and no action need be taken except to give the hog very soft food.
Soft food (mashed puppy food, feline liquid food, etc.) should be given to all hedgehogs with an injured or broken jaw.
Treatment
A/B cover 0.1 or 0.2 Synulox for 5-7 days and 0.1 Rimadyl for 3 days.
Mange
Hedgehogs with mange can be successfully treated with DILUTE Ivomec.
Ivomec + 0.9 Propylene Glycol, shake well and give a dose of
200g-500g body weight
500g-1000g body weight
Another dose to be given 2 weeks later.
Even if they have a very bad case of mange and all their spines fall out they will recover and grow a new set.
Clean their ears out with a piece of cotton wool and a little olive oil or dilute tea tree lotion.
Bathe their eyes with warm salt water and then put a little fucithalmic in each eye twice a day for 3 days.
When they have such bad mange it fills their ears and covers their eyes with a crust and must be so very uncomfortable that
anything you can do to relieve the itching must help.
Alternatively the hog can be bathed in a dilute solution of Aludex, 1 part to 200 parts of warm water.
The animal will have to be lightly G/A’d and wearing protective gloves pour the solution over the body, avoiding the eyes, ears and mouth.
Leave to dry wrapped in a towel, and repeat 2 weeks later.
Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:57 pm