Bathing Wild Hogs (Pee Smell)

Hi there,

I'm Jen. I'm currently fostering a wild euro hog in NZ. Our little boy has had a really rough go. He's had several bouts of lung worm related breathing and coughing and has had pneumonia.

It's been a struggle to get him well and I felt we were really getting there. He's coughing again, so we will start another round of medication tomorrow.

I'm wondering how to get him clean as he is eating and drinking quite well now and seems to like soaking in his own wee. So, he is a bit pungent at the moment.

He gets very, very stressed being around water and gets horrible green mucousy stool from it.

Suggestions welcomed!

jen i cant offer you any advice with wildies but i know when helen and lou are on in a bit they will be able to help



you could look in the health section for the aph and see if the bathtime advice on there would be any help to you? let me know hun i will see what i can find :)xxx

Hey Jen, I've just replied to your post in another thread.

Regular bathing generally isn't advised. How does he manage to soak in his own wee? Depending on where you have him living, do you find he goes to the same place to toilet? What kind of bedding do you have for him?


xoxox

Wilde hedgehogs are completely different from APH . Jen i have contacted a friend of mine who runs a Wilde Hedgehog Rescue here in the UK .. She will get back to me shortly and either pop on who be able to give the correct advice .

He must be very weak to not be able to move from the area that he is urinating in . My Wilde Lucky had to be treated 3 times with lungworm treatments and thankfully has come out the other side and is currently weighing in at 1kg and due to be released back into the garden . As soon as she gets back to me i will post .x

Mau wrote:

Hi there,

I'm Jen. I'm currently fostering a wild euro hog in NZ. Our little boy has had a really rough go. He's had several bouts of lung worm related breathing and coughing and has had pneumonia.

It's been a struggle to get him well and I felt we were really getting there. He's coughing again, so we will start another round of medication tomorrow.

I'm wondering how to get him clean as he is eating and drinking quite well now and seems to like soaking in his own wee. So, he is a bit pungent at the moment.

He gets very, very stressed being around water and gets horrible green mucousy stool from it.

Suggestions welcomed!

Hi Jen,

Are you the lady who has been dealing with Peg Loague? Has she given you any advice on this?

The problem we have is a hog in NZ may well be suffering from different issues to those we see in the UK. We don't know which parasites they get so advising on medications, which you may not be able to get out there, is dodgy to say the least.

All I can advise is as follows:

1. Coughing.

Coughing doesn't necessarily mean lungworm or pneumonia. It can be that the atmosphere is too dry or that the bedding or cage need cleaning. Lungworm cough sounds like a 40 a day smoker. Chesty, wet and continual.
A dry cough just means humidity or stink.

What medication are you using? Some wormers regularly prescribed by vets over here just don't work on wild hogs any more. We are now using cattle wormers to get them clear but you must make sure they actually have worms before treating.

If you have a willing vet, get her to check a sample under a scope to see if there are capillaria (eggs) or larvae (lungworm). If those are found then I can advise on the medication content, although not necessarily the brand name, and dosages. Your vet should be able to find an equivalent.

2. Bathing

Normally absolutely not, but if he is really dirty then you could bathe him but it needs to be body temperature water and no bubble bath, disinfectants or anything like that or he could get poisoned from licking afterwards. Plain water should be fine. When you take him out, wrap in a warm towel and then put back in his bed but make sure he doesn't get chilled.

Do not do this on a regular basis or he'll lose all his natural oils and you'll end up with severe dandruff.

Under no circumstances ever use oils or creams on his belly. Hogs perspire through their belly and if you block the pores they will overheat.

3. Green stools

Hogs have green bile which digests their food. If they haven't eaten much for whatever reason, you will see dark green poo.

They do this immediately before and after hibernation, they also do it if they have a gut infection. AND when on antibiotics which destroy the natural bacteria. It's not going to be water unless it's contaminated.


4. General care and monitoring

Clean the cage and bedding every day especially while he's sick. Do not use any disinfectants or bleaches to do this, pet safe cleaners only and make sure you rinse well afterwards then dry.

Bedding if you are using fleeces can be soaked in baby sterilising solution before a very hot wash.

Weigh him at the same time every day and write it down. Weight loss is the one real indicator that something is wrong.

What makes you think he's stressed sround water?

Thankyouu for coming on Gill ...xx

Thanks heaps Gill, that's a really interesting and helpful post that I'm sure will help this poor hoggie out... xx

xoxox

YW.

Green poo nearly always sends new carers into a panic. The only time you really need to act fast with poo issues is if there is evidence of parasites under a scope, if the poo is pale green and frothy (entertitis or fluke) or if it's a vivid lime green (occasionally bright blue) which is poison.

Interesting ..x

How is Lucky doing can i still bring him home Sat ..x

He's HUUUUUGE! Yes but he can't be released yet as the weather isn't right. If you have a hutch or somewhere he can be kept for a few weeks in a shed or garage then he can go. He's currently bunked up with another hog and they're best buds. I'll have to see if the other one is returnable or not, if not you could have two!

Or you could have 50!

Nothing if not flexible here.

Lol ... I do have a shed Gill yes that they could go in ..

Not sure on the 50 .. .. but be nice to bring lucky back .x

Hi Gill,

Yes, it's me. I've been trying to get some good forum advice and this forum was suggested to me.

He has nice, normal poos until I get him around water and then they go quite mucousy and bright green. I thought for a while he was just ill until I noticed they came after the baths. I really do think he's quite terrified of them.

I'm cleaning the cage twice a day with vinegar. We don't really have harsh chemicals in the home because my daughter has quite bad eczema reactions to them.

I will take some poo to the vet and see if they can see anything in it.

His cough is definently very smoker like. I'd almost call it that barking croup cough children can get. He is very rattly after a big coughing session, you can just hear the lungs rattling from fluid.

So, I suspect that's more pneumonia?

I think he is quite fond of his wee smell. If I bring new fleece in, he will immediately wee on it, like a male cat marking his territory.

He is eating well, finally gaining daily, and is growing his coloured fur in. He is getting some silver on his snout, which is very sweet.

I can clean the cage 5 times a day, and as soon as he gets new fleece, he pees on it.

I've ordered another metre of fleece to see if I can just change all day, but I honestly think he just likes his scent.

OK, first off, don't bath him. If he's terrified, he's terrified. Not all hogs like water and he may have had a bad experience in a stream or pond. If he's filthy then just get a warm damp cloth and wipe him over. He's a wild animal and they do not like baths.

Yes they make a fearful mess but you don't need to clean out so often. Once a day will do. He's constantly peeing to get his smell on things and with you changing it he's going nuts. Wild hedgehogs are dirty, stinky, messy little beggars and that, plus the stress issues, are why we don't keep them as pets. They're made to run around outside and pee/poo wherever they happen to be standing at the time.

Put thick layers of newspaper on the bottom of the cage.

Give him a bed box, something the size of a shoe box is fine but if you can get a small plastic storage box that size it's easy clean. Cut a 4inch square hole as a door, put paper on the bottom and a pile of fleeces inside.

Put food at the other end of the cage and he may well pee and poo at that end.

He needs to be kept in a quiet place so he doesn't get stressed. No rooms with people shouting, no TV or radio. Handling kept to an absolute minimum, again for stress reasons.

All of ours get handled once a day at clean out/feed time. Other than that they're left alone to do what they want.

Re the coughing, yes get a sample checked. Over here we'd be looking for eggs, larvae or oocysts, your vet should be able to find them if there are any.

If it is lungworm then message me on Facebook or email me via the contact form on the web site ASAP and I'll give you the dosages for him, otherwise the vet will know what to try for pneumonia.

Rattly breathing can be a problem once they've had a chest infection and it doesn't always clear up. However, over here, they normally only get pneumonia from a worm infestation so it's absolutely worth checking for those just in case, and if one lot is clear, check another lot the next day. Antibiotics won't do the job without the wormers and possibly some steroids.

It's good he's eating well and gaining weight, that's what we need to see.

Little Boy is getting a chest xray done tomorrow. He was so piddly today I had to wash him a bit under the tap but dried him thoroughly.

Poor boy.

We're thinking he's got a chronic lung disease.

Bless his little cotton ones, I do hope he is on the oad to recovery. Gill your help and advice is priceless.... Thank you xx

Mau, keep up the good work, you're doing your best... Just follow what Gill has offered. Hope everything hoes well for this little fella's X Ray tomorrow xx

xoxox

If he's got a chest problem you need to stop washing him. He'll get chilled every time you do it. Wild hogs smell, I have 120 of them here and I can promise you they stink but the more you wash them the more they stink as they lose their natural oils.

We need to go back to basics, what is he housed in? How big? With or without heat? and can I just clarify as I know the laws in NZ are different to the UK, is the intention to release him or keep him as a pet?

Hi Gill,

He had his xray today and both lung sacs are filled with fluid. He probably has a chronic lung disease and that he won't be releasable.

He is getting dandruff, so maybe a good oiling will do him good.

He is in a large white tub, sans lid, with fleece. He has a wee cardboard box as his 'home' and he has a dedicated water bowl (heavy ceramic) and we change out his food bowl, but it is also heavy ceramic.

He lives under the kitchen table, on carpet, next to a heater which keeps his tub quite warm.

In NZ they are an introduced animal and considered a pest and a 'rodent', so most Kiwis happily kill them off. =(

Finding a vet with any knowledge of hedgehog care is quite rare in NZ, so with Pauline we are exceptionally lucky.

He is on Flagil .95ml twice a day for 3 weeks as this is the most we can do to try and clear out the fluid for good. But she suspects it will reoccur as damage to the sacs has probably been done.

She estimates, after talking on a forum, that he is about 8-9 weeks old, with us having had him for 4 of those.

I will try and get his lung xray scanned in.

We are free to keep him as a pet, and as he is not releasable, we will certainly honour that commitment to him.

Aaaaah so glad to hear that he's getting treatment. You are a star Mau... Will be grateful if you could keep us updated with his progress... Poor little baby.

Without stressing him out, when he's out next, do you think you could share a photie of him a all?

xoxox

Hi Melody,

I've had lots of requests from friends for a photo shoot, so I will see what we can do tonight. We have a real crap digi camera, so I'll see if I can get some additional lights.

He is very tired right now from all the excitement. So I'm sure he'll be much happier tonight after a lot of rest.

I had no idea he was so small. To me he seems very large, so I can't imagine him at 1kg as the vet says we will aim to get him.

He is getting some silver fur on his snout, which is very sweet. And his ears are getting quite big for him.

We clipped some of his nails so he's had the full work over today. Happily snoozing in his box right now.

Bless him, I wonder if he'll go through quilling at the same ages as ours do...?

Can't wait to see what he looks like!

xoxox

I hope he makes a full recovery . You have the best lady giving you advice . Here we release them back into the wilde , ( sso to speak ) . Gill is giving me back Lucky who was found in my garden in the winter a tiny baby .. now a huge 1kg Hedgehog , so now Gill has helped him on his road to recovery he will be able to return to my back garden .x

So glad to see you made it here Mau! I knew they could offer loads more help than Hedgehog Central.

Thanks Lou and Melody.

Thanks Larry. Everyone here is fab.

I need to weigh little boy, but he is very tired still.

He's had 2 doses of his antibiotic, and thus far no horrible rattly coughing.

After some really bad coughing attacks, you could hear his chest rattle as he breathed in and out. So, for us to be at the no coughing stage is fab. I am terrified it will come back though.

Sophie wants to take him to class and talk about him but I want to wait until May when he will be a month post antibiotics and probably a lot larger.

I am quite scared he will catch some sort of illness if we take him out. I've become quite the protective mama to him.

I will weigh him and see if I can hear any rattling. We're keeping the heater extra warm next to him.

Any good ideas for foods to boost his immunity and get some fat onto him?

Lovely compliment Larry! Thanks for directing Mau this way xx

I'm not too sure on a good diet Mau, as he may require something completely different from our African Hedgehogs and our Native hoggies... Generally though, we try and feed a good all round diet which consists of a good cat biscuit (that as no fish in it), vegetables including peas, broccoli, sweetcorn, carrots. Meats such as minced lamb or beef, chicken. Treats include mealworms, locusts and sometimes pinkies (rat pups) obviously these treats should be pet shop bought, not from the garden!

Hopefully Gill will be able to offer you the best advice on diet for this little fella....
xoxox