Two years ago I rescued a shy and huffy hedgie from a very neglectful owner. When I brought Poko home he was very overweight and had never had a wheel for exercise in the two years that had been alive. Since then I have absolutely fallen in love with my little man, and have slowly taught him that wheeling, and human are his friend.
Recently I noticed that he had been walking a little funnier than usual so I took him to the vet. They told me that he has a fair amount of muscle loss in his back legs due to his old age. When he walks now he can barely lift his back end off of the floor. I realize that when the pain of walking gets too bad for Poko I will have to put him down, but right now he still wheels a little bit and is eating just fine.
I am wondering if anyone has any tips on how I can keep Poko happy in his ailing health.
Post edited by: sarah.and.poko, at: 2008/05/02 09:15
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I hate to say this but you may want to get a second opinion. I think the vet's answer is a bit fishy. MY DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A VET! I wonder if the answer is perhaps your Poko has had a stroke or has cancer in his lower end. This sounds like what my first hedgehog Bartleby was doing before I had to put him to sleep. All you can do is spend lots of time him, give him meal worms, keep his schedule the same and take heart knowing you rescued him and gave him the greatest life a hedge could hope for. I would just let him keep going as long as he seems happy.
I just lost my Isabel hedgehog back in Sept (also cancer), so if you need support we are here for you!
~Sara“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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Aaria
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Posts: 323
Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/11 16:27Can you give hedgehogs aspirin? Thats what we do with the dog. It seems like apirin makes everyones life better. Becky Mother of Peanut the hedgehog
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Andrea
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/11 17:50I dont really have any advice but I wanted to welcome you to the board and wanted to tell you that I am really sorry that your hedgie is having problems. Does your vet have experience with hedgehogs? Did they run any blood tests or x-rays (I am making an assumption here that they do x-rays on hedgies). Maybe it would be worth getting a second opinion, even if you have to travel a bit to get to a more experienced vet.
Andrea
PS: I like your picture of your hedgie.
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CThogs
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/12 08:49if it's an arthritic condition from old age, there are meds and supplements that can help sometimes. 2 that come to mind are cosequin and msm. I would ask your vet if they think either would help in the situation.Ann Connecticut Hedgehogs
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CandJ327
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/12 17:35Good luck to Poko. We had a dog who had arthritis in his legs and we always found that warmth helped. Have you tried a heating pad under his cage where he sleeps to see if that helps a bit?
Do any of the breeders know if it is ok to give a hedgie Omega 3 fatty acid? We gave it to our dog to help lubricate his joints and it really helped (he lived to be 17yrs old). We got the capsules and would break one open over his food.Ava's mom!
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The vet that I had Poko at is experienced with hedgies but I think I will take him in for a seccond opinion on his little legs.
Untill I get some results I will just have to keep spoiling him with all of my love and attention
Thanks again. Sarah and Poko
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omelette
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/13 22:19I'm sorry to hear about Poko. I definitely agree that a second opinion certainly wouldn't hurt. Different vets use different methods, so one might be able to suggest something that will work. CandJ327, what capsules did you use? My dog has terrible arthritis (he's 13) and meds only seem to help so much.Lisa My Heart Belongs to: Teddy, Sugar, Sapphie, Fudge, Archie, Chuckie - The Yorkies Wendy (Siamese Mix), Echo (Tabby) - Cats Omelette - Hedgehog Basil - Guinea Pig
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Hedgehogmadhatter
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/13 23:18sarah.and.poko wrote: Hi guys. Thanks for all of the responces.
The vet that I had Poko at is experienced with hedgies but I think I will take him in for a seccond opinion on his little legs.
Untill I get some results I will just have to keep spoiling him with all of my love and attention
Thanks again. Sarah and Poko
Sounds like you are doing all you can. You and Poko are in my thoughts and I really hope I'm wrong. BTW Poko is SOOO CUTE!
~Sara“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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It says it's formulated for depression but we used it because it has the highest concentration of Omega-3s of any brand on the market - 90%.
We had a vet who was big into homeopathic remedies along with other treatments. He only got one a day on his food but I would ask your vet because it might vary on weight.
We would also give him half a baby asprin when his pain was really bad.Ava's mom!
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peewee
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/14 20:16I know this sounds stupid, but, give him lots of kisses! Kisses make everything better .Diana, Pearlie my kitty,Boone the Beta fish, and PeeWee the hedgie
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Hedgehogmadhatter
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/04/17 19:13peewee wrote: I know this sounds stupid, but, give him lots of kisses! Kisses make everything better .
Yes they do! Great advice!
`Sara“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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sarah.and.poko
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/05/02 08:59Poko now seems to be favouring his left legs over his right now when he is walking around which gives him a little limp when he does walk, which isn’t that often.
I was watching him sit there for a half an hour last night and he was twitching towards his right side with his mouth open like he wanted to bite himself (I know he was not trying to anoint, I’ve seen him do that before and this behaviour was not nearly the same).
He has also started to stretch his back where he raises it so tall that he almost looks more like a triangle instead of a ball and he makes a loud huffy noise while he does it. It almost looks like it is happening involuntarily because I can see Poko trying to stop himself from doing it. It is so hard to explain, but it is such odd behaviour.
He is just over 4 years old and has always had bad health due to his neglectful previous owner.
Obviously I need to take Poko back to see the vet, but I was wondering if anyone has seen similar behaviour in any of their hedgie’s before?
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Julie Pierce
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Re:poor poko's little legs - 2008/05/02 12:10It kind of sounds like a seizure of some sort. Poor guy but the fact that he had such a rough start and is now 4 yrs old is a real tribute to the love and care you have given him.Julie Pierce Pierce's Pogs http://www.piercespogs.com
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