Mama Hedgie has a tooth abscess??? Advice Needed!

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LovinHedgies

LovinHedgies

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
437
Location
Rochester, MN
So tonight while I was getting "glamour shots" and spending some much needed time with my hedgie Hannah I noticed a weird discolored spot on the side of her mouth. I had just cut her nails last night and didn't notice it then. However the last three weeks I have been on crutches due to a tibial plateau fracture and unable to get downstairs as often to spend as much time with my hedgies as I normally do, so this could've come on any time during that. I am scheduling a vet visit tomorrow morning (hopefully they will have opening ASAP).
The one thing that throws a wrench in this is that Hannah is possibly pregnant. This will be her second litter and she is on baby watch starting on July 25th (30 days from the beginning of breeding). I'm fine with losing the hoglets, but not with losing Hannah - she is my baby. My main question is that if an operation is needed - should I opt for a spay/abort at the same time? Obviously this mouth issue could impact her nutrition and therefore any hoglets nutrition and the care she is able to provide. She has been gaining weight steadily (I weigh her every night) and she has been eating more than normal, but I worry that this will decrease her eating. Obviously I will be feeding her soft foods, but who feels like eating with a sore mouth :(
Here are the pictures:

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Any advice is much appreciated.
 
Have you looked in her mouth? I'm not so certain that looks like a tooth problem to me. If it came up over night I would be more fearful that a spider bit her. Its awfully purple looking. Are there any spots in the middle of it that could indicate a bite?

If the vet thinks it is a spider bite, ask about putting her on benedryl to control the histamine release and about prednisone. Also do not allow the vet to do a biopsy or cut into the mass. Cutting into a spider bite will release the venom into surrounding tissue and can cause death of that tissue.

I had a vet do this to a spider bite victim. She had been bitten just under her eye. We lost her due to that vet's poor treatment.

If there is no indication that it is a spider bite, I'd ask to have a fine needle aspirate done to determine if the mass is made up of pus or of abnormal cells. Hopefully it will be nothing more than a quill poke that has gotten infected badly.

Good luck and please keep us updated. Our quills are crossed here for a good report back.
 
Thank you for your response! I didn't think of a spider bite. Unfortunately Hannah is more cranky is am (usually is in the morning). She did appear to be active (no wheel right now, but poops all over the cage) and she did eat some of her smaller wet down kibble (and I gave her scrambled eggs too). She won't allow me to look in her mouth and I'm trying to not stress her too much until we are able to get to the vet. Working on calling around now, in case my primary vet in unable to get me in before noon today.
I don't see any spider bite marks, but those could be tiny. I'll have the vet check for those first. I also don't know if the swelling originates in the gum or just in the lip - either way I consider this an emergency and she has to be seen today.
I'll update this when I have more information.
 
Getting a look inside will be key. If your little one found a spider in her cage, she may have tried to eat it, the bite my be on the inside of her lip. I'm actually hoping it isn't a bite, but it certainly is something to discuss with your vet as a possibility.
 
Back from the vet! Hannah is going to be okay :) After an extremely thorough examination (which unfortunately required gassing her and I got to wear the crazy magnification glasses) we ruled out a spider bite and tooth abscess. The inside of her mouth looks perfect. We determined that the cause of the abscess was a quill poke that got infected. The abscess was drained and Hannah is on Baytril 2x a day for 5 days. The infection actually did not appear as bad as I expected and we got the abscess completely drained. I am also going to do some warm compresses to draw out any new buildup and for comfort. I love the vet that I see - she allows me to go into the back with her and I got to hold Hannah through the whole process.
I am not sure how the gassing (which was short) or the Baytril will affect the unborn hoglets. I guess to me its not as important as Hannah. Without Hannah there are no hoglets and no way to care for them, so she is my first concern.
 
Excellent news. I was hoping it was nothing more than a little infected area. Hopefully it stays gone and she will have no more health scares for you.
 
Hannah is doing amazing! Thank you for asking :) Her lip is almost completely healed (still a little scab there) and tonight is her last dose of Baytril.
She is on strict hoglet watch (started on the 25th) so everytime I go downstairs to see her I have butterflies in my stomach lol!! She has still been eating every night and her belly is still growing - so it might still be a couple of days.
 
Thanks for the update. I have not dealt with many hedgie issues at all (thankfully), but my girls are getting older so I like reading the resolution to issues like this.

I am glad she is well and wish you both the best of luck with the babies.
 
Ahhhh no, there are no hoglets yet :( She has got to be getting close though, she didn't eat much last night and she has been acting "funny" - just like what she did for her first litter. I'll post when I hear squeaking!!! :)
 
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