New to hedgehogs and I have a few questions.

[wrightbrotherchins]

Meet Lila, the newest member to my family.

I took her in when friends were moving. I think shes 1-2 years old. She is a little over weight and has a large mass on her leg. I am wondering if anyone can share some info on hedge cancer and weight loss??

Thanks

 

[smhufflepuff]

Cancer and hedghogs... a common occurance. Though, mostly, it seems to involve the jaw or reproductive parts in females. Cancer seems to be the main killer.

I wouldn't necesarily assume it's cancer. Bring her to the vet to have it checked out. It could be an infection or something else.

If it is cancer, you'll want to be looking at what type of cancer it is. There are dietary changes you'll want to consider. Depending on the type of cancer, different meds can be used to slow it down and relieve pain. You'll want to talk about surgical interventions too.

She is beautiful. Love her nose coloring!

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

any idea how much an average vet bill for this kind of thing is??

She still walks normal and functions fine. I'm hoping its more cosmetic and non cancerous. All the pets have a check up in may, could she wait until then?

Thank you, her quills seem to be a mix of a few color varieties.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I would bring her in sooner than May. Things like cancer and infections have a way of spreading quickly and reducing quality & quantity of life in hedgehogs rather quickly. My recommendation is to bring her in as soon as possible. Remember, she is a prey animal. She will hide illness, injury, and pain extremely well.

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

Thank you. I will do it as soon as I can.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Great. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

I managed to get a picture of it the other night after her bath. Today the scab fell off of it. It was so hard I thought it was a rose hip shell. I put neosporin on the growth and the qtip had just a small amount of blood. I can take her to the vet in a week, granted they can take her.

Can anyone tell me what her colors are?

 

[smhufflepuff]

She looks like a chocolate pinto.

But... more importantly... her little leg! A bit of plain neosporin sounds good for the moment, but I'd still get her to a vet quickly. That looks rather painful.

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

we're looking for a vet close to home and we can take her next Wednesday. I definitely owe her a check up. surgery may have to wait a couple more weeks. I feel terrible for not being able to do something about it right away. The worst part is I have no Idea how long its been like this. My friend got her from someone else before I got her. Who knows how many people passed Lila off due to her condition. on the plus side he doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all, she still moves around on it and last night I found her running on her wheel. I was very excited to see he pick up on that so quickly since she's never had one before.

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

I got her and the boys a vet appointment on the 26th. I'm so relieved to at least have the date set. I was also able to take a video of Lila in the bath an screen shot of the lump.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Oh wow that looks painful. I'm glad you're keeping the area clean. And very glad she has an appointment scheduled. At the same time, I'm feeling pretty worried about her. If there is any chance you can get her to the vet sooner, please take advantage of it!

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Awww! Poor little girl! I hope that everything goes as well as possible at the vet. It's great that you've taken her in and aren't just passing her on because of the cost of care.

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

I wish I could take her this second. I don't get paid until the 20th and the vet is booked until the 26th. I'm hoping for the best but if she needs surgery I can use my tax return.

What are my options if she does have cancer? Medications? surgery? or something worse?

 

[smhufflepuff]

Hard to say since one can't be sure exactly what it is nor how far it's spread.

If it's limited to that area, one possibility would be a surgical removal of the lump. Another possibility might be removal of the leg (there are tripod hedgies).
She may need meds to deal with infection and pain.
There are some meds and diet changes that have shown to be helpful depending on the type of cancer that is diagnosed.

It will be important for you to learn what it is... specifically.

 

[wrightbrotherchins]

I have an updated blog post about our vet appointment if anyones interested.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I've definitely been concerned about her and that mass.

Sounds like the meds are supposed to help shrink the (likely) vascular tumor? And next step is probably surgical removal?

Let us know how it's going. I don't think I've run across much on vascular tumors in hedgies.

Sending hedgie hugs to Lila!