whs...again =(

[mrscrubbles]

i know there are many threads on whs, but i have questions now for my hedgie, mr. scrubbles.
i brought him to his vet today, who believes he has whs. i hate not being able to take this away from him but until his quality of life is no longer good, or if he passes, i want to do everything i can to make him comfy.
i went out and got a smaller cage so that he doesnt have to walk as far to get food and water, got a new food i read was good, put those rug stoppers on the bottom of his cage so he has a better grip, and bought supplies to make him a little maze that will hold him upright.
but when im sleeping, im worried about him. he cant run on his wheel anymore and i hate the thought of him not doing anything while hes up and im sleeping. is there anything i can do for him??
thanks

 

[Jeanette]

I'm sorry to hear about your hedgehog.

As I'm sure your vet has told you, there is no way of knowing 100% that your hedgehog has WHS. Although, as the symptoms progress, it becomes pretty clear.

I have not had a hedgehog with WHS but I have done some reading on the subject. Many people have found one site in particular especially helpful because of the author's first hand knowledge of the subject.

http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/comemeetmyfamily/wobblyhs1.html

There are many people on this forum who have had at least one hedgehog with WHS and they will be able to tell you more about it.
Keep in mind that the hedgehog section of C&H is a little bit slower than the chinchilla side (as there are more chinchilla people than hedgie people) and it might take a few days for someone to respond to your posts.

We are here for you though!

 

[mrscrubbles]

thank you for your response!
i've used a lot from that site, its where i got info on food and how to help him walk around when i'm awake. the only thing they don't have on that site is what to do at night. i would hold him all night if i could of course, but he wants his alone time to do his own thing.
and yes, my vet and i both know there is no testing for it, but we were talking about how much more common it is these days and the symptoms she saw she said thats what shes sure thats what it is. its sad how more common its gotten.
but thank you for the thoughts and encouragement, i'm doing everything i can to help him out while i can!

 

[Jeanette]

Did you get your hedgehog from a breeder or from a pet store?
If you got it from a breeder, it might be a good idea to let them know.
They wouldn't want to keep breeding the parents if they knew their offspring possibly had WHS.

 

[Nancy]

I've had one girl with WHS and a boy that displayed many WHS symptoms but he also had many symptoms not seen in WHS. His came on suddenly and he really didn't progress much over the next 9 months.

Having a WHS hedgehog is both difficult and heartbreaking. Trying to decide when it's time to help them cross is terrible. They always seem so happy and despite their limitations, they seem to be content with their life. That is how Cinder was and I've heard that from many other owners.

In hindsight, I know we let Cinder go too long and swore we'ed never do it again but I'm sure we probably would.

Is Mr Scrubbles able to eat his kibble on his own? How is his weight? Cinder's weight continued to drop despite the fact that we were syringe feeding her and she was eating well. Weight loss is part of WHS as they loose muscle mass.

Have you found he requires more heat? Cinder did and many do, but others don't.

I agree with Jeannette. If you got him from a breeder, please let them know.

 

[mrscrubbles]

i did get him from a breeder but unfortunately, i do not think she will care too much. i got a hold of her all the time before i bought him, and then after, she only answered her phone for me one time. she never emailed me back or returned any calls. i did ask her about whs but she said her hedgies didnt have it. but i am considering emailing her, maybe it'll make a difference.

so far, hes eating a lot and its all by himself. ill help him back up when he falls over but when im sleeping he eats and drinks a lot. it seems to be progressing slowly, well slower then i thought it would be. i keep thinking theres a chance he'll get better...=/

i haven't experimented with heat, but if he starts to get worse, thats a good idea to try out.

i do want to keep track of his weight, i just have to buy a scale for him. when i brought him to the vet a couple years ago, he was around 300 something grams. when i brought him this past week he was 155 grams. she told me a small hedgehog is 250-300 grams. so he is pretty thin and i'm trying to help him gain weight with his new food.

i do know his quality of life is best for him and i keep saying how easy that will be to determine...but when i really think about it, setting up an actual appt. is going to be very difficult and not as easy as i wish it could be. i am trying my best to be realistic about the situation and the last thing i want is for him to suffer, but i do know that it is easy to pretend it could get worse.

thank you so much for the help =)