Digestive & Gastrointestinal Issues

Last Updated on November 1, 2022.

Overview

Bowel movements and elimination habits are a key indication of the digestive and gastrointestinal health of your hedgehog.
Hedgehogs have a simple stomach and no cecum
- A cecum is where food would ferment
- The colon is smooth and non-complex
- Gut time for a hedgehog ranges 12-16 hours
- A normal hedgehog feces is typically the shape and consistency of dog or cat feces but about the size of toothpaste.
- Typical feces are brown in color but shades medium to dark brown color.
- Healthy color can vary depending on type and quality of food.
- Dried waste material looks almost black when dry.

Diarrhea, Loose Stool, and Green Stool

Not Caused by Clostridium

Symptoms
- Watery fecal material
- Loose green stool
  - Can vary in
    - Color
    - Texture
    - Consistency
  - Straining to eliminate
  - Dehydration can occur
Cause
- Changes in Food that moves too quick through the digestive tract
- Bile is left in the food, which gives it its green color.
- Bile would normally break down during digestion.
- Diet changes or food sensitivities to:
  - Dry food
  - Water
  - Treats
  - Ingestion of milk or other dairy products
  - Cold or frozen food
  - Ingestion of bedding material
  - Certain antibiotics can cause this as well
  - Environmental causes
    - Heat
    - Too much handling
    - Travel
    - Illnesses or infection
      - Bacteria such as Salmonella
      - Parasites
      - Other Pathogens in the stool
Severity
- Normal formed stool with a tinge of green
  - Mild
    - Common when babies go to new homes as described above
    - Keep food consistent during adjustment
    - Use bottled or filtered water
    - No introduction of new food until after an adjustment period of at least a week
Treatment
- Veterinarian may prescribe antidiarrheals to treat the symptoms
- Stress induced will clear up on its own in a few days
- Determine offending foods and avoid them
- A probiotic such an Ben-Bac may help
- An antibiotic from a veterinarian may be required if the green stools persist, worsen, or your hedgehog quits eating or drinking and becomes dehydrated.

Blood in Stools

Symptom
- The appearance of red mucous in the stool could indicate blood in the stool.
- Blood can appear bright red or as a dark “tar” in the stool.
Cause
- One cause of blood in the stool is clostridium.
Treatment
- You should take your hedgehog to the vet right away.

Dehydration

Symptoms
- Listless, the gums are tacky when touched, or the skin doesn’t snap back when gently pulled up
- Skin tenting or decrease in elasticity
- Mucous membranes can become “tacky”

Cause
- Water bottles becoming clogged
- It is often secondary to another issue
- Most dehydrated animals will not eat
Treatment
- Watermelon juice or mixture of half Pedialyte and half bottled water is good for animals that are not severely dehydrated.
- No eating or drinking warrants a trip to the veterinarian to have fluids administered subcutaneously and to determine the cause.

Constipation

Symptoms
- Dark, hard, and smaller droppings in fewer numbers
- Straining while trying to eliminate
- Urinary problems
Causes
- Stress
- Food insensitive
- Ingestion of bedding
- Mild dehydration
Treatment
- Swim in a few inches of warm water
- Yogurt containing active cultures of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and bifidobacterium helps with digestion
- Unseasoned pumpkin mixed with water and fed orally (by syringe tip with no needle)
- If constipation persists for 48 hours or more, a trip to a vet is warranted
- Long-term constipation could be a blockage.
Prevention
- Live mealworms in place of dead mealworms because live mealworms have a softer exoskeleton that is easier to pass next to their dead counterparts.

Obesity

Symptom
- The hedgehog can no longer curl into a ball due to fat
- Double chins when viewed from ball position
- Fat rather than muscular legs
- Rolls of fat under the armpits
- Yellow tint to skin under the legs
Cause
- Overeating of foods high in fat and protein (examples: wax worms, mealworms, and superworms)
- Lack of exercise
Treatment
- Untreated obesity can lead to an early death due to other health complications
- Extra caution is required in weight reduction because a drastic weight loss can cause hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease)
  - Source: google images
  - Reduce the calories in the diet by switching to a lower fat formula
    - Hills Science Diet R/D is a reduction diet food whose primary ingredient is non-process able fiber from peanut hulls
    - IVD Select Care is similar to R/D but it has processable fiber as a primary content (Klein)
    - A wheel can provide stimulation; however, a lazy hedgehog might not use it
    - Encourage foraging behaviors by hiding food around the cage

Anorexia (lack of appetite)

Symptom
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
Cause
- New food
  - Introducing new food gradually instead of cold turkey will help the hedgehog adjust to a new regiment
  - Change in routine
  - The temperature is too cold
    - Hedgehog falls into a false hibernation
    - Dehydration
    - Injured or ill
Treatment
- Check the temperature
- Offer the hedgehog treats as an incentive to eat
- Chicken baby food without onion or onion powder or crumbled chicken baby food sticks
  - High in protein and fat
  - Add acidophilus powder to the food as this will aid digestion

Nausea

Symptoms
- Excess salivation
- Vomiting
Cause
- Food sensitivity
- Ingestion of toxic material
- Motion sickness
Treatment
- Use a dab of pepto bismal (0.01cc of a 1cc syringe) onto their tongues
- See a veterinarian if vomiting does not stop

Clostridium (bacterium that divides too rapidly in the intestine)

Symptoms
- Characterized by runny, green, smelly stool
- May contain mucous in the stool
- Diarrhea
Cause
- Stress
  - Change in environment or food
  - Compromised immune system
  - Poor living conditions
  - Over stimulation (handling, traveling, exposure to other hedgehogs)
  - Some hedgehogs are more sensitive to others about changes
Treatment
- Small amounts of yogurt with active cultures or probiotics can help replenish the natural bacteria flora

VIDEO.: Dehydration Tip

VIDEO.: Quick Tips to Avoid Salmonella

References:
Klein, Tom; Hedgehog Drug Therapies; E. Hilliard Vet Clinic, Columbus, OH. 614-876-7762
Love, Kirsten, DVM.; Formerly of Animal Hospital of Polaris; Columbus, OH