Hedgehogs: Exotics

Behaviour

• Solitary

• Nocturnal

• Great climbers, swimmers,

  FAST

  • hides, solid wheels, run for miles

• Not domesticated

• Torpor at low temps

Preventive medicine

• No antibiotic sensitivities

• Protein Erinacin

  • Immune to snake venom

• Restrain via hind legs

• Sedate to exam and IV injections

• Injections: epaxial (IM), mantle/hood (SQ), IO proximal feme

• Blood draw: Cranial vena cava

• No vaccines or neutering

Diet

• Insectiviour

  • bugs, boiled eggs, fruit/veg, cat food

  • NO raw eggs/meat

• Lactose intolerant

• Obesity prone

• Like pina colada meds

Anatomy

• Tibia/fiba are fused distally

• Radius and ulna are fused

• Simple monogastric

• No cecum

• brachydont teeth

Quills

• Panniculus has quills

• Quills are shed regularly

  • Bald spots = mites, fugus

• Baby quills are soft

• Quills are not barbed

• Hollow

Repro

• polyestrous

• No scrotal sac

• Os penis

Bacti and parasitic dx

• Salmonella

  • shedders

• Mites

  • Chorioptes, caipirinha (mange), notoedres

  • CS: weight loss, quill loss

  • TX: Selemectin, carbaryl/permethrin, fipronil, clean enviro

• Fungal

  • Trichophyton erinacei, Microsporum

    • zoonotic?

  • CS: crusty, quill loss

  • TX: Azoles, griseofulvin, lime sulfur

Anastesia

• Sedate to exam and IV injections

• Premed:

  • MIDAZ + TORB

  • ALFAX + MIDAZ

• Induction/Maintenance:

  • Midaz + butorphanol

  • Alfaxalone

  • Iso/sevo

Physiological dx

• Wobblers

  • Progressive, fatal demyelinating

    • supportive care only

  • 18-24m

  • CS: ascending ataxia, paralysis

  • Inbreeding

  • Biopsy Spinal cord

• hepatic lipidosis (50%)

  • CS: lethargy, icterus, inappetence

  • TX: force feed, fluids, tube

• DCM (38%)

  • 81% ATN

Neoplasia

• mostly metastatic

• Uterine adenocarcinoma

  • Bloody discharge

• SCC

  • Mouth

• Fibrosarcoma

  • Jaw and long bones

  • Firm, rapidly progressive swellings

Euthanasia

• inject around the bottom of the xiphoid process

• 30 degree angle toward heart

• Sx anesthesia required