Scary Bathtime Incident

[hercsmom]

Hi everyone,

We had a scary incident in our house last night with Hercules. As usual, his feet were poopy, so I ran a little water in the sink and put him in to wash them off. Within a minute or 2 of putting him in the sink he started doing this weird cough/whole body hiccup/heaving thing. He was making little snorting noises at the same time. So i picked him up out of the sink and wrapped him in his towel, and he continued to make these weird chirpy (almost like a beeping sound) noises. He looked like he was snorting, like when a person tries to blow their nose really hard. Anyways, when I picked him up, he blew a bubble out of one nostril, several times! I was so worried I was ready to rush to the emergency vet. I held him for about 10 minutes and the hiccup/snort thing stopped and he went to sleep in his towel, so I think he was ok after that. I still have no idea what happened. I think he may have accidently choked on some of the water, because his little face was wet. He was ok for the rest of the night, and this morning his wheel was covered in poop, so I'm assuming he was pretty normal during the night too. Has anyone experienced this, and is that actually what happened? Thanks for your help!

[Nancy]

It sounds like he got water up his nose. Some of them are silly and will stick their faces in the water, for what reason I have no clue. Do they not figure it's the same stuff that's in their water bowl.

[hercsmom]

Thanks Nancy! Being a first time hedgie mom, I was so worried.

[nessariel]

Winston ALWAYS sticks his face in the water during bath time/foot bath time. Not his whole face, but just enough for him to splutter, then look at me accusingly. I think it's his way of telling me that this is CLEARLY not the proper environment for a hedgehog. :P

[Nancy]

BATH is a four letter word after all.

[shaelikestaquitos]

Kashi sticks his face in the water too

Sometimes he will also try to eat/attack the water that is coming out of the tap, and he also attacks the drain (it's on a chain)

[hercsmom]

Do you guys have a better way to do a foot bath? Maybe the water was just too deep? Also, do you guys have to do foot baths nightly? Seems like every night when Herc comes out of his cage for a cuddle his feet are caked!

[shaelikestaquitos]

Originally Posted by hercsmom

Do you guys have a better way to do a foot bath? Maybe the water was just too deep? Also, do you guys have to do foot baths nightly? Seems like every night when Herc comes out of his cage for a cuddle his feet are caked!

I don't think it will ever cause any serious problems, to be honest... so I don't think you need to worry ^-^

Kashi usually needs a foot bath every other day, but you could try just using baby wipes if he allowed you to.

[Free2Dream]

Originally Posted by hercsmom

Do you guys have a better way to do a foot bath? Maybe the water was just too deep? Also, do you guys have to do foot baths nightly? Seems like every night when Herc comes out of his cage for a cuddle his feet are caked!

I went out and bought a small Rubbermaid storage bin for my two. It's small enough that I can lift it and carry it around. I usually put a bit of lukewarm water in it (just enough to cover the bottom) and let them walk around in that. That way I don't have to deal with the unsanitary consequences of using the kitchen/bathroom sink. Their little "bath tub" is easy to clean because all I do is dump the water out (usually over the back deck... sorry downstairs neighbors! lol) and then wipe it down with Clorox wipes (bleach-free) and fresh water. Annabelle likes to stick her face in the water, too, so this way I don't have to worry about her accidentally inhaling some.

[Amy1024]

Originally Posted by Free2Dream

I went out and bought a small Rubbermaid storage bin for my two. It's small enough that I can lift it and carry it around. I usually put a bit of lukewarm water in it (just enough to cover the bottom) and let them walk around in that. That way I don't have to deal with the unsanitary consequences of using the kitchen/bathroom sink. Their little "bath tub" is easy to clean because all I do is dump the water out (usually over the back deck... sorry downstairs neighbors! lol) and then wipe it down with Clorox wipes (bleach-free) and fresh water. Annabelle likes to stick her face in the water, too, so this way I don't have to worry about her accidentally inhaling some.

Very similar idea to Free2Dream's

You can try and get a Sterilite shallow/wide storage container.
http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProduct. ... &section=1
It'll be a hassle changing the water and such because it's so big and bulky.

Personally, I haven't tried that method but thinking of trying it. My bath tub's drain doesn't work properly; there's not way to stop the water from draining. And the sink is too small. Good thing Hershi's very clean and she hasn't really needed too many baths or foot baths.