vex was starting to get better. His bowl movements were getting larger, and his stool a browner shade with no green in it. He was also getting more playful and all around looking like a better hedgie.
I decided i would try feeding him different treats. He didn't take quickly to any household treats like fruit or cooked chicken or eggs. I decided to just give him mealworms. He quickly ate these up, and for the first two days seemed fine. So is started to give him 3 a day. One in the morning, one when i got home and one before i went to bed. I have been doing this for the last 3 days. He has been eating more and more overnight and starting to eat the Wellness over his old food (8in1).
Yesterday tho he had the strangest bowl movement. His stool was entirely composed of chitin. It looked like he didn't digest any of the mealworm, and that it just went through him. I have not fed him mealworms since to see if he is just unable to process the mealworm's chitin.
Does anyone else have a problem with a hedgehog that cannot digest chitin properly?
(side note: it also appears that vex has either mites of a fungal infection as he has lost 7 of his visor quills over the weekend, and his ears are starting to look eaten/dissolved and ragged. I already have a vet appointment and will discuss the chitin in the stool as well. Do quills lost to mites or fungal infection grow back after the problem has been resolved? Could this cause his body to not process the mealworms properly or affect his appetite at all?)
I decided i would try feeding him different treats. He didn't take quickly to any household treats like fruit or cooked chicken or eggs. I decided to just give him mealworms. He quickly ate these up, and for the first two days seemed fine. So is started to give him 3 a day. One in the morning, one when i got home and one before i went to bed. I have been doing this for the last 3 days. He has been eating more and more overnight and starting to eat the Wellness over his old food (8in1).
Yesterday tho he had the strangest bowl movement. His stool was entirely composed of chitin. It looked like he didn't digest any of the mealworm, and that it just went through him. I have not fed him mealworms since to see if he is just unable to process the mealworm's chitin.
Does anyone else have a problem with a hedgehog that cannot digest chitin properly?
(side note: it also appears that vex has either mites of a fungal infection as he has lost 7 of his visor quills over the weekend, and his ears are starting to look eaten/dissolved and ragged. I already have a vet appointment and will discuss the chitin in the stool as well. Do quills lost to mites or fungal infection grow back after the problem has been resolved? Could this cause his body to not process the mealworms properly or affect his appetite at all?)
