[grumpypebbles]

I guess this is more of an update post than an "advice needed" post, but Pebbles did not poop last night. Not on her wheel, not below it, not in any of her hideys. Shes been taking very small amounts of laxatives each night (called Lactulose) from the vet, and it hasn't zmade much of a difference. She was supposed to have the whole perscription is four days, in more frequent doses, but the vet said it would be okay for her to have smaller doses for a longer period as it just wasn't feasible for me to give her the more frequent doses. She's been on it for about two weeks now? I'm not sure exactly. But either way she did not poop last night.
Tonight when I take her out of her hidey I'm going to leave her in warm water for a while and see if that helps. I'm worried this is the sign that I should take her to the vet again and stop putting it off. I'll wait and see what happens tonight and update again.
I'll keep updating in case anyone else goes through anything similar, hopefully something someone has replied with or that I have mentioned is helpful to them.

 

[grumpypebbles]

Update: she pooped! I've never been happier to clean up after her, lol
Half of the first poop she left looked hardened, like what I see on her mats the next morning, and the rest looked fresh. Almost like she was trying to get it out for long enough it hardened, then gave up.
Current plan is to see how she does tonight and maybe tomorrow, and depending on that, book a vet trip for sooner or later.
So I guess moral of this current story is try warm water! It does indeed help get things moving, lol

 

[Ragou]

Good to hear she managed! Is the bloody pee gone? Probiotics could help her too and rather soft than hard food.

 

[SpikyPepper]

I'm currently having the same problem that pepper isn't pooping hahah... I hope it is not serious

edit: Oh i just realised this thread is old...

 

[grumpypebbles]

Good to hear she managed! Is the bloody pee gone? Probiotics could help her too and rather soft than hard food.

Sort of? There's been a few drops of blood that I'll see each morning, but it's less like that's all that's coming out and instead is dripping out, if that makes sense. I've been making sure to wet the food in her bowl down with water to make it easier on her. I'm not sure she'd take a switch in her food, but I might try to give her some wet cat food! Probiotics are also a good idea, thank you

I'm currently having the same problem that pepper isn't pooping hahah... I hope it is not serious

edit: Oh i just realised this thread is old...

Lol its all good! Only a few days old I'd suggest a warm water bath, warm enough to be hot to your touch, and leave Pepper in there for a few minutes or until she does her business. It's what helped Pebbles, so hopefully it'll help your hedgie!
Another thing to try is giving Pepper unseasoned, plain canned pumpkin. Mix it in with whatever her regular food is in her bowl unless she'll eat it right off the spoon. Usually 1/2-1 tablespoon is what I've seen to give for help with constipation.
If it's been more than a day with no poop and warm water didn't help, take Pepper to the vet as soon as you can to make sure there isn't a blockage of some sort. I hope everything's okay!!

 

[Ragou]

Great! I hope this means that she`s healing slowly but steadily Ragnar eats a LOT of wet cat food as he doesn`t like dry kibble at all. But he poops hard because of the insects I give him, I guess.

 

[Kalandra]

Sometimes, when they won't eat pumpkin, I have had luck with either baby food peas (puree) or watermelon. Watermelon has a lot of fiber, but also a lot of liquid, which can help. The downside of watermelon is that with a couple I have had them pass it nearly undigested, meaning there would be red streaks in their stool. Which can cause a bit of a freak out moment, until you start investigating closer and figure out its just the melon passing too quickly.

 

[grumpypebbles]

Interesting! I've never heard of using baby food pea puree or watermelon to help before. I might give them a go with Pebbles, see if she takes to either more than she took to the pumpkin. Hopefully Pepper also takes to one of them and it helps!

 

[Kalandra]

Not a commonly recommended item for certain, and hey I'm probably the only one that does it, but I have used it before for those that simply wouldn't touch pumpkin or squash and it worked to get them going again. I have had a couple who would eat either of those as treats, and given a bit extra as "Meds" got the moisture in them to get those bowels moving along.

 

[grumpypebbles]

Ahh, clever! I'll be keeping both options in mind next time I'm at the store thank you!

 

[SpikyPepper]

Sort of? There's been a few drops of blood that I'll see each morning, but it's less like that's all that's coming out and instead is dripping out, if that makes sense. I've been making sure to wet the food in her bowl down with water to make it easier on her. I'm not sure she'd take a switch in her food, but I might try to give her some wet cat food! Probiotics are also a good idea, thank you


Lol its all good! Only a few days old I'd suggest a warm water bath, warm enough to be hot to your touch, and leave Pepper in there for a few minutes or until she does her business. It's what helped Pebbles, so hopefully it'll help your hedgie!
Another thing to try is giving Pepper unseasoned, plain canned pumpkin. Mix it in with whatever her regular food is in her bowl unless she'll eat it right off the spoon. Usually 1/2-1 tablespoon is what I've seen to give for help with constipation.
If it's been more than a day with no poop and warm water didn't help, take Pepper to the vet as soon as you can to make sure there isn't a blockage of some sort. I hope everything's okay!!

Yesterday I gave Pepper a bath and my she did do business not only in the water but on her towel and on the table, So there's nothing serious for now..

 

[grumpypebbles]

Yesterday I gave Pepper a bath and my she did do business not only in the water but on her towel and on the table, So there's nothing serious for now..

Hey that's awesome to hear!! I'm really glad the bath helped Pepper out Hopefully with that bit of help she's able to go as usual now.

 

[Plotinus's.Mom]

I guess this is more of an update post than an "advice needed" post, but Pebbles did not poop last night. Not on her wheel, not below it, not in any of her hideys. Shes been taking very small amounts of laxatives each night (called Lactulose) from the vet, and it hasn't zmade much of a difference. She was supposed to have the whole perscription is four days, in more frequent doses, but the vet said it would be okay for her to have smaller doses for a longer period as it just wasn't feasible for me to give her the more frequent doses. She's been on it for about two weeks now? I'm not sure exactly. But either way she did not poop last night.
Tonight when I take her out of her hidey I'm going to leave her in warm water for a while and see if that helps. I'm worried this is the sign that I should take her to the vet again and stop putting it off. I'll wait and see what happens tonight and update again.
I'll keep updating in case anyone else goes through anything similar, hopefully something someone has replied with or that I have mentioned is helpful to them.

Hello!
I just took my baby to the vet for constipation. The warm baths, pumpkin, massages, and other tricks didn't really work so I was scared. But it turns out that he isn't backed up. Vet suggested it was dietary fiber! The vet said to make sure the food is a higher fiber food, she recommended 15% (my foods have been less than 10% – We have gone through several foods and he is a picky eater so I'm still working on that). She also recommended more "hard crunchy" insects because they are insectivores in the real world and they have fiber and aren't too fattening. But also, because he wasn't pooping he is a little overweight, so that is something to look out for.

I noticed his constipation because his wheel wasn't nearly as dirty as usual but he had been running. His poops are usually picturesque logs or piles but I hadn't seen those, only little tic-tac like ones, not even little nuggets.

Hope this helps!