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2 days ago (2/23/10) I went to a local pet store and found 2 hedgehogs up for sale, one for $150 and the other for $75. I asked an employee to see them and found out that the cheaper on was only cheaper because she was a "runt" and her left back leg was broken. I was completely appalled that they would actually put an injured animal out on the floor for sale and was even more appalled when I found out they were not treating her in any way and had not taken her to a vet. I had recently been looking to adopt my first hedgehog after doing a lot of research about them, and when I saw this little 8 week old baby in need of obvious help my heart went out to her and I decided that I could not leave her there. I have been to this pet store before, and knew that she would be left out to either be sold or just die and I didn't want to wait for someone else who cared to come save her. I begged my friend to go half-way on her with me, and she agreed so we bought her and took her to my house.
I had a spare little cage, bedding, food/water containers, a heating pad, and a igloo house for her and I left her alone for a while to get calmed down. When I put food in she came over to it and started chowing down on it, which leads me to believe she was bullied before and that is why she was so little, or she was just not given enough food for all. When I did take her out and let her walk around, I saw even more how injured she was: her left back leg stuck out from underneath her and she maneuvered around the bed balancing on her good back leg (she obviously had not been out of her cage because it took her awhile to get the hang of walking). I gently grabbed her around her tummy and flipped her over so I could see her leg better, and there was what appeared to be a bone sticking out just below her knee and there was pus and blood there. The pet store had claimed they had received her that way, and considering they got her on the 17th I could believe it, because this wound was not old. She was very active and bright and wobbled around the area and ate her food and drank, so I assumed the infection had not progressed to a life-threatening stage just yet. I gave her a little bath to try and clean out the wound, and dried her and put her back in her cage. I knew I had to take her to the vet ASAP, but I am only 17 and have no job, and my mom was not willing to pay for a visit (we recently lost 3 of our dogs in less then 6 months on pure horrible coincidence, and the vet bills from those were already very high). Luckily, my boyfriend's mom and I are very close and once I told her the story she was more then willing to help with the vet costs.
So today (2/25/10) after calling around to different vets to see who would look at a hedgehog, we went to Dr. Levenson at Southwest Veterinary Medical Center in Corrales. He looked her over and his out-right diagnosis was that the leg was broken and infected, and would probably need amputation. She only weighed 62 grams (I don't know if that is the normal weight for an 8 week old)and besides from the leg seemed healthy. He got an x-ray and found she did have a complete break right below her knee, and what was also interesting is that both her front legs had very thin bones, which led us to suspect that she has never gotten a proper diet and therefore had not grown a proper amount of bone. He gave me a prescription for anti-infection medicine, but he also told us that an amputation was going to be necessary. I felt very bad for the poor little girl but knew this was going to be the only way to save her, so on Monday the vet is going to give us an estimate of the cost and then schedule the surgery, most likely happening within 2 weeks. The vet was very kind and gave us a huge $100 discount on that examination, with anesthesia, x-ray, meds, and all, and said he would also discount the amputation since this was a rescue case.
So I took Gimpy (a name I had called her at first, and one that now seems appropriate lol) home and washed her wound with a betadine solution and now she is resting. I thought I would tell this story to people on here just to get advice about my situation and help on how to care for her before and after surgery. I am VERY angry at this pet store and the "breeders" who they got her from because I think it is TOTALLY unacceptable for this kind of treatment of any animal to happen. I am trying to figure out if there is a way I can alert any authorities to both the pet store and the place they got their hedgehogs from about the conditions this poor baby was under, and if anyone would know if there is anything I can do then please let me know. I will update on how Gimpy is doing throughout the week and if possible post a pic of her up, and any help with anything would be greatly appreciated.
- Meiyer
I had a spare little cage, bedding, food/water containers, a heating pad, and a igloo house for her and I left her alone for a while to get calmed down. When I put food in she came over to it and started chowing down on it, which leads me to believe she was bullied before and that is why she was so little, or she was just not given enough food for all. When I did take her out and let her walk around, I saw even more how injured she was: her left back leg stuck out from underneath her and she maneuvered around the bed balancing on her good back leg (she obviously had not been out of her cage because it took her awhile to get the hang of walking). I gently grabbed her around her tummy and flipped her over so I could see her leg better, and there was what appeared to be a bone sticking out just below her knee and there was pus and blood there. The pet store had claimed they had received her that way, and considering they got her on the 17th I could believe it, because this wound was not old. She was very active and bright and wobbled around the area and ate her food and drank, so I assumed the infection had not progressed to a life-threatening stage just yet. I gave her a little bath to try and clean out the wound, and dried her and put her back in her cage. I knew I had to take her to the vet ASAP, but I am only 17 and have no job, and my mom was not willing to pay for a visit (we recently lost 3 of our dogs in less then 6 months on pure horrible coincidence, and the vet bills from those were already very high). Luckily, my boyfriend's mom and I are very close and once I told her the story she was more then willing to help with the vet costs.
So today (2/25/10) after calling around to different vets to see who would look at a hedgehog, we went to Dr. Levenson at Southwest Veterinary Medical Center in Corrales. He looked her over and his out-right diagnosis was that the leg was broken and infected, and would probably need amputation. She only weighed 62 grams (I don't know if that is the normal weight for an 8 week old)and besides from the leg seemed healthy. He got an x-ray and found she did have a complete break right below her knee, and what was also interesting is that both her front legs had very thin bones, which led us to suspect that she has never gotten a proper diet and therefore had not grown a proper amount of bone. He gave me a prescription for anti-infection medicine, but he also told us that an amputation was going to be necessary. I felt very bad for the poor little girl but knew this was going to be the only way to save her, so on Monday the vet is going to give us an estimate of the cost and then schedule the surgery, most likely happening within 2 weeks. The vet was very kind and gave us a huge $100 discount on that examination, with anesthesia, x-ray, meds, and all, and said he would also discount the amputation since this was a rescue case.
So I took Gimpy (a name I had called her at first, and one that now seems appropriate lol) home and washed her wound with a betadine solution and now she is resting. I thought I would tell this story to people on here just to get advice about my situation and help on how to care for her before and after surgery. I am VERY angry at this pet store and the "breeders" who they got her from because I think it is TOTALLY unacceptable for this kind of treatment of any animal to happen. I am trying to figure out if there is a way I can alert any authorities to both the pet store and the place they got their hedgehogs from about the conditions this poor baby was under, and if anyone would know if there is anything I can do then please let me know. I will update on how Gimpy is doing throughout the week and if possible post a pic of her up, and any help with anything would be greatly appreciated.
- Meiyer
