[SnufflePuff]

My vet sent me home wih an immune booster which she has used before on hedgies with good results. She thinks my girls have URI's so we're treating with antibiotics but we're not 100% sure that's the only issue as Puff has zero appetite and Chloe a small one and both aren't using their wheels. so she wanted me to give them the immune booster too in case it's viral.

Even though she's used it for hedgies before and there's even a testimonial on the website from a vet who used it on a hedgie with a URI, I just wanted to make sure the red palm oil it's made with isn't known to be toxic to hedgies.

http://www.healx.co.uk/booster.html

I'm probably just being paranoid, but I don't want to be one of those people who discovers something new that's toxic to hedgis the hard way.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I haven't heard of that before... it looks messy though!

My vet has given Satin DMG and Sunshine Factor before though.

 

[hedgieMate]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. In fact, I had never heard of red palm fruit oil being used as an immune booster in pets before. It sounds intriguing - at least the manufacturer's product descriptions and its claims sound very good.

Quick online search reveals that red palm oil dietary supplements are found effective in a treatment of human HIV patients by boosting their immune system (Journal of Medical Plants Research published in February of 2010). Based on this academic paper, the claim to boost your pet's immune system seems to hold some merits.

I see Dracaena Palm and Sago Palm are listed among toxic plants, and Red Palm Lily and Reed Palm being non-toxic to dogs & cats, but I have no idea how closely these toxic palms are related to Red Palm.

However, human grade red palm oil has been used as a cooking oil in India, Southeast Asia, and in some parts of Africa safely for many decades, I would think it's relatively safe for both humans and pets.

If you decide to use this red palm oil product, please keep us posted as to how it works on your hedgies. Best wishes for your hedgies' quick and full recovery.

 

[SnufflePuff]

I haven't heard of that before... it looks messy though!

My vet has given Satin DMG and Sunshine Factor before though.

Sunshine factor is made with the red palm oil too so if Satin didn't have any weird reactions, I'm gonna assume my girls will be fine too

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. In fact, I had never heard of red palm fruit oil being used as an immune booster in pets before. It sounds intriguing - at least the manufacturer's product descriptions and its claims sound very good.

Quick online search reveals that red palm oil dietary supplements are found effective in a treatment of human HIV patients by boosting their immune system (Journal of Medical Plants Research published in February of 2010). Based on this academic paper, the claim to boost your pet's immune system seems to hold some merits.

I see Dracaena Palm and Sago Palm are listed among toxic plants, and Red Palm Lily and Reed Palm being non-toxic to dogs & cats, but I have no idea how closely these toxic palms are related to Red Palm.

However, human grade red palm oil has been used as a cooking oil in India, Southeast Asia, and in some parts of Africa safely for many decades, I would think it's relatively safe for both humans and pets.

If you decide to use this red palm oil product, please keep us posted as to how it works on your hedgies. Best wishes for your hedgies' quick and full recovery.

I'm going to go ahead and give it to my girls this morning. They're both feeling pretty lousy cause of their respiratory infections so if it will make them feel better and get them to start eating more then I figure it can't hurt. My vet has said she's used it on hedgies with good results and I trust her, I just wanted to make sure their wasn't any major red flags that went up when I posted this.

I will let you know how it works. I researched it a little more after I posted this and apparently it's had great success in treating and preventing respiratory infections in all kinds of animals including rats, ferrets, rabbits and so far looks promising for hedgies.

 

[LizardGirl]

I think that is the same or a similar oil that's used in Sunshine Factor, like smhufflepuff said. Let us know how it works!