[AmeliaMes]

Hey guys,
I took Penelope to the vet today for the first time. I've had her for a week now and I had noticed frequent sneezing and a runny nose as well as dry skin that she kept scratching, which led me to think there was a possibility of mites.

They did a regular exam on her and everything was fine, her heartbeat was a bit fast but most likely due to nervousness. Her lungs sounded good, no sign of fluid or congestion.
The vet did a fecal exam for parasites and it came back negative.
For the sneezing she prescribed Penelope sulfatrim supsension that is administered orally twice daily for 14 days.
I opted to pass on a the skin scraping since my vet said she would suggest an injection of Ivermectin regardless of them finding anything and the chances of finding mites were 50/50 so Penelope is due back for her next injection in about two weeks.

I've been reading some threads about possible threats of injecting Ivermectin and am a little worried, are there any signs I should keep an eye out for?

Also, what is a healthy weight for a 10 week old hedgie?

Hoping everything goes well and the my little one recovers soon!

 

[mel2626]

Hello There,

I don't have much of a comment as far as the vet visit but I did want to warn you about the Invermectin treatments, as no one here will recommend them. Typically people prefer to use Revolution which is applied topically and many people do it themselves. There have been reports of deaths from the Invermectin injections and there are many threads on here warning against it's use. Here are 2 links for you. Unfortunately, "Invermectin" and "mites" are such popluar topics that I was unable to do a search on here! People have had to be very adamant with their vets in the past, even after their vets insisted on the use of Invermectin. It's ultimately your choice, but in this case, I'd definitely go with the safer approach. I don't have personal experience with the injections, but maybe someone who's been through it could be of better assistance as to what signs to look out for.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4797
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6

As far as proper hedgie weight, that's something that there's really no definite answer for. Hedgie weight varies so drastically from one hog to the next that it's difficult to determine proper adult weight, let alone the weight of a growing baby. From your cute pic of Penelope's booty ( :lol: ), she seems to be in pretty good shape. She's not too skinny or too plump. She's a perfect little peanut! She appears to be on the smaller side, like my hedgie as well, but you never know when they can hit a growth spurt. You can weigh her daily to keep track of her weight which will give you a better idea of how steadily she's growing. Just be sure that she has high quality food and a proper wheel and you'll get to know what's "normal" for her in no time. here's one of many links regarding hedgie weight. Trust me, I've wondered the same thing! lol
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4711

Hope this helps and I wish little Penelope a speedy recovery!!

~Melissa