[aces_spades]

Ahoy All, It has been quite awhile since I posted.

Izzy's skin problems have cleared right up although I have no idea who thought a liquid perscriptions to be ingested are a good idea needs a reality check. She hated the syringe.

Anywho, After spending the summer in my tv room with the vents closed so the air conditioning wouldn't freeze her I have moved Iz back into my room. Temp is the same. She was fine for the first week but monday morning when I woke up I noticed her wheel and food had been untouched. When I picked her up she was cold even though she has a heating pad under her teepee. I grabbed a spoonful of wet cat food and although she wouldn't eat it while I was holding her,left it in her cage and asked my mother to check on her while I was at school. She goobled the food and was fine for the next two days, running, drinking, popping and eating normally. This morning her food had again been untouched as well as her water although she had obviously run on her wheel (I clean it everyday). She was cold again. She has not lost any weight and seems in fine health when I take her out. I again put some wet cat food on a dish and she woke up to snuffle at it and grabbed a piece of her regular kibble

Is it usual for pigs to go off their feed like that or should I be organizing a vet visit?

 

[scorpiesue]

...when any of my pets (hedgehog/gerbils/hamsters) have gotten cold, nothing good happened ...i would be very worried

 

[soyeah]

Mayber her kibble is too hard for her? You could try mixing it with a little of the wet to soften it.
I'm not sure about her getting cold, but i'm sure some of the more experienced members will reply.
It sucks that you guys are having a rough time! I'm glad her skin is better!

 

[krbshappy71]

What kind of heating are you using besides the pad?

 

[aces_spades]

Her cage has two sections, each with a over head ceramic heater, both of which have a thermometer and rheostat ( the thing that controls the temp.) as her sleeping cage is longer and the heater is on the end she has a heating pad set on low under just her teepee.

I should add that she warms right up once she starts moving. As I don't wake her when it's obvious her food, wheel and water have been disturbed I'm not certain if it's normal for her temp to drop when she is unactive/sleeping.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Despite your best efforts with the rheostat, it sounds like it's just getting too cold for her. If she's cool/cold to the touch, she needs to be warmed up and carefully monitored to watch for hibernation (a bad thing... it leaves her open to illness; she could die from it if left too long). It's likely the reason she's less active & not eating is because she's too cold.

I would look at a different heating set up: use a thermostat instead of a rheostat. It will be more able to precisely control the temperature in her cage.

Also consider the amount of light she is getting - as the days grow colder and shorter, she may need a bit of a boost to help forestall hibernation. What's worked out best for me is setting up a light on a timer... that way I know she has a regular schedule and a good number of hours of light.

I know it's too late now, but I found a great solution for syringing medicines... I talked to the pharmacist at a compounding pharmacy about my problem syringing my hedgie meds. At first, she thought I was joking, but I came in with her meds and a pic on my phone. The pharmacist gave me an oral syringe full of roasted chicken flavoring. I put a tiny, tiny bit of the flavoring on the tip of the medicine syringe and my hedgie was all over it, sucking and gobbling the meds without anointing. Anyhoo... if yours ever needs meds again, check out a compounding pharmacy.

 

[aces_spades]

I was thinking the same thing about adding another heater that is.

I just got home and she's absolutely fine again, Warm and hungry.

As for the rheostat I'm not actually sure if thats what it's called, but you do set it to the temperature that you want it at and it shuts off the ceramic heater when it exceeds that and turns it back on when it goes below.

I may try the light timer like you suggested. I live in Alberta and the days are already getting ridiculously short

Thankyou

 

[aces_spades]

Izzy's doing much better now. After checking my set up I found out one of my thermometers was broken. I've replaced both just to be safe and started a log so that it won't happen again. Thanks for the help guys