[djfiggy]

Oona is a sneezepig. However, the sneezing isn't frequent, and the few times I've seen so much as a snot bubble the fluid is transparent. Hopefully that means I'm getting her to the vet soon enough, as I booked one such appointment for Saturday and early afternoon.

She still eats, isn't constipated, is urinating, and definitely uses the wheel and I heard her drinking water too, but I do note that in late December I could expect her to be up and hungry by between 5 and 6 PM, and now though she gets up I don't see her eating quite as much and I couldn't even tell if the food was touched or not by 9:30 PM. I suspect there's also a slight bit of depression at work here seeing as how she was discomforted by an earlier issue of colitis not too long ago, and the need for a food change that has already been done weeks ago.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

I hope Oona feels better.

 

[strawberryfields]

What kind of bedding is she on? Sometimes using wood shavings as opposed to liners can cause a little too much dust, which would make your hedgie sneeze occasionally. It's good that you're taking her to a vet too, just so you can rule out a respiratory infection.

 

[Bengall77]

A lot of bedding materials are dusty. Pine, aspen, carefresh, etc... are all fairly dusty litters. If your hedgehog is on one of those (or if she's on cedar get that out of her cage asap) you might want to consider changing her over to cloth liners (even just a fleece baby receiving blanket) or yesterday's news.

 

[djfiggy]

Hello and thanks for the comments.

Oona has been on custom made liners since the day she came home with me, which I think is about two and a half years by now.

I wanted to update to say my concerns were somewhat off the mark. A veterinary examination revealed her nose seems quite fine, but she's drooling excessively possibly because of oral discomfort, another loose tooth. She licks a lot more because of the saliva, getting it on her nose and probably enough of it to create the transparent "snot bubble" I thought I saw or possibly to induce sneezing. No tell-tale bad smell of abscess, but I'm going to watch her closely for the next two weeks to see if the amount she eats declines further.

Oona's no stranger to tooth loss, and just late 2009 got over an abscess with a lot of medical help. I remember during that span one tooth was described as "loose" but after the problem was beaten by antibiotics, I was given the impression the tooth was no longer loose or was no longer considered a problem somehow. If another one is loose, I'd suspect that one first.

Dust is a perennial concern. My parents won an air filter in a hospital lottery, and having no need, let me have it. It runs on whisper quiet mode 24/7 to get dust out of the air, and I try to be diligent about vacuuming the carpet too without doing so frequently enough to bug Oona a lot.

 

[strawberryfields]

It's very good to hear that you've identified the problem! Keep an eye on her tooth. Is she still eating okay? If she starts eating less it could be because her mouth is uncomfortable, so just watch to make sure she's eating as much as she always has. Of course, it sounds like you're very in tune with her, so I think you're probably already way ahead of me.

 

[chrissie_salem]

Poor dear Oona. She's lucky to have you for a mom Nancy. I hope her tooth get's better soon