If you haven’t follow our Instagram updates, I’ve adopted a senior female hedgehog recently. Her name’s Cici and she’s turning 3 years and 7 months old as of this post.

I am Cici’s second and forever home as her ex-parent has decided to rehome her for personal reasons. Due to breeder’s no resale contract policy, the ex-parent is obligated to return Cici to the breeder.

As soon as I saw her adoption post, something about Cici made me feel compelled to rescue her. I contacted the breeder and also her ex-parent about Cici’s health and made sure I’m aware of everything I should know about Cici in particular.

Why You Should Visit A Vet After Bringing Home a New Hedgehog?

Health can be a delicate matter for senior hedgehogs, and when I found out from her ex-parent that Cici has never formally visited a vet, you can say I’m shocked. Ex-parent was very reluctant to share further info and has suggested that covid made it hard to ask for vet records?? I have no words. Vet records can easily be emailed or sent as a picture so I am not sure why Covid concern is a reason in this circumstance. I simply took their word for it and will not pursue further and take ‘non-existent’ as the answer for now.

I understand and respect that some people don’t find it necessary to see vets and doctors, because of additional stress, but not seeing one in the last three years is not a great idea as hedgehogs are prey creatures, and they conceal their weakness or vulnerability, which sometimes extends to health issues. So by the time you see something visible, it would have meant that their health has deteriorated, sometimes to irreversible stages.

I’m all for the phrase that prevention is better than cure. Because that’s what we would do for our own health!

After confirming Cici’s adoption and date of arrival, I’ve scheduled for a regular vet appointment just to check in and have a baseline.

If this is your first time visiting an exotic vet, here is a list of tips and questions that might make this process less stressful.

Vet Visit Tips for New Hedgehog Owners

1. Always make sure you regularly save up for rainy days. Pet insurance and payment plans are great, but they are not always an option offered in your local region or at the vet’s.
2. Do your research to find a compatible vet for you and your pet
3. Check with the reception to make sure there is an exotic vet who has seen hedgehogs before and are familiar with their care.
4. Survey approximate procedural and treatment costs, so that the total bill will not come as a shock to you and that are prepared with the necessary funds.
5. Reviews are great, but it is also a good idea to check on dedicated Facebook groups and communities to learn more about other vet options available in your area.
6. Visiting a vet a couple weeks after bringing home a new hedgehog can help establish a baseline for you and your vet.
7. If possible, it is a good idea to look for a second vet, as sometimes your primary vet can be unavailable or retiring from the veterinary practice.
8. Keep track of your pet’s health records so that you have your own basic copy as well.

What to Bring to Your Hedgehog’s First Vet Visit?

1. The pet in question! (your cutie patootie)
2. Pet carrier
3. Some food and treats (just in case they have to stay longer for further monitoring and for bribing)
4. Bonding pouch or sleeping bag
5. Fleece towels/liners or bedding to keep warm
6. Food bowl
7. Paper towels (lots of them to clean up poop mess. They may poop more when stressed out)
8. Water bottle with clean filtered water
9. Thermometer
10. Favourite toy(s)
11. Feeding syringe (optional)
12. Hand warmer or heating disc with cover*
    *Never allow direct contact and protect your hedgehog from heat source with an appropriate cover. Make sure vet tech is informed that they should not leave this unsupervised as well.

Questions to Ask During the Vet Visit

1. Make sure they weigh your hedgehog since scales may vary
   (I have had a bad experience where they covered up their mistake for not weighing by giving me my hedgehog’s weight from 3 years ago!)
   
2. Ask vet if weight is within normal range. Can follow up with prescription diet if applicable.
   #Note: Commercial hedgehog diets are NOT RECOMMENDED by the hedgehog community as it contains many fillers, some vets may recommend this but that’s because they have never fully follow the entire lifespan of hedgehog to confirm this.
   
3. Ask vet to check for abnormal growth or masses.
   
4. Ask vet to check for unusual behavior. (E.g. odd gait, limping, sniffles, respiratory, heart health, self-inflicted injuries, raw paw pads etc.)
   
5. Vets should always try to conduct a physical examination without gassing (or using anesthesia) first. Another common practice is placing the hedgehog in a shallow container filled with lukewarm water so that they can uncurl for further inspection.
   
6. Gassing or anesthesia should only be done when it is necessary for a further check up, like noticing something abnormal. This procedure can be even more risky for senior or frail hedgehogs. Only agree to this, if you have confidence in your vet’s expertise and discretion.
   
7. Ask for complimentary nail trims.
   
8. Ask to remove tartar build up from their teeth.
   
9. Ask to check and remove any eye or ear wax build up, if this is a concern (optional).

Switching to a Different Vet or Clinic

1. Ask for transfer of health records from existing vet to new vet.
2. Make sure to do this ahead of time.
3. Make sure to follow up with new clinic if they have received these records.
4. Make sure former clinic securely destroys your payment information, especially if it pertains to keeping your credit information on file.

Note: Will continue to update this if this copy needs a revision.

The Outcome of Cici’s Wellness Examination

We went to a new vet clinic for Cici’s wellness exam as our primary vet was unavailable. It was a very pleasant and positive experience. I was also able to watch Cici during the physical examination, which was very nice as I felt reassured as a pet parent, who worries a lot!

Cici did really well considering this was her first (known) vet examination. Although it did take a while for her to unball, the vet was able to handle her easily and with very little struggle. Besides having lots of tartar build up on her teeth, the vet noted that Cici has heart murmur but it’s not at a stage where we should be concerned yet. However, having this information now, I will take extra precautions to pay attention to this and also look into making sure her diet will not add any unnecessary stress on her heart.

We wanted to do a full blood panel for Cici as it would give us a better idea of her health history, however, it appeared to be a difficult task since hedgehog veins are very small and they couldn’t draw her blood after a couple of tries. We’ve decided to wait and revisit this another time, since I can only imagine it has been a stressful experience being her first time at the vet’s.

Here’s to hoping she won’t need to visit anytime soon, but I am now rest assured she’s healthy and I have people that I can count on during a health emergency.