Fatty Liver Disease

As ever, I do research on hedgehog health in order to make sure my little critter has the best healthcare available. This includes researching his kibble and giving him and monitoring not only the ingredients, but also the protein to fat ratio. As mentioned before in this blog hedgehogs require a diet high in protein and low in fat. They are insectivores, and in the wild their diets are naturally set up this way. Fat is hard to come by out there, so naturally wild hedgehogs never have a problem with health problems such as Fatty Liver Disease. FLD occurs when a hedgehog (or dog/cat/etc) has too much fat in their diet, which is deposited in the liver, and causes fatty build up. The liver can't handle this build up and serious health issues ensue. Think you're hedgehog is loosing weight too rapidly? Was s/he a porker before and as now thing as a rail and lethargic on top of that? Ask your vet to test for FLD. This disease can be fatal if left untreated.

Before you get to the point of rushing to the vet, panic stricken, to test for FLD, try taking some preventative steps. Any hedgehog book or website (or owner) worth their salt will tell you that pet hedgehogs need a wheel. For most hedgies this is their main form of exercise. Check my blog for my post about the best wheel to choose. In addition to wheeling, however, you may also try setting up a play pen for your pet to scoot around in. Tunnels and soft things to burrow in are a favorite. If the weather is suitable- in the 75-80 degree range- you can also try supervising your hedgehog outside for some exploration time. My boy likes to snuffle around in the grass an anoint with all the new and interesting things. Be sure to keep a close watch and NEVER leave them unattended. Another form of physical activity is swimming. Yep, in case you didn't know, hedgehogs can swim. Fill a bathtub, sink, or container with just enough warm water to reach their skirt line (also known as the place where their quills start). The water should be deep enough for them to paddle around. This is another activity which must be carefully supervised as you want to make sure they don't drown accidentally. Most hedgies just abhor water, but over time they may come to like it. In any case, a rare bath wouldn't go amiss to cleanse those nasty poop boots. Try adding Aveeno oatmeal to the water to help with dry skin!

The main message today is don't overindulge your quilly companion. A few treats are fine and hedgies just loooove their mealworms, but the majority of their diet should be cat food with protein percentage in the 30 range and fat in the 10 range. Here is a link to a site with great hedgehog information. And, as ever, I recommend going onto Hedgehog Central for any questions might have. Ever. You can find a link on my blog. Here is a link to a chart made my a HHC member called LizardGirl, and it covers the ingredients of many types of commonly used cat food. This list is really superb, just FYI.

Well, that concludes this episode of Hedgehog Express.