Recent Feedback
Pet hedgehog curled up in ball - not moving. Thought he was dead. Pulled him out of cage and held him thinking about how my son is going to be upset. Then I saw him breathe ever so slightly. It's been 2 hours. He's still breathing, eyes squeezed shut, curled up tight, not moving, not responding to light, sound. Do hedgehogs hibernate?
Optional Information: Type of Animal: hedgehogGender: ?Age: ?
Hello there,What climate do you live in?What is the house temperature?How long has this been going on?
House temp. 69 during day -72 at night. His cage has been in West facing window-filled kitchen since Sept. So, daylight cycle has been visible to him. We got him for Christmas last year, so we don't know how old he is - - and haven't seen this behavior before. This morning, he was curled up tight and not moving. Breaths are every 10 sec. and so slight, you have to watch carefully to see them. At first when I thought he was dead, I held him on his back and stretched his nose up from being tucked in, he slowly curled back up, tight without opening eyes.
That temp is low enough to stimulate hibernation behavior. Hedgehogs don't hibernate much in nature because they come form Africa. I would try warming him up to start. 75-80 degrees would be ideal. You may need heat lamp for the cage or a heating rock. If the hedgehog is off his food, the situation is serious. He needs to eat or the blood sugar will drop too low. I would get him on a heating pad set on low in a small box and see if he improves. If he does and starts eating, he was too cold. If he does not, there is something more serious going on and the situation may not be good. Without knowing the age, we don't know if he is at the end of his lifespan or not. Dilute corn syrup can be rubbed on the gums to get quick energy into him.
Experience: 12 years of small animal, equine and pocket pet experience in medicine and surgery.