Hedgehog Disease Flashcards
What zoonotic disease can Hedgehogs spread
- Salmonellosis
- Dermatophytosis
- Urticaria
How can one tell the sex of a hedgehog?
- Males:
- ventral prepuce
- No scrotal sac
- Para-anal recess testes
- Females:
- Uterus is bicornuate; no uterine body
- Vulva close to rectum
- 2-5 pairs of mammae
How can pregnancy be detected in female hedgehogs?
- Weekly weight comparisons
- suspect if female gains >50 g within 3 wks of having acess to a male
- Nutritional demands increase up to 3x maintenance
What is Self-Anointing?
- “Anting”
- Elicited by unfamiliar person or object
- Lick the new object repeatedly until frothy saliva in mouth
- Rub saliva onto skin and spines
- Purpose of this behavior is unknown
Where can blood samples be taken from Hedgehogs?
- Lateral saphenous (below stifle)
- Cephalic - delicate and collapses easily
- Juglar vein - deep; difficult
- Cranial Vena cava
- Femoral vein
How can medications be given to hedgehogs
- Oral therapy
- use pleasant tasting meds
- SC administration
- may have altered absorption
- IM (thigh)
- IO (tibial crest) if critical using a 22 or 25g needle or 1 inch spinal needle
What is CT imaging most useful for in Hedgehogs?
- Dental
- Otic
- Respiratory
- Skeletal disorders
How should hedgehogs be anesthetized?
- Recommended 1-2hr fasting
- Isoflurane for induction and maintenance
- After preoxygenation, use 4-5% isoflurane for induction,
- 1-2% via facemask for maintenance
- For heavy sedation: alfaxalone (3-5mg/kg) and midazolam (1mg/kg) SC can be used
- Partially reverse w/ flumazenil (0.05mg/kg) SC
- Can intubate with 1.0-2.0 mm ID endotracheal tube, Teflon IV catheter, or modified feeding tube
Should Hedgehogs be spayed/neutered?
- Prophylactic OHE should be considered because of high incidence of uterine disease
- OHE similar to other mammals, but large amounts of fat makes identification of structures difficult
- Castration is performed through para-anal skin incision over each testicle
What is Acariasis?
- Most common dermatopathy of hedgehogs
- Cause:
- Caparinia tripilis
- Chorioptes spp - possibly
- Notoedres - rarely
- May be subclinical initially or from infested bedding or fomites from pet stores
What are the signs of Acariasis in Hedgehogs
- Subclinical
- Hyperkeratosis
- seborrhea
- spine loss
- crusts at base of spines
- pruritis
- Lethargy
- decreased appetite
How is Acariasis diagnosed in hedgehogs?
- Skin scraping
How is Acariasis treated?
- Selamectin (20-30mg/kg topically q21-28 days)
- Ivermectin (0.3-0.4 mg/kg PO, SC q10-14 days for 3-5 treatments)
- Amitraz, fibronil (frontline) or 10% imidacloprid and 1% moxidectin (advantage) have also been used
- Clean the bedding (use newspapers while treating
- Treat all animals concurrently
What is the treatment for Dental disease (calculus, gingivitis, periodontitis) in Hedgehogs
- Hard kibble
- antibiotics
- dental prophylaxis
What oral neoplasm is common in Hedgehogs
- Squamous cell carcinomas
What are the signs of Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Hedgehogs?
- Dyspnea
- Decreased activity
- Decreased weight
- Heart murmur
- Ascites
- Acute death
How is Dilated Cardiomyopathy diagnosed in Hedgehogs?
- Radiography
- ECG
- Echocardiogram
Can DCM be treated in Hedgehogs?
- Therapy may initially helpful
- Diuretics
- Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors
- Pimobendan
- Long-term prognosis poor
What neurologic disease is common in Hedgehogs?
- Ataxia may be caused by topor, trauma, toxins, infarcts, neoplasia, otitis interna, etc
- Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)
- Progressive hind limb ataxia
- Dx: radiography
- Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS)
- demyelinating paralysis
What is Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome?
- Neurodegenerative disease of brain and spinal cord
- Prevalence in North America ~10%
- Cluster patterns in defined family lineages are apparent
- appears to be heritable
- possibly influenced by dietary or environmental factos or infectious agents
- No evidence of viral or autoimmune cause
- Age range: 1-36 mo (average 18mo)
What are the clinical signs of WHS?
- Inability to close the hood
- Incoordination
- Falling to one side
- tremors
- exophthalmus
- scoliosis
- seizures
- muscle atrophy
- wasting
- ascending paresis or tetraparesis
- Rarely self-mutilation
- In early stages - signs are often relapsing and re-occurring ⇢ then become more progressive and severe
- ascending paralysis in 70% of cases
- Progression is generally accompanied by severe weight loss w/o loss of appetite
- dysphagic in terminal stages
- In 60% of cases:
- become immobilized within 9 months after onset of ataxia
- In 90% of cases:
- immobilized within 15 months
- Death w/in 18-25 months after onset of signs
What is the treatment for WHS?
- Suppportive care: handfeeding
- Euthanasia
How is WHS diagnosed?
- Histopathology:
- spongioform (vacuoles) change in white matter of cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord
- Demyelination
- Inflammation is not associated with WHS
What neoplasias do Hedgehogs get?
- High incidence in hedgehogs
- various studies, 29-52% had tumors
- One study 89% malignant
- Reported in all body systems (especially in the integumentary, reproductive, hemolymphatic, and alimentary systems)
- Commonly reported:
- Mammary
- lymphosarcoma
- Oral SCC
What are the common clinical signs of neoplasia in Hedgehogs?
- Variable, depending on site
- Presence of masses
- Anorexia, weight loss
- lethargy
- diarrhea
- dsypnea
- Ascites
How are neoplasias diagnosed in Hedgehogs
- FNA
- biopsy and hitopathology
- Radiography
- CBC
- Chemistries
- CT
- MRI
- abdominal ultrasound
- necropsy
How are neoplasias treated in hedgehogs?
- surgical excision
- supportive care
- other
What is the prognosis for Neoplasia in hedgehogs?
- Depends on stage and type of neoplasm
- Most are malignant
- Oral SCC generally locally invasive
What preventative medicine should Hedgehogs receive?
- Annual or semi-annual exams
- review diet/husbandry
- check for tumors
- Prone to periodontal disease
- feed kibbe
- tartar control treats
- Dental scaling and polishing
- CBC, Serum biochemistry may be useful
- Weighing regularly
- No indicated vaccines
