Hello!
My pet hedgie is getting on with age and starting to show signs of Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS), a very common disease in senior hedgehogs (3 years and above). It is a disease where their nerves start to deteriorate and they slowly lose sensations in their back limbs and then their front paws. As they loses the ability to control their limbs, they get lethargic easily and can no longer run as easily as they use to.
It breaks my heart to see my 4 years fiesty companion go from a nightly marathon runner to a cutie pie that fumbles around her food and water bowl. Anyways, I was really hoping the first vet we went to was wrong, hence I set out on a second vet trip to get a second diagnosis.
Random cat at the clinic was curious about Sushi while we were queuing outside. Don't worry guys, she is in safe hands. The cat looks pretty befuddled though, hehes.
But long story short, the second doctor confirmed that Sushi is most definitely experiencing WHS and that hedgehogs with WHS usually live for another three months upon the onset of the first sign of WHS before passing on. 😭
I have noticed Sushi's wobbliness back in Dec 2020 and now we are at the end of Feb 2021. 😓 I've bought tons of Vitamin E as per doctor's instructions (human soft gel Vit E) and I am prepared to nurse her as much as I can. Apparently at this stage, they'll need a lot of Vit E, and needless to say, she is still as picky an eater as ever with what's is given/administered to her.
Sushi is currently still as fiesty, just running a lot less. I guess nursing her is part and parcel of the journey of having a hedgehog as a pet. Up till now, it has been filled with so many giggly fond memories and shocking moments of finding out how much of a biter she is. Anyways, I still have so many stories of her to share. Hedgehogs are simply so amazing and yet fragile at old age (yet again, we all are). I'll keep you guys updated as we go, I have faith in our little spiky trooper.
