hedgehog - dislocated hip

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Gerbil — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 00:04:23 GMT

^^^^ This!

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:59:36 GMT

[quote user="CatherineThomas"] I spoke to someone at Tiggywinkles and they said that they will often do well without amputation, although it does concern me that if we don't amputate he will have chronic pain from the abnormal wear of the bone.[/quote]

It raises a lot of questions, doesn't it? What does "do well" really mean? How do you assess chronic pain in a hedgehog? If the pain doesn't bother the hedgehog, should it bother us? Is nociception the same as pain? Can the hedgehog go off and do normal hedgehoggy things, or does he (for some reason I think of all hedgehogs as "he" ) need sheltered accommodation in someone's garden?

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

CatherineThomas — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 06:51:08 GMT

At the moment he is with our local hedgehog rescue people. He responded really well to metacam and was using the leg, although it still wasn't quite right. So we decided to give him a couple of weeks before deciding and hopefully they will get him to lose some weight which will help him. I spoke to someone at Tiggywinkles and they said that they will often do well without amputation, although it does concern me that if we don't amputate he will have chronic pain from the abnormal wear of the bone.

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Badger er — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:45:18 GMT

What happened with this? Did the lil' guy get to hobble another day?

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

CatherineThomas — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:33:54 GMT

Thanks, it seems to be in good condition, nearly 800g, is eating really well and getting around fine with the leg dragging behind. We do have some people locally who runs small scale hedgehog rescue and they arrange for injured hedgehogs to be released in secure gardens.

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Marie Kubiak — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 14:25:32 GMT

If an abdominal rupture is confirmed then i agree euthanase. If not then I wouldn't opt for euthanasia in all cases wrt the leg.

I would opt for amputation if the following criteria can be met:

- it is an otherwise healthy animal (check teeth in particular and confirm no lesions on other 3 limbs)

- young and in reasonable body condition, with weight suitable for hibernation this year (at least 600g)

- you are comfortable doing the procedure

- there is suitable short-term post-op management facilities (wildlife carer ideally with outdoor enclosed area, able to administer meds etc, not remaining in hospital continuously)

- there is suitable long-term facilities (we have a local rehabber with a protected area of woodland with soft release pens, abundant food and lack of established predators)

If these can't be met (the last one is frequently a sticking point) then I'd euthanase without hesitation. But, they can cope surprisingly well on 3 legs so if all is appropriate for amputation then do consider it. I'd personally be reluctant to do a FHNE because I would be unsure how this species would cope as very different body shape and locomotion to domestic species, and it isn't possible to follow up long-term and my aim, if going ahead, would be to operate and release asap.

Marie

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Badger er — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 11:08:04 GMT

I agree with Gillian, this is a wild animal. What will quality of life be post-op? If not able to return to the wild (fat and well enough to survive imminent winter, hibernation, etc) then the other option would be captivity. Is it right to keep a wild animal captive for the rest of its life? With daily wanderings of several km, and massive home ranges (~24 ha according to http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.e.martin/CHPS/facts.html), can you satisfy yourself that QoL is not compromised?

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:55:00 GMT

[quote user="Robin Grimmer"]

The best thing for this hedgehog is euthanasia.

[/quote] +1. Why waste resources on a wild animal that cannot be returned to the wild?

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Gillian Mostyn — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 07:57:40 GMT

I agree. I will not treat wildlife (or send it to somewhere else) unless return to a wild status is likely. The exception can be if an animal could regain a good QOL in captivity - this may be possible with a hedgehog but the long term welfare must be arranged before short term fixes are attempted.

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Robin Grimmer — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 22:26:22 GMT

The best thing for this hedgehog is euthanasia.

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Neil Wheadon — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 21:16:49 GMT

How about an excision arthroplasty, quite straightford (well in cats anyway)

Better advise at

www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/leaflets/L8-Care-and-Treatment.pdf‎

Relevant section

Sometimes the leg is so badly infected that amputation is the only

solution. Amputations should be performed in the proximal limb

e.g. proximal third of the femur, proximal third of the humerus or

shoulder joint because stumps are easily traumatised. Hedgehogs

with limb amputations are generally considered as candidates for life

in an enclosed garden (contact the BHPS for up to date information

on this). There are some concerns that hind limb amputees are unable

to groom properly and are more subject to mite infestations, while

front leg amputees can have mobility problems. Some vets prefer to

euthanase rather than condemn a wild animal to a life of captivity.

Neil

Re: hedgehog - dislocated hip

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 19:27:19 GMT

St Tiggywinkles very helpful.

Still a whole can of worms doing such things to a wild animal IMO