{"topic_id":"exotic_tox_hedgehog_obstruction","category":"exotic-pet-toxicology","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_tox_hedgehog_obstruction\ncategory: exotic-pet-toxicology\ntitle: \"Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"The Merck Veterinary Manual — hedgehog (exotic and laboratory animals)\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hedgehog.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 0\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"The Merck Veterinary Manual\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"The Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: \"Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard)\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/hedgehogs\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-29\"\n  ref: \"MerckVetManual-hedgehog\"\n  doc_type: \"peer-reviewed veterinary reference (Merck & Co.)\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n\n# Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard)\nVerbatim first-hand facts from The Merck Veterinary Manual (hedgehog). All bullets are exact substrings of the cited source file and C1-substring verified. Focus: toxicosis and environmental hazards of the pet species.\n## Toxicology facts\n- GI obstructions are often caused by ingestion of rubber, hair, or carpet fibers. Clinical signs include acute anorexia, lethargy, and collapse. Vomiting may occur. Marked gaseous dilation of the GI tract can be a nonspecific finding in ill hedgehogs, complicating diagnosis. Alimentary inflammation, including esophagitis, gastritis, enteritis, colitis, and gastric ulceration with perforation, has been reported. Most of the affected hedgehogs had nonspecific signs such as decreased appetite and weight loss; vomiting and diarrhea were not observed.\n","sources":["exotic-pet-toxicology — Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard) (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-toxicology","title":"Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard)","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/hedgehogs","retrieved":"2026-07-29","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"The Merck Veterinary Manual","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hedgehog.txt"},"source_document":"The Merck Veterinary Manual","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/hedgehog.txt","tokens_estimated":252,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}