Gastrointestinal foreign-body obstruction in African hedgehogs (ingestion hazard)
Verbatim 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.
Toxicology facts
- 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.