Vestibular Syndrome in Hedgehogs

Vestibular syndrome, happily, is a fairly benign condition. However, its rapid onset and severe symptoms can be terrifying for both hedgehog and human companion. In vestibular syndrome, there is a problem with the inner ear, which is responsible for balance. Many times there is no known infection, trauma, or other assignable cause, and the symptoms disappear on their own within a few days.

Symptoms of vestibular syndrome:

• Rapid onset of symptoms, with a healthy animal becoming incapacitated within the space of a day or even hours
• Loss of balance -- staggering, falling, and falling into objects, almost looking like the animal is drunk
• Vomiting
• Lack of appetite
• Circling in the same direction the head is tilted
• Rapid, almost uncontrolled eye movements known as nystagmus

In the meantime, the symptoms can cause extreme distress for the affected hedgehog. With the loss of balance comes the inability to stand up on all fours or walk normally; to eat or drink out of a dish; and dizziness. This is disturbing enough for the human companion, who can conceptualize what is happening. What about the hedgehog, who simply knows that something is very wrong?

When Knarla Pog developed vestibular syndrome, the first symptom was a loss of appetite, then unusual lethargy. This was followed within a day with frenetic movement as she attempted to run and climb, but failed, as she could not coordinate her feet and balance to run. While our vet reassured us that this would pass, Knarla was so frantic that she began to rub her paws and belly raw. Our vet prescribed a steroid to control any inflammation, an antibiotic for a potential ear infection, and Valium to sedate her and keep her calm while the symptoms diminished.

Since Knarla's balance was out of whack, and she was dizzy, her appetite was greatly reduced. She also could not stand long enough to eat from a dish. To keep her hydrated and to get calories into her system, we syringe fed her water with honey dissolved in it and a wet mixture of her food and some treats.

For the honeyed water, we dissolved about 1 tablespoon of honey into 1 cup of hot water. We refrigerated this prior to giving it to Knarla. For the food mixture, we ground her regular food into powder in a small food processor along with chicken broth, honey, crickets, and roasted waxworms. We fed her both of these with a syringe with a cannula tip, which is an excellent item to keep in your first aid kit for just these sorts of emergencies. We fed her as much food, and then water, as she would take, usually between 5 - 15 cc of food and then as much water, every 2-3 hours.

Since Knarla wanted to move around, and had very little control over those movements, we fashioned a small "padded room" for her. We took a small cage and placed a fleece blanket inside it as a liner, covering all of the sides, and added piles of hedgehog-friendly fabric (no loose strings!) inside for her. This was her home for around 4 days while the syndrome ran its course. She slept wherever she fell -- sometimes out in the open, sometimes on her side, sometimes even on her back.

After 4 days, she had regained most of her balance, and could stand and walk for several paces at a time. She did fall periodically, but was able to right herself. We put her back in her regular cage, without access to her ramps. After a day or two of limited access, she was essentially back to normal, and we returned her ramps. She recovered fully and simply took her ramps a little more cautiously than normal.

The symptoms looked awful, and I hope no one else has to go through the fears that we had when we took Knarla to the vet. I feared poisoning, or stroke, or worse. However, Knarla has made a full recovery, as will nearly all sufferers of this disease.

Further Reading:

Dog ear problems: canine peripheral vestibular syndrome from PageWise
Vestibular Syndrome from the Encyclopedia of Canine Veterinary Medical Information
Beating vestibular syndrome from PetLife Web