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HUSBANDRY AND DISEASES OF HEDGEHOGS AND OTHER EXOTIC PETS

ISAZA, 2017 1

Ramiro Isaza, DVM, MPH, DACZM,DECZM

Professor, Zoological MedicineCollege of Veterinary Medicine

University Florida


LECTURE OUTLINE

� Hedgehogs

� Sugar Gliders

� Other Emerging “Fad Pets”

ADDITIONAL READING

� Chapter 30 - AFRICAN HEDGEHOGS, 411-428

� Chapter 29 - SUGAR GLIDERS, 393-410

HEDGEHOG(Atelerix albiventris)

BIOLOGY OF HEDGEHOGS

� Order Eulipotyphla (Insectivora)

� Family Erinaceidea

� Sub family Erinaceinae (16 species)



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� Solitary

� Nocturnal

� Life-span 5 - 8 years

� “Average” age of death was 3.2 years

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM

� Males

� Ventral prepuce

� Females

� Vulva close to anus

� 2-5 pairs of mammary teats

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM SELF-ANOINTING (“ANTING”)

� Elicited by unfamiliar person or object

� Lick the new object repeatedly until frothy saliva in mouth

� Rub saliva onto skin and spines

HEDGEHOG HUSBANDRY

� Adequate cage size for foraging

� About 0.3 square meter of floor space

� Avoid wire flooring

� Absorbent substrate

� Paper products

� Dried wood chips

� Not cedar

HEDGEHOG HUSBANDRY

� Exercise wheel

� Large enough with solid surface


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HEDGEHOG HUSBANDRY

� Cage furniture

� Ceramic food bowl

� Water bottle or bowl

� Hide box

� “Sleeping bag”

� Rocks, wood, tunnels, and other enrichment

HEDGEHOG DIET

Insectivores

� Hedgehogs in the “wild” eat:

� Beetles, Ants, Termites, Grasshoppers, Moths, Centipedes, Earthworms

� General preference for centipedes, millipedes

� Eat dead vertebrates and eggs occasionally

HEDGEHOG DIET

Insectivores

� Eat the whole insects

� Insects contain up to 15% fiber (NDF)

� Insects are generally low in vitamin A

HEDGEHOG DIET

Captive Diet Recommendations

� “Hedgehog” or good quality cat food

� Animal based protein

� Dry pelleted food is “better” than canned

� Supplements -Earthworms, crickets, cooked eggs

� Consider addition of fiber (chitin)

HEDGEHOG DIET

Captive Diet Recommendations

� Limit milk products

� Control calorie intake to prevent obesity

� Record serial body weights to determine proper food intake

VETERINARY EXAMINATION


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POLITICS OF HEDGEHOGS

� Not allowed in some states and cities

EXAMINATION AND RESTRAINT

� Light leather gloves

� Unrolling the ball

� Scruffing

� Backward stroking

� Patience…….

� Isoflurane

COMMON HUSBANDRY PROBLEMS

� Obesity

� Trauma

� Metabolic bone disease

� Overgrown nails

PNEUMONIA

� Bordetella bronchiseptica

� Pasteurella sp.

� Lungworms -Capillaria,

Crenosoma

GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES

� Salmonella sp.

� Coccidia (Isospora erinacei)

� Dental Disease

INTEGUMENTARY DISEASES

� Caparina sp. (Chorioptic) mange

� Occasionally Sarcoptes, Demodex

� Crusting and flaking of skin; loss of spines

� Diagnosis: skin scrapping

� Treatment: ivermectin


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� Ringworm

� Trichophyton erinacei and Microsporum sp.

� Crusts around base of quill

INTEGUMENTARY DISEASES NEUROLOGIC DISEASE

� Demyelinating paralysis

(“Wobbly hedgehog syndrome” )

� Progressive ataxia → paralysis → death

� Ataxia and paralysis begin in hind legs

� Progression of symptoms over several months

� Age of onset: 1-36 months

� Treatment: none (supportive care)

� Etiology: unknown (hereditary?)

NEUROLOGIC DISEASE

� Demyelinating paralysis pathology

(“Wobbly hedgehog syndrome” )

� Multifocal symmetrical leukoencephalopathy

� Lesions in the white matter tracts of the brain and spinal cord

� Axon degeneration

� No inflammation

ZOONOTIC DISEASE

� Salmonella

� Children infected

� 35% hospitalized

26 human cases from 12 states

NEOPLASIA NEOPLASIA

� Uterine “mixed” cancer


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SUGAR GLIDER(Petaurus breviceps) BIOLOGY OF SUGAR GLIDERS

� Marsupial

BIOLOGY OF SUGAR GLIDERS

� Arboreal

� Nocturnal

� Live in family units (6-10)

� Life-span 10-14 years

� Low Body temperature

� (cloacal-89.6, rectal-97.3 F)

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM

SUGAR GLIDER HUSBANDRY

� Adequate cage size for flying and climbing

� Tall with small spacing between bars

� One square meter of usable volume

� Wire spacing 1 X 0.5 inches

� Paper on the cage floor



� Provide a nest box and sleeping pouch

� Usually made of wood

� Place high in the cage

� Nesting material

� Supplemental heat if needed


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� Provide branches and shelves for climbing





� Multiple food and water sources






� Add enrichment items






� Add enrichment items

� Prefer to live in groups

SUGAR GLIDER DIET

Wild Diet

� Omnivores in the wild� Sugar rich plant and insect exudates for energy

� Hindgut fermenters that break down complex polysaccharides contained in the exudates

� Invertebrates as a source of protein

� Opportunistic items (bird eggs)

SUGAR GLIDER DIET

Captive diet

� Major items

� Crickets and other insects (with calcium)

� Nectar or tree sap substitute

� Minor items

� Mixed fruit and cooked vegetables

� Dry crushed cat food or omnivore diet

� Supplement boiled egg, fruit juice, baby cereal


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Captive diet

� Important terms

SUGAR GLIDER DIET

Captive diet

� Tree sap substitutes

SUGAR GLIDER DIET

VETERINARY EXAMINATIONHUSBANDRY PROBLEMSOF SUGAR GLIDERS


HUSBANDRY PROBLEMSOF SUGAR GLIDERS


� Obesity



� Obesity

� Trauma

� Dog and cat bites

� Environmental hazards while flying

� Fight wounds (retrobulbar abscesses)


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� Obesity

� Trauma

� Self-mutilation

DISEASES OF SUGAR GLIDERS

� Gastroenteritis

� Salmonella

� E. coli

� Clostridium

� Giardia


� Gastroenteritis

� Lymphoma


� Gastroenteritis

� Lymphoma

� Avian Tuberculosis ?

“FAD PETS”

� Numbers are increasing

� Out-of-the-ordinary pets require

out-of-the-ordinary care

“FAD PETS”


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CONSIDERATIONS IN OWNING “FAD PETS”

ETHICAL / MORAL ISSUES

� Many are not suited for the general public

� May be difficult to provide proper care, space, nutrition

OTHER CONCERNS

� Legal issues

� Pest species

� Public health

ZOONOTIC DISEASES

� Allergies

� Bacterial

� Viral

� Parasitic

A CLINICAL APPROACH TO THE UNFAMILIAR SPECIES

� Research the species


� Research the species



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� Follow up your cases

A CLINICAL APPROACH TO THE UNFAMILIAR SPECIES EMERGING “FAD” PETS

� Muntjac

Doe Fawns $1,000 Buck Fawns $800

EMERGING “FAD” PETS

�Wallabies



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� “Chausie” or Jungle Cats


� Monkeys


ALL MONKEYS MAKE

BAD PETS

EMERGING “FAD” PETS CONCLUSIONS

QUESTIONS