Osteomylitis

pricklehogs on February 22nd 2010, 10:24 pm

Ok, so one of my hedgehogs holly has osteomylitis (infection of the bone) in her leg, she came to me with this, long story short i was scammed, its not hollys fault and i just want her to be happy and healthy. The infection has slightly deformed the bone as shown on xrays, so her leg will never go back to "normal"

Im looking for some advice about anything that will help her recovery, suppplements etc.
she has been on antibiotics for 6weeks, and the swelling did go down, however the vet said to stop the treatment , and see if it swells back up again. Which is all good untill, well its started swelling up again.
Shes on synulox and we syringe two drops twice a day

Some of my questions for you all are:

Has anyone experienced anything similar with any of their hedgehogs?
Im not sure whether she will need antibiotics for her whole life just as and when her leg swells up, what do you all think?
How can i be sure the infection is completely gone?
Is there any other medication anyone could reccomend if they have experienced anything similar?
Are there any additional supplements i could give her to help fight the infection?

Thanks to anyone who can help or offer any advice
Sam

heres some pics of her
one of her leg not at its worst
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5279/picture166t.jpg
and her cutie face
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3079/dscf0782.jpg

Biscuitbum on February 22nd 2010, 10:47 pm

Hey

First off where in manchester are you? and which vets did you use? Smile

Im in Hyde near Stockport.

Im guessing Ashleigh vets your using? Smile

With regards to anti-biotics and her being on them all of her life, I dont think the vets will do this, as their bodies become immune to it.

pricklehogs on February 22nd 2010, 10:52 pm

im located in wythenshawe
and yes im using ashleigh vets

Biscuitbum on February 22nd 2010, 10:56 pm

ohhh yeah just near cheadle?

which vet have you been using at Ashleigh? Aiden is very good, he knows his stuff, Sarah on the other hand we have found to be an idiot.

Maybe give Pennine vets in Bury a call, its a family run practice, they are married (Gillian and Ian), Iv took mine there in the past as they seem to know more than Ashleigh, they might be able to come up with some different ideas with regards to treatments? .... there also a lot cheaper than Ashleigh.

pricklehogs on February 22nd 2010, 11:10 pm

weve seen aiden twice, first time we were in and out he was brilliant, got holly on her meds and xrayed within ten minutes, he even got aother vet to see some cats instead of himself, so he could treat holly quicker

and oh gosh the girl, she never even examined holly, she wouldnt even pick her up, just left her in her hedgie back and twisted it about, just took one look at her and said heres an anti inflammitory and keep taking the medicine, weve saw her twice and once with my hamster, (they took him in for tests as she thought he had earmites) well, it was obvious it wasnt but then you never know do you? so they took him in and popped two tumors in his ears, took them 2 days to get results after about 10 phone calls, costinng us 80pound for them to say yes its cancer, she then had the cheek to say they could operate to try and remove them!! (anyone who wishes to see a picture of the state she left my hamster in is happy to do so via pm) grr.. will never let her treat one of my animals again.

i will call pennine vets tomorow, hopefuly they have some more ideas

**dink** on February 22nd 2010, 11:52 pm

poor girl

whats her walking like and the use of the leg? front or back?

pricklehogs on February 22nd 2010, 11:56 pm

heya dink,
its her front left leg
her walking is ok although a bit wobbly and falls over sometimes, shes a right runner despite though, she doesnt have a wheel in at the minute as it seemed to just make the swelling bigger, so i let her run up and down the landing everynight til shes had enough.

**dink** on February 23rd 2010, 12:12 am

sounds like she has spirit, bless her lau

things i can suggest are vit b12-helps restore health to the nerves, i have a hog with legs issues and amusing this,
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=399&prodid=198 - its made a huge difference

also vits A and C to help boost the immune system.

i also use spirulina- it holds it vit content and again it made a huge difference to the hog
http://www.bodykind.com/search.asp?SearchString=spirulina&Referer=Google_lifestream%20spirulina&gclid=CPGH1bijh6ACFVcB4wodZUdviQ

you can prob find cheaper than these sites, i'll have a nose about with regards to other vits.

i did read about liquid garlic but am unsure about the use with hogs.

steven12345 on February 23rd 2010, 2:32 pm

aww the poor little soul, i hope you can get her sorted soon, hate seeing stuff like this,

what can cause an infection of the bone in the 1st place?

**dink** on February 23rd 2010, 6:30 pm

bone infections can be caused by the following-

-can become infected via blood

-direct invasion fractures

-adjacent soft tissue infections

i know its not aph but...my brother fell down the stairs and banged hie head, he got an infection in his spinal column as a result from that fall!

brandygirl69 on February 23rd 2010, 8:36 pm

Awww I hope you get Holly sorted crossfingers

Zade on February 24th 2010, 12:24 am

I've just been reading up / revising my notes here's what I have found out, may be useful!

Osteomyelitis : infection of the cortical bone and medullary cavity
Causes :

Compromised bone's defences i.e skin laceration etc

surgery

inflammation of soft tissue

open fracture/trauma

blood infection

extension of soft tissue infection.

Treatment :

Broad spec antibiotics

but much better to do a culture (has this been offered? if not I would opt for that, then adjust the antibiotics as to what the culture comes back as some bacteria are resistant esp staph aureus (mrsa).

Local delivery of antibiotics (implant or other)

(More intense surgical debridement (means cleaning out of nasties etc)

Hope thats of some use, I wouldnt recommend keeping her on the same antibiotic, like has been said, the bacteria may be resistant anyway, and she will need ever increasing amounts as her body gets used to it, also some antibiotics arn't good for the kidneys and liver after long term use!

I would see if you can get a culture done and then you can identify the organism and treat for that specific one wub

xxx_phoenix_xxx on February 24th 2010, 8:40 am

for her hope she gets better soon. bless her atleast she still seems a happy little hog awwwww crossfingers

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