HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY RAZZLE!!!

The Happy Family - June 2007

I love my Razzle! - July 2, 2007

Today is the day we celebrate Razzle's birthday. His true birth date is unknown, but is estimated to be sometime in either April or May 2004. I celebrate on July 3rd, as that was the day that I got Razzle and my life was changed forever. I'll never forget the first day I saw him....a quivering ball of spikes. How could I not fall in love with him? He was so tiny and nervous. I was nervous, too, of those sharp quills! Oww! I had to use gardening gloves the first time I picked him up.

A scared prickleball - July 3, 2004

Already getting braver...

Three years. A lot has happened in that time. We drove from Boston to Chicago together. We got our first Chicago apartment together (Razzle had to pose as a *hamster* since we didn't want to have to explain to the landlord what a hedgehog was - ooh the humiliation of it all!). We survived our first Chicago winter together and sweated through our first summer. We met Steve and knew instantly that he was a wonderful hedgie daddy (and love of my life!) And I don't even need to go into all the medical ups and downs we've weathered.

Razzle in Vermont enjoying the sunshine - July 2004

I wish I could say today was truly a *Happy* birthday, but Razzle is still not back to his spunky self. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to find a completely undisturbed cage and full treat bowl...again. I checked on Razzle and he was very lethargic. I let him walk around a bit and he is still walking in that slow, hobbled manner. He drank a few sips, but he wouldn't touch his food. I finally got out the secret weapon: Meal worms. He did eat a few of those. I also syringed a bit of Pedialyte. Already he's looking like he's lost weight. It's amazing how fast their little metabolisms are. The fear right now is dehydration again, and thus, kidney failure. I called the vet first thing this morning and she said to HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE. I need to syringe Pedialyte to him as much as I can. Hopefully I can get home soon to tend to him. I think our office might close early *fingers crossed* so I can get home and start the Pedialyte.

I hope to report back with more HAPPY Birthday news.....

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UPDATE
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I left work early, flew into Walgreens for some Pedialyte, and rushed home not knowing what we'd find. I lifted up the igloo to find Razzle looking at me mildly annoyed. Not typical for him as he is usually HIGHLY annoyed when woken up during the day! The vet's office said to give him 1-2 cc's of Pedialyte every 2-3 hours. At 2:30, I gave him 2 cc's. It seems like an awful lot and I made sure to take breaks in between sips. Razzle is weak and can barely find the strength to fight with me now. I woke him up again at 5pm to give him another 2 cc's. Good news is he did eat 5 meal-worms! He's resting in his new red birthday igloo. He's so tired and weak. I can only hope this is just all caused by stress and he'll be back to his spunky self soon.