Losing Quills

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xhbf91

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Apr 24, 2013
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Hi i have a two year old male hedgehog, over the past couple of weeks his skin has started to look really dry and he's been losing quills.I thought it might have just been a dry skin problem and somebody recommended that i bathe him with a little bit of olive oil, which i did but it hasn't improved. I changed his bedding recently from wood shavings to fleece and there was around six quills stuck into the fleece when i took it out to wash. Does anybody know what this could be? i'm really worried about him. I've attached a picture of him, i'm sorry it's not better quality it's the best one i could get.
Thanks
 

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I've just had a really good look at him and his skin on one side is red underneath the fur and it looks as if the fur is getting ready to start dropping out .He has quite a bit of dandruff coming off of him too, he doesn't bother with his wheel anymore either, he'll have a little bit to eat and then he'll going back to sleep again (i think he's sleeping through the majority of the night too)
 
Some quill loss is normal but fur loss and red skin is often a sign of parasites. You should take him to the vet to check for mites and lice. How long ago did you switch him off the shavings? They often carry mites but usually not the kind that can live on the animal long term just irritate it and die eventually without wood to live on. I had a guinea pig get a bad skin infection because of bites from mites living in the wood shavings. You can apply oil like flaxseed without a bath which risks irritating the skin further.
 
Changing from shavings to fleece was a step in the right direction. Good job there. If it's mites, there's not more shavings to provide the safe harbor nor irritate his skin. If it's bacterial, viral, or fungal, you'll be able to wash that fleece and kill that off his bedding. Regardless of what it turns out to be, you'll be able to see precisely how many quills are dropping.

A recommendation on the fleece: make sure you're using a scent-free, dye-free detergent and staying away from fabric softener & dryer sheets. Some folks skip the detergent entirely and go with vinegar and water.

Etiologically, you are looking at a number of possibilities. Mites and bacterial, fungal or viral infections are my top theories. Allergies and parasites are on my second tier list of possibilities. I would bring him into the vet and have the vet take a sample from the areas that look the worst and get that cultured. I'd also have them run a sensitivity test so they can figure out what will kill whatever has been cultured.

Your vet may do a skin scraping to look for mites -- a number of people have experienced false negatives, so I wouldn't necessarily trust that an "I didn't see any mites" means that there aren't actually mites. I'd probably go ahead and treat with Revolution as it's not likely to harm, but should help if the cause is mites. Stay away from Ivomec/Ivermectin - there are a number of reports of hedgie deaths caused by that... even when the vet says they know other vets don't know what they are doing but *they* know...

Regarding the flax seed oil... or any oil... I'd stay away from that until you know what's going on. If it's dry skin, it will help. If it's mites, it will help. If it's bacterial, viral, or fungal... it will do the opposite of help.

Since you're noticing some pretty big behavioral changes - the increased sleep, lack of wheeling - I'd bring him in as soon as you can.
 
I took him to the vet this morning and they said it looks like mites/parasites so they treated him with xenex which apparently puts a barrier over the skin and kills any parasite infection, he has to be treated again in 2 weeks and they say I should start to see a difference in about a week so fingers crossed. Thanks so much for your advice
 
Hmm... haven't heard of xenex before. Could you tell us more about it and how it's working out for him?
 
I mentioned Revolution to the vet and she said it's only used in America and not in the UK so xenex is the only thing she could treat him with, i'll keep you posted though. Thanks again
 
Gotcha! Glad you'll keep us posted :) I'm sending you and your little guy plenty of hedgie hugs to get through this. What's his name?
 
She always palpates abdomens and the hedgehogs just curl up so they give them just enough gas to make them relax and they wake right up again. Also we took cinni who will sit in a ball for hours if necessary. She's always been that way. Makes wonderful friendly babies who unball immediately after picking up but herself you could wait all day and the farthest she'll get is straightening enough to stick her feet out for balance. The vet is used to hedgehogs like that. They were all shocked at Sunoo who never balled up even when palpated but she was still difficult because she wanted to run run run but we didn't have to sedate her just chase her around the table. Sunoo is a || shaped hedgehog because she runs so much. She was actually a little underweight when I got her but we feed high protein and moderate fat diet so she's gone from slightly skinny to just straight. All my others are pear shaped.
 
ok so he was treated for mites and the redness on his side has cleared up and he is a lot more lively but the dry skin is still as bad as ever, he is losing 6-7 quills a night. I've tried everything from flaxseed oil to oatmeal baths and nothing is working. Any ideas on how i can help him?
thanks x
 
Glad to hear the redness has gone! Bet he's a happier little fella :)

Scenario 1: Let's assume that the xenex has worked and that the underlying problems is fully addressed (ie, assuming best possible scenario). In that case, it makes sense that he'd still be losing some quills even this far out. You figure that his quills were damaged to a greater or lesser extent before the treatment kicked in. Those that were heavily damaged have already fallen out. Those that were only a little damaged are falling out now.

Keep him on fleece that's cleaned using detergent that's free of scents & dyes to help eliminate the possibility that anything funny is coming from his bedding.

Take a look at the humidity in his room. I've found relatively inexpensive hygrometers at pet stores right next to the thermometers. They'll measure the humidity inside his cage. I have one in my hedgie's cage and one outside. Once the ceramic heat emitters kicked in (weather becoming cooler; air is drier; CHE's are on more often), I saw that the one in the open space in the hedgie room was around 50, but the one in the cage was only around 20. So, really, take a look at the humidity INSIDE the cage and address as needed. You may find that a warm mist humidifer helps a lot.

Other things you can do are dietary: add a drop or two of the flaxseed oil to his food in addition to on his body. There's a neat thing called "Sunshine Factor" that also works well and most hedgies seem to loooooove how it tastes. I believe it was initially developed for birds, so check the bird-supply catalogs for it if you cannot find it. A drawback with the dietary supplements is that they take awhile to work. Like most people, you'll probably use them for a couple weeks and think "this isn't doing anything; this is stupid" and figure you may as well stop it... but a week or two more of continued use after that, you'll start seeing changes to skin and quills.

I'd only bathe him when absolutely necessary - like if he's anointed and made a mess of himself or has poop in his quills. Of course, always use oatmeal with any bath to help reduce dryness.

Scenario 2: The xenex hasn't fully worked. You'll know this is true if you start seeing even more quills fall out, his skin gets worse (red, flakes that peel off in small sheets, abrasions), his quill coat becomes more thing, or he develops bald patches where quills should be. Or you'll see him becoming less active, more grumpy, etc... If that's the case, it's back to the vet!
 
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