Spike freaking out

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Philogirl

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I just gave Spike a bath and while he's normally totally cranky and stuff, he is completely FREAKING out.

He's jumpy and he seems like something is hurting him. I know he's not burnt.. I felt the water with my wrist and it wasn't hot. I tried to clip his nails and he just started freaking out. I didn't even get to clip one... he just bit me and starting hopping about like he had never been handled before.

He's not bleeding or anything and he doesn't seem like he broke anything... I just have no idea why he's acting like this. And he keeps running in circles...

Please someone... give me advice... I'm really scared for him.
 
Does he have a quill poking him somewhere? Demon once did this after a bath and it turned out he had dropped a quill and it was jabbing him in his 'armpit'
 
I don't know... he won't let me touch him to find out... I tried to examine him... his belly looks clear... I'm not sure where else to look. He lost 4 quills so far...

I'm wondering if maybe the colloidal oatmeal smell is freaking him out?

He keeps rubbing against his cage and trying to get at something... like he keeping running in circles.
 
Oh is this the first time he had a bath with it? Sounds very likely that that could be it.
Other than that the only thing i can think of is to give his whole body a once over. And give him some time to calm down.
If he is still odd tomorrow then it might be something to be concerned about, but from what you say sounds like its either the new smell or a quill jabbing him. Does not sound like injury is likely.
Maybe water in the ear?
 
It's the first time I've used it since he quilled last March.

He's running on his wheel like crazy... I saw him eat a bit. His poop was normal before the bath (hence, the bath.)

But he just doesn't seem to be able to get comfortable...

I'm pretty sure he isn't injured since he's running... he just pooped some more and no blood... so I don't think he's hurt internally. There's no blood externally and no sign of trauma.

Just complete and utter freak out. He rustles in his blankets and runs out huffing at nothing. And not just regular huffing... he's doing that very angry growly noise at nothing. I'm not going near him... he's just growling under the blankets.

Also, definitely not water in the ear. I use water bottles that I fill up beforehand so I control when and where the water goes.
 
Well... It's 8:30 now... i was hoping after a couple of hours of sleep I'd wake to a sleeping Spike... nope.

He ran until his feet bled and he's still utterly freaked out. I tried looking him over for a jabbed quill, but no luck as he wouldn't let me near him much.

I'm waiting for the vet to contact me, but I can't figure out what to do with him...

Anyone???

He's running in broad daylight with very upset feet... I'm removing the wheel now...
 
I've never experienced anything like what you describe. If you have any Rescue Remedy on hand, I suggest a drop behind each ear.

Did you rebathe him? I would draw up a warm bath with NOTHING - no soap - and rinse him really really well.

I wouldn't be waiting for the vet to call back, I'd be sitting on his step with my hedgehog when the doors opened because this is very unusual behavior.

Please keep us posted.
 
1. Did you use anything scented on him? Or even if it was unscented did it have any odor? I've heard of plenty of hedgehogs freaking out from a smell that was on them. A rewash with just plain water may correct this problem. (as mentioned by HM)

2. Did you get any water in his ears? I had a hedgehog who acted freaked once, and she had ear mites. She was fine one minute and suddenly started freaking out, including trying to bite, stomping her feet, and circling in one direction.
 
This happened to Spiny when I put vitamin e oil on him.
He totally flipped out for hours!

And now, when my bf has cream on his hands that contains vitamin e, Spiny gets ANGRY!
 
Just came back from the vet... did a skin scraping and nothing. She gave me revolution anyway, just in case.

I can't imagine why it would be water in his ears... he's not focusing on that area. He's scratching his butt and rubbing his body against the side of the tank. Also, he should not have gotten water in his ears since I don't keep the faucet running anymore during bath time.

The vet said his skin looked red and irritated though... so I'm hesitant to rebathe him.

He was calm with the vet tech and brought him back to me and he freaked out again. He's back home eating and drinking, but totally not chilled out and ready for sleepy time... It's almost 11 and he's not tired??? He's laying on a clean paper towel... he'll lay down then suddenly jump up like he smells something and huffs at it.

This has been going on for 8 hours now... I just gave him some Metacam for the irritation to see if maybe he can get some sleep.

Should I still try rebathing him?
 
Also, my vet is about 2 minutes up the street. Waiting on her doorstep is the same as sitting at my house.
 
Just rinsed him off again with 2 full bottles of water... no change.

Oh wait... he's trying to scale the side of the cage to get out. He keeps sniffing the air.
 
I just cleaned the cage AGAIN. I keep my hedgies' belongings very clean, so I don't know... I've changed the liners 4 times in the past 9 hours now. I keep giving clean paper towel. I cleaned his bowls.

I don't care if he's calm with me right now.. I just want him calm in some sense... and usually he's calm in his home, but he's not.

I thought maybe there was a smell in the house, so I'm trying to air everything out... I just walked around the apartment numerous times with a vinegar rag, hoping to absorb any smell possible.

Nothing is working.
 
If you haven't used the Revolution yet, then rebathe him using Dawn dish detergent. Use warm water and a running rinse. Rinse him very very very well.

Pouring two bottles of water over him really isn't sufficient to rinse off any contaminant.

Why were you giving him an oatmeal bath?

Aloe is safe for irritated skin and safe for ingestion if he chews/licks it off. So is chamomile. Two teabags, two cups boiling water, steep 4 minutes, dilute with 2 cups water (cool enough to cool the hot down to bath temp) and then let him wal in it or pour it over him. It's safe and soothing.

Poor wee guy.
 
I gave him an oatmeal bath because his skin was dry in some spots. He hadn't gotten a bath in a while and i thought maybe he was cranky because of his dry skin... guess it wasn't.

I already gave him the Revolution.

Can I bathe him again after giving him the Revolution? If it is ear mites like Kalandra proposed, how long would I expect to see results?

This is absolutely killing me...
 
I haven't read through everything here, so maybe someone already said this, but is it possible that your house has some type of gas leakage in the air? Like, for example, carbon monoxide don't have a smell to us humans, but maybe the animals can smell it? Just an idea. Does he act like this if he's out of your house? what if he's out of your house and not near you? Because there could be a chance that you could have the smell on you too....

Just an idea...
 
It may not work, but when Lily freaked out I put her in a plastic shoe box lines with paper towels and covered her with a small blanket. She wasn't reacting to a smell or a bath, so it's not exactly the same, but she did seem to like the enclosed space. After a few hours I put the box in her cage and she eventually came out, but she did calm down. If cleaning the scents off doesn't work, maybe change the environment?
 
Ear mites we treated with an ear drop, it actually drowned the mites and we saw relief within hours. I didn't really propose that was the problem, but that something going on in the ear problem could cause some freaky actions. I've heard people talk about ear infections causing some to freak out. Did the vet at all look in his ear?

I also didn't realize that he was scratching at his bum when I made that comment. I've no experience with revolution so cannot give advice on bathing him after its use.
 
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