Sudden Quill Loss - Not Mites or Quilling

[AlbertaGirl]

I recently adopted an adult male hedgehog from the Humane Society. All was well for the first three weeks or so, but then he suddenly began losing large numbers of quills - 15 to 20 every night. I suspected mites so we did three treatments with Revolution, cage cleaning etc. The quill loss continued but has gradually slowed to 3-4 each night. He has no thin or bald spots. New quills seem to be coming in as fast as the old ones fall out. Then tonight I found the sharp end of a quill that he had obviously chewed or broken off. I don't know what to make of this. He eats like a pig (CSFTCLS Lite), has perfect poop and uses his wheel. His skin is good - maybe a little dry but not bad at all. He is very friendly and has no other obvious issues. I would love to hear any input on what might be causing this and how I can stop his quill loss. Thank you!

 

[smhufflepuff]

A few thoughts:

Could be a stress quilling associated with his move to the Humane Society or from the Humane Society to your home.

Could be related to changes in nutrition. For example, say he was in another home before reaching the Humane Society where he wasn't on a very good diet. Then, with improvements at the Humane Society and added improvement at your home, he may be shedding the old quills developed when he wasn't well and is now growing in healthier quills.

Could be that he had mites and you've successfully treated them.

Each of those possibilities seem to track well with how you've described his quill loss; ie, that there was a problem, the problem is largely resolved; however, some quills that were affected by stress/poor nutrition/mites still need time to fall out and be replaced by healthy quills. I'd keep an eye on things, give him lots of snuggles, and keep his house tidy. With luck, that's all he'll need, and quill loss will drop down to near zero given a bit more time (it's pretty normal to lose a quill here or there).

Of course, if you see quill loss increasing or notice other signs of illness/injury, bring him back to the vet where they'll be able to take a good look, collect a sample (eg, swab skin around places where quills are lost), and analyze (eg, look for mites, get a culture and see if there's anything bacterial or viral).

 

[AlbertaGirl]

Thank you! I hadn't considered that it might be stress. He was surrendered, adopted, housed with another male, surrendered again and then adopted by me all within a few weeks. I picked up some fatty acid supplement at the vet today and I will start adding it to his food. It certainly can't hurt, right? I will continue to monitor him and hopefully he'll be back to normal soon. Thanks again!

 

[smhufflepuff]

Oh my gosh! Poor little guy. That's a lot all at once. I'm so glad he has stability in his life with you!

I don't know too much about fatty acid supplements.