# losing quills and dry skin help please !! is she dyeing ?



## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

at school we have a hedgie named helen i go to school for kids who are gonna be exotic vets. so helen had her eyes removed because her former owner thought that was good since she had a bad eye infection my teacher isn't sure how old helen is but I'm concerned she, is loosing her quills like she has bald spots and she has really bad dry skin i bought some vitamin E for her dry skin do you have any ideas on how i can get her quills to go grow back the skin isn't inflamed or looks like it is bothered could it just be because of her being old ?!? she isn't anywhere near 6-8 months like the normal quill shed. please help the teacher said she has ben like this. if she can get better i will take her home for her to get better
im gonna start putting vitamin e on her for her dry skin
it can't be mites because she hasn't ben with any other animals


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

If she is not doing well why doesn't your teacher take her to the vet? 

She may have mites, need a diet change, have allergies, dry skin...really you have to just rule things out. Your teacher, who is supposed to be the responsible adult SHOULD be doing that. Advise her she needs to properly care for the hedgehog and see that she follows up, if not call the spca/humane society on her for neglect. 

Or tell us what school and I'll call lol  

What is used for bedding? Food? Bathing? Heat? Light?

They can get mites in a variety of ways...they don't have to come in contact with other animals.


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

bedding she uses newspaper for food purina cat chow. i go to a school for vets and she did take her to a exotic vet and they said no mites and they won't give her medications because she doesn't look in pain. the headgie is very grumpy and her nails are long any suggestions how how to clip them she always pops and makes noises when i hold her and she trys to roll in a ball but she is fat !
we have 2 other hedges and there great ! well one had a sinus infections but she is all better now the vet gave her meds


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2011)

Seems like this hedgehog isn't getting the proper treatment

Was a fungus and bacterial test done? They can lose quills from these too.

The paper is dangerous as their urine mixing with the ink is not a good thing and they can get injured from the sharp edges on newspaper.

It sounds like your teacher didn't do much research on the hedgehogs before having them in for care.

If its basic purina cat chow it isn't' a very great food either what are to protein and fat levels?

Since you say the hedgie is always in a ball the hedgehog is not fat hedgehogs can vary in healthy size from 200G to 1000G if they can ball up and don't have fatty legs they likely are not obese.

The hedgehog needs to be examined by an experienced vet if the vet didn't even do a bacterial and fungus check thats worry some

Also a skin scrape can come back negative and it can still be mites if the hedgehog is scratching its likely mites and needs revolution otherwise the other tests should be run

Mites isn't exclusively gotten from other animals any wood elements harbor mites and can give a hedgehog mites.

The hedgehog may also be losing quills due to extreme stress has she always been very defensive? How has she been treated and handled? if this behavior is worse it possible there is a lot wrong as for clipping nails usually a wrist warm bath will get a hedgie to un ball and with two people you might have some luck.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2011)

Please provide as much information as possible from the questions below:



> - How old is your hedgehog? Please state year plus months as a 3 year 1 month old hedgehog is not the same as a 3 year 11 month old hedgehog.
> - How long have you owned your hedgehog?
> - Has there been any changes in the 2-3 weeks prior to the symptoms starting, such as, you on vacation, hedgie cared for by someone else, new cage, different cage location etc
> - What is the temperature of the hedgehogs cage?
> ...


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

if her nails are so long she may be in pain walking. hedgehogs are prey animals so they hide pain very well so as to not be vunerable. is the exotic vet there at the school? if so maybe they can help with the nail clipping, but if not you can try putting her in about an inch or so of warm (not hot or cold) water and this will keep her from rolling into a ball and you can then try to clip her nails with baby nail clippers or any will do really if you're careful. it may help to have someone help if possible at first. also if she's had her eyes removed then can you really blame her for being grumpy? hedgehogs (like all prey animal) are always on guard for things that may hurt them and if she can't see anything then she has no idea what is going on so she probably feels threatened all of the time and is scared after all she has been through. you can also put aveeno unscented soap in the water or a sock filled with regular (not instant) oatmeal and that may help with the dry skin a bit if thats whats going on there.


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

luigi555 said:


> bedding she uses newspaper for food purina cat chow. i go to a school for vets and she did take her to a exotic vet and they said no mites and they won't give her medications because she doesn't look in pain. the headgie is very grumpy and her nails are long any suggestions how how to clip them she always pops and makes noises when i hold her and she trys to roll in a ball but she is fat !
> we have 2 other hedges and there great ! well one had a sinus infections but she is all better now the vet gave her meds


If you do a search in this forum, you will be able to find plenty of tips in how to cut nails! I would suggest switching her bedding to fleece if possible. Also, she should be on a better food. There is plenty of info on that in the diet section. The hedgehog is probably grumpy from being unsocialized or she could be sick and trying to hide it. She is way to fat if she cant roll into a ball! Does she have any way to exercise? A wheel is a necessity. What kind of cage is she in? And how big is it?


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Try this thread for some naughty hedgie nail trim ideas

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/v...58&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=nail+clipping


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

courtney the only thing is she has had her eyes removed. how safe would it be for a blind hedgie to have/use a wheel? i'm sure it's possible just wondering how safe it is anyone with blind hedgie experience any thoughts? i agree she's probably bored without one though and needs one for excercise. i'm just curious if anyone has had experience with a blind hedgie and how they have done with a wheel and if there have been any problems with her getting on and off or whatever?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Blind hedgehogs do just fine on a wheel. Most blind hedgehogs act no different than sighted hedgehogs.


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

do you guys recommend me to beg my parents to let me take her home my teacher said its okay i can keep her its just my parents. then i can try is there any anti stress things i can give her and nobody knows her age she was given to a shelter by her owner then given to my teacher mostly all the animals she has are rescues and i tried talking to her i even bought care fresh bedding and i told her to use it for her and she doesn't listen she has a wood hideout that the wood shop class might have made i have a microscope and slide should i take some of the dry skin and see if i can find anything ? i really feel bad for her and i want her to have a happy life well for the rest of it is the vitamin e thing good or should i stop ?Weight
Do you weigh regularly? If so, how much has hedgie lost or gained over X number of days.

Poop
- normal size and texture 
- colour normal
- smell norma
-

Urine
normal from what i can tell 
Nose
when i go to get her she starts hissing or what ever the noise is they make when there defensive 
Breathing
normal
Eating
- normally, 
- How many kibble per day no sure
- Any difficulty crunching food ,nope 
-no different food 
drinks from water bowl 
Skin


Dry skin –large flakes/huge sheets of flaking skin
Sores –non
Rash – red skin maybe from quill loss ?
Quills -massive quill loss/bare spots


Activity
stays crawled up all day 
Meds- i rub vitamin E on her in the morning for her dry skin


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

oh wow cool. i've seen with some other disabilities they would kinda compensate in other ways, but would suprise me at some of the things they would do that i never thought possible so i kinda thought it might be the same i just didn't know if there would be any kinda of worry over falling off the wheel or anything and if there had to be any kind of accomodations like extra padding under the wheel in case? kinda like whs and other mobility issues i guess where sometimes you have to modify the cage to help them help themselves i didn't know if it would be like that. idk lol. so cool, you go little girl  i wish her the best


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2011)

If she has a bacterial or fungal issue the oil is only making the quill lose worse try drizzling flax seed oil on her food its still good for the skin and the joints.

Does she have a wheel that will allow her to exercise hedgehogs don't rely on eye sight much so she can still run more then likely, I would wonder with her age if she isn't more sensitive to temperature. A raise in temp in her cage would help her feel a bit bet.

Carefresh would dry the skin out more actually so its good hat that wasn't added.

Keeping weigh history at least weekly if not daily can really help know a lot about your hedgehog as well as counting kibble intake.

If she has a wooden home I am still betting its mites, wood harbors mites I am surprised your teacher did not know this.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

it's great that you want to give her a good home, but remember that you will be responsible for paying for all vet bills for getting her healthy. i don't wanna sound like a downer, but if it is scabies or something not as simple as just mite (and yes scabies are mites, but a different kind that are harder to treat and can cause serious problems including SEVERE quill loss up to and including whole body loss of quills which isn't good quills keep in heat and help to protect them from not only predators, but also falls) that can be treated real quick and easy then it can get a bit more pricey with vet visits and medicine. if it's real serious it may take more testing, labs, and medicine to treat which can get expensive quick. if you are still relying on parents income since you are in school then this is something that needs to be discussed in depth with your parents so they also know exactly what they are getting into. it could be something simple and semi-cheap to treat, but it's always good to keep an open mind and realize that it may not be. something to keep in mind.


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

i was able to clip some of her nails by putting her in 2 inches of watter haveing her unball but she seems like she is in pain when she walks i guess since the nails are so long or she just didnt have enough balance in the water ? her ears are tattered according to my teacher she doesnt have mite but is there something i can do/buy to get rid of them just incase or it has to be prescribed by a vet ?
no i do have a job but dont really make that much like 100 a week


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2011)

luigi555 said:


> i was able to clip some of her nails by putting her in 2 inches of watter haveing her unball but she seems like she is in pain when she walks i guess since the nails are so long or she just didnt have enough balance in the water ? her ears are tattered according to my teacher she doesnt have mite but is there something i can do/buy to get rid of them just incase or it has to be prescribed by a vet ?
> no i do have a job but dont really make that much like 100 a week


If she is scratching mites is likely but there are hormonal and bacterial and fungal issues that cause quill lose as well, I would be skeptical of your teacher since your teacher doesn't seem to be aware wood is the higher risk of hedgehogs getting mites.

She might have been in pain if he feet were being poke by her nails curling over so that might explain that.

Revolution is a safe treatment for mites and normally needs to be prescribed by a vet


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

thanks so much when the vet comes in on tuesday i will have him make a perscription he isn't a exotic vet and should i buy her a plastic house we might even have some and my friend told me hedges mostly count on there sense of smell so if i keep holding her (as of now I'm using gloves) but will she learn my sent ?!?! if its fungal or hormonal is there anything i can do ?


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

gloves will mask your scent try using a fleece blanket instead if possible


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

from what i observe she doesn't scratch is hormonal hard to treat ?


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2011)

If its hormonal a spay may help

Have you ruled out bacterial and/or fungal infections?


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

she seems to be getting her quills back as well as her dry skin should i just leave her be , would the baths i gave her calm her down ?!? maybe she was stressed from the birds and such ?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Baths generally dry skin out, so maybe you should avoid those until the hedgie sees a vet. A vet visit definitely sounds like a must - if her nails are long enough to cause her pain and no one in the class room can get them clipped, that alone calls for the vet (who may or may not have more luck). 

I understand that you are just a student and this isn't your personal pet, and I respect you greatly for coming here to get more information on how to help the little one.  I advise you to talk to your teacher about getting this animal in to a vet. He sounds pretty uneducated about caring for hedgies and the health of this hedgie should be a little more important to him. It's a little scary that you're going to a school for people who want to BE exotic vets, while the teachers can't even take their classroom pets TO the vet.  

Hedgehogs can be expensive. If you aren't ready for a financial commitment like that, you probably should leave the hedgehog where it is. If your teacher won't do anything to help this hedgie's health, see if your parents can do anything (i.e., call the school and if the school won't do anything, call someone in to try to get this hedgie taken away and into better hands).

Good luck! Please keep us updated.


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

i bought tea tree oil thats supposed to help with the dry skin but how do i use it just give her bath and then put several drops in and let her soak ?!


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

No, tea tree oil is toxic to hedgehogs, please do not use it.

Only edible oils such as flax seed oil are safe for use in baths with hedgehogs. Flax seed oil is recommended because it is not sticky afterwards the way others can be.


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## luigi555 (Oct 2, 2011)

thanks so much !! her quills are coming back or it just looks like that because of her dry skin


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## purrball2007 (Oct 6, 2011)

I just took my hedgie to the vet for dry skin, and he gave me something called Humilac. It's a spray made for cats/dogs for dry itchy skin. After 2 days, the dry patches are nearly all gone on Dexter. I dont know if you can get it at a pet store or has to come from a vet, but it was only $15. Super worth it in my opinion. 

I reeeaalllyyyy hope things work out well for the little classroom hedge.  Good luck!!


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