# Eva's cheek.. (Updated! It was a scab from a bite!)



## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I are new hedgehog owners, and, well... already we have a health concern.

I purchased our little girl on Friday from a pet store in Plano, TX (Plano Pets, to be exact). Buying from a pet store wasn't my first choice by any means, but that's another story...

After getting her home we noticed a bump on her cheek which, at first, we thought might just be something matted in her fur (dare I say poop?) We really couldn't tell... She seems surprisingly well adjusted (especially after an 8+ hour trip home to Memphis on Saturday!) and so we decided to go ahead and give her a bath this evening (which she didn't seem to mind at all, really ^.^). We figured if it was something stuck to her that it'd dissolve or loosen up with some warm water. Such was not the case though.

Now it seems that the bump on her cheek is not just something in her fur after all... 

It doesn't seem to be bothering her, and she has no reaction to me touching it either. I just hope it's nothing serious. From what I gather, she's 5-6 months old (or so they told me) and she seems like a sweet, otherwise healthy little girl. I did notice she had a lot of flaky, dead skin before her bath, but I have no idea if she's ever even been bathed before, so I can't really tell yet if she has dry skin problems or if she just wasn't properly cared for in the pet store (considering they apparently didn't notice the thing on her cheek - or didn't care if they did >.<) ... I'm also mixing in Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul with the hedgehog food they were giving her at the store (she seems to like it better too from what I can tell).

My boyfriend is calling a vet tomorrow (a friend of mine with an iguana recommended a good exotics vet). Hopefully they can see her soon and take care of whatever it is.

Anyone seen anything like this before though? 


























One more from before her bath, you can see some of the dead skin flakes, poor thing...










*Update: She's okay! It turned out it was a scab from an injury - most likely she was bitten by one of the other hedgies she was kept with in the pet store.*


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

Those pictures broke my heart. Such a beautiful little girl. I am sure one of the experts will be along shortly with some information for you.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

Was she housed with other hedgehogs? It could be an injury, abscess or infection of some sort. I wouldn't panic. At her age, the chance of it being a tumour is possible but remote. 
I'd get her to the vet, sooner rather than later so you know what you are dealing with. Hopefully something minor.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *



shetland said:


> Those pictures broke my heart. Such a beautiful little girl. I am sure one of the experts will be along shortly with some information for you.


Awwww.  Thank you. <3



Nancy said:


> Was she housed with other hedgehogs? It could be an injury, abscess or infection of some sort. I wouldn't panic. At her age, the chance of it being a tumour is possible but remote.
> I'd get her to the vet, sooner rather than later so you know what you are dealing with. Hopefully something minor.


Yes, actually she was. There were two others in with her - one of which was incredibly temperamental too.

I hope you're right and it's nothing serious!

Wes (my bf/Eva's new daddy) just called to let me know that the vet that works with hedgies is going to be in the office until noon, so I'm about to go warm up the car. Poor girl, just got over her big road trip and now I've got to take her back out again. Wouldn't you know, it's 25 degrees outside here right now too. 

Cross your fingers!


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

Dora had something similar but it was more in the "whisker" area, we applied neosporin and after a few days it went away.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

Thanks all, the reassurance that it could be something minor is making me a little less stressed. 

I'm waiting on her daddy now because (go fig) my car doesn't want to start (battery's dead because I haven't driven anywhere in over a week and it's been really cold out). :|

I'll let you all know what the vet says as soon as I get back though.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

Good news! 

She's going to be ok! We are sooo relieved! 

They had to give her a little gas to calm her down, but the doctor pulled the scab off her face to reveal what looks like a nasty little bite (presumably from one of the other hedgehogs at the store! >.<). I must say I did cringe a little when he pulled it off.

He gave us a topical ointment for her and some oral antibiotic drops as well.

Thank you all for being so reassuring and such! ^.^


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *

That is good news. Now for it to heal up.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

*Re: Growth (?) on Eva's cheek... *



Kalandra said:


> That is good news. Now for it to heal up.


Indeed! We're supposed to check back with the vet in 10 days. They gave us animax ointment for the bite & clavamox drops for her to take orally.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

She's a little cutie! I'm so glad it wasn't anything more serious. Just out of curiosity, you said she was in with 2 other hedgies, do you know if they were male or female? If one or both were males then you need to consider the fact she may be pregnant.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

YAY! That's great news.  

Now I have to mention something else that might worry you. What sex were the hedgies she was caged with? If boys, there is a chance she could be pregnant so will need to be treated as if she is.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

LOL...Nancy...You copied my post....but i beat you to it...LOL


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

You must have been replying when I was replying. :lol: Great minds think alike.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I must have been..and I take that as a great compliment that my mind thinks the same as yours


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

nikki said:


> She's a little cutie! I'm so glad it wasn't anything more serious. Just out of curiosity, you said she was in with 2 other hedgies, do you know if they were male or female? If one or both were males then you need to consider the fact she may be pregnant.


Yeah, oh my gosh, I've read about that! :shock:

One of them was a male actually, not sure about the other. Eep! I guess I should read up some more on what to look for just in case there are any surprises. 

At least we've found a nice vet we can take her to if we have any more health concerns.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Nancy said:


> YAY! That's great news.
> 
> Now I have to mention something else that might worry you. What sex were the hedgies she was caged with? If boys, there is a chance she could be pregnant so will need to be treated as if she is.


Thanks! Yeah, I am so glad it's not something more serious.

I just messaged her daddy and told him he needs to bring home a scale so we can keep track of her weight.

If she is potentially pregnant we need to be watching out for it for at least a month and a half, right?


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

We're supposed to check in with her vet in 10 days, perhaps we should just take her in instead of calling, that way he can look at her, palpate her, etc.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Taking her into the vet probably isn't going to do any good, pregnancy wise. There have been cases when hedgies have been in at the vet...the vets sees no signs of pregnancy...then within a day or two they deliver a healthy litter. Just keep an eye on her...sometime you can tell by weight gain, sometimes not..they hide pregnancy very well. Just prepare as is she was...wait 55 days...if no babies by then you can be pretty sure she isn't pregnant. I would suggest reading up on pregnancy and babies on here, there is alot of good information. Nancy is another good one to talk to as she is a long time breeder. I am also a breeder but not as knowledgable as Nancy, she's the one I go to with questions. Good luck with your little girl


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

nikki said:


> Taking her into the vet probably isn't going to do any good, pregnancy wise. There have been cases when hedgies have been in at the vet...the vets sees no signs of pregnancy...then within a day or two they deliver a healthy litter. Just keep an eye on her...sometime you can tell by weight gain, sometimes not..they hide pregnancy very well. Just prepare as is she was...wait 55 days...if no babies by then you can be pretty sure she isn't pregnant. I would suggest reading up on pregnancy and babies on here, there is alot of good information. Nancy is another good one to talk to as she is a long time breeder. I am also a breeder but not as knowledgable as Nancy, she's the one I go to with questions. Good luck with your little girl


Oh wow... I'll definitely read up on it in the breeding forum. Thank goodness for the internet! ...and thanks for your help too! 

I'm sure I'd be a LOT more worried if I didn't have somewhere to turn. It's so nice to have found a forum like this where folks seem more than happy to help first time hedgie owners like us. I'm sure that even if she does end up pregnant we'll get through it. 

I'm actually kind of glad we DID get the girl instead of the boy now. Who knows who would have come in and bought her if we hadn't - and at least I know that we'll do our best to take care of her if something comes up. Though we are first time hedgie owners, she's definitely not our first pet. (The "great first time pet" thing on the side of their enclosure keeps coming to mind and filling my head with all sorts of iffy scenarios. >.<)

On another note, I emailed the pet store earlier today - just to let them know about Eva and to suggest that they separate their hedgies. The owner emailed me back. He sounded like they didn't want to have anything to do with something that might tarnish their reputation and told me that the USDA gives them "high praise," thanked me for my feedback and added "we are constantly re-evaluating our animal housing and will review our hedgehogs again." (...and this is me somewhat angrily rolling my eyes. I really hope they actually do something about them. Maybe I can get one of my friends down in TX to go check sometime...)

Like I said before, buying one from a pet store was definitely not my first choice, it just sort of happened. :| At least I feel like she has a better home now though.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm glad to hear that was just a scab and nothing more serious! Hopefully it heals up quickly.


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## Cimredopyh (Oct 13, 2008)

What a relief! Glad to hear it was nothing serious 

When i first brought Barley home she had a small scab on her quill line, just like you i thought it was poop stuck to her fur. When i dabbed it with a wet cloth the scab came right off to reveal an already healing wound, that did somewhat resemble a bite. I cleaned it with diluted clorahexadine and within a week it was no longer visible. I am sure your girl will heal up just as fast!


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

LizardGirl said:


> I'm glad to hear that was just a scab and nothing more serious! Hopefully it heals up quickly.


Thanks, me toooo! 

It was a pretty nasty looking wound there when he pulled the scab off, but it's already starting to look better since we've started the antibiotics.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Cimredopyh said:


> What a relief! Glad to hear it was nothing serious
> 
> When i first brought Barley home she had a small scab on her quill line, just like you i thought it was poop stuck to her fur. When i dabbed it with a wet cloth the scab came right off to reveal an already healing wound, that did somewhat resemble a bite. I cleaned it with diluted clorahexadine and within a week it was no longer visible. I am sure your girl will heal up just as fast!


Awwww!

Yeah, I tried to pull at the scab a little bit when we gave her a bath - and while she didn't fuss or anything, I was sooo scared of hurting her - especially if it was something serious. (By "pull" I mean it was more of a trying to massage it out while wet kind of deal, hoping whatever it was would dissolve/come off, but it didn't budge.) The vet actually had to pull it off. The wound underneath wasn't pretty, but it looks like it's starting to heal up already, thank goodness! 


























Those are from right after we got home. We've since done one round of the oral antibiotics and have reapplied the topical stuff, which seems to be doing a world of good.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

I'm glad it's just a bite wound and not cancer, it seems so be healing good from the photo you posted.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Wonderful news on the wound. While I hope she is not having babies, at least she is now in a loving home where she will be loved and receive all the proper care she needs and deserves


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

FiaSpice said:


> I'm glad it's just a bite wound and not cancer, it seems so be healing good from the photo you posted.


Oh, me too, me too...  Thanks! I think the ointment we got from the vet is working wonders.



shetland said:


> Wonderful news on the wound. While I hope she is not having babies, at least she is now in a loving home where she will be loved and receive all the proper care she needs and deserves


Yeah... I hope so too, I'd really hate for her to have to go through that. We're trying to prepare and educate ourselves just in case though. The won't-know-until-it-happens part makes me so nervous... :|


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