# Allergic to my hedgehog?? :[



## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

I think I am allergic to my hedgehog. It seems like something that started slow and is getting worse. When I first visited with the breeder I was fine. First few weeks at home I was fine. Now as time goes on, I've noticed everything is getting worse. Especially right now. I just spent the last hour playing with my hedgehog and my throat feels kind of tight and my nose is runny  I am not allergic to cats or dogs... So can I still be allergic to my hedgehog??  It gets worse when he goes potty, after that is when it's really bad. Like if he goes potty next to me when we are playing. 

It's not fair  I don't know what to do


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Do you wash you hands before handling your hedgie? Sometimes people with allergies to something that they may not even know about, and hedgehog's quills push it into their skin, causing a bad reaction. 

If this is not it, I am really sorry to hear about this.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2011)

Yes allergies to hedgehogs happen and it sounds like this is the case with you as people who have surrender their hedgehogs due to allergies have described throat swelling as on of the symptoms.

Allergies can take time to really show up, but it sounds like it is the case and I am very sorry to hear this


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sadly it sounds like you are allergic, especially to his poop or urine. As I have mentioned before to other people, I was allergic to my Smokey's urine. Lucky for me he was totally pee trained and as long as I replace the paper towel in his litter box daily, I was fine. 

Do you have allergies to anything, foods, weeds, pollen, perfume, or anything at all? I know of a couple of people who were allergic to their hedgehog when the hedgehog was eating certain foods. For the one person, she was allergic to wheat and grains so changing hedgies food and she was fine. 

Can you figure out if it is urine or poop that bothers you? Babies tend to have much stronger smelling urine and poop than adults and as he becomes an adult your symptoms may lessen but respiratory allergies, especially asthma is not something you want to wait too long on. 

Is there someone in your home that could take him out and let him get his potty business over with before you handle him? 

As a very long shot, there are products, usually made for ferrets that you can put in their water that will help control the odor from feces and urine. I don't know exactly what it does but it has helped some ferret people who were allergic to their ferrets business. It might be worth a try. It's called BiOdor or something like that.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

I will try the odor stuff out! I've heard of that before. As for other allergies, I am allergic to seafood and a few medications. I am also going to try buying some over the counter allergy meds to see if that helps. I am not ready to get rid of him yet. I want to try some other options before giving him up. My biggest worry is finding someone who knows how to take care of him, or knows they have to clean up after them a lot! 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

By chance does the food have fish in it? Even a very small amount could trigger a reaction.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

dude!!!! maybe that's why i have such a strong allergic reaction to them cuz of my allergy to fish :roll: i didn't even think about that all this time i've been trying to figure it out. it's always the easiest thing that you never think of. such an easy switch. thanks everyone.


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## kytothelee (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes the breeder had him on food with tons of salmon on it (which makes his poop smell terrible) but I am not allergic to salmon. There could be other seafood in the ingredients though! I want to switch his food, but I don't know when a good time to do so is. The breeder told me if I switch his food he'll probably die


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

kytothelee said:


> Yes the breeder had him on food with tons of salmon on it (which makes his poop smell terrible) but I am not allergic to salmon. There could be other seafood in the ingredients though! I want to switch his food, but I don't know when a good time to do so is. The breeder told me if I switch his food he'll probably die


Please don't tell me that the breeder has "special food" that only they can sell you, and if you don't feed this "special food" you are a horrible owner. :roll:

How many weeks has it been exactly?
You can actually start slowly switching the food over now if you wish. Just do it slowly. Be sure to check out the diet and nutrition section of the forum. There are lots of threads about what brands people like/prefer, and even how to slowly introduce a new food. And if you have questions about food, feel free to ask! ^_^


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2011)

There is no exact set food for hedgehogs and not to sound rue about the breeder but they lied to you if they said the hedgehog will die if you switch food, and I will figure they are selling it as mentioned above so they want to make that extra profit.

Our cat food list has plenty of wonderful foods you can choose from for your hedgehog as long as already mentioned you do so very slowly


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

still looking for something without fish or fish oil in it seems they always slip some herring or salmon oil in it grrrrr any ideas? waiting on a call back from the vet since i've got the cat with allergy sensitivities too, but just thought i'd throw it out there. good to finally know what may be causing my allergies to the little ones, but not as easy of a switch as i thought lol.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck?


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2011)

It a percent higher then recommended on protein but I love the high fiber and ingredients so its in my mix:

(Not sure what Blue Buffalo you were feeding none of mine have fish oils or salmon oils)



> *Blue Buffalo*
> Wilderness™ Weight Control
> Chicken Recipe
> 
> ...





> *Blue Buffalo Basics*
> Limited Ingredients Formula
> Duck and Potato Recipe
> 
> ...





> *Blue Buffalo Basics*
> Limited Ingredients Formula
> Turkey and Potato Recipe
> 
> ...


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Are you feeding the new wilderness? How do your hedgehogs like it? I still have a week or two before I'll start to switch Tula off of her current diet, but I've been intriqued with this food since they announced it was coming out.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks kalandra i'll check it out. twcogar i never said blue had fish in it said the cat was allergic to it. i'm allergic to fish so can't have the hedgies on anything with fish or fish oil in it because it flares up my allergies bad to be around them and makes it hard to breathe and breaks me out in a bad rash. i've been dealing with it, but trying to get them on something without it in it to hopefully prevent the breakouts. idk what ingredient in the blue the cat is allergic too we just know that is a possiblity from the labs, but may not even be the food may be environmental just starting with changing out his food first. and the blue comment was on another post.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Many of the blue buffalo formulas have fish or fish oil in them. Some of the basics and wilderness do not. I think either the duck or chicken formulas of Natural Balance would work for you though. They are limited ingredient diets for sensitive cats.


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2011)

They seem to take to it pretty well I mix three different blue buffalo types which are listed above and none of those types of kibble are left normally in the morning so I take that as a good sign from my three my other two foods are Xs with Chicken Soup being their least favorite.

I love the Wilderness Weight Control because it has the higher fiber and protein level I can deal with, the others are too high in protein for my comfort however from my one male and two girls it seems to be a hit if not enough they eat it all


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Good to know. As I've said several times now, that food has intrigued me. Grain free and high fiber content... it looks like a winner. I planned to add it once Tula had been here a couple of weeks, but now I figure I might as well wait for the new kid to settle in.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

okay sounds like basics or natural balance it might be then. isn't wilderness the one that was reported to cause internal bleeding? for some reason i thought it was which made me weary of it.


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2011)

shawnwk1 said:


> okay sounds like basics or natural balance it might be then. isn't wilderness the one that was reported to cause internal bleeding? for some reason i thought it was which made me weary of it.


Just check it was in the dog formula a year ago that wilderness had problems, nothing mentioned about the cat food ever being an issue and the reasoninf was dog specific and due to vitamin D toxicosis

http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2010/09/08/blue-buffalo-dog-food-may-be-linked-to-serious-illness/


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

i totally just caught that sorry was doing two things i meant leery not weary lol (this is why guys should not multitask lol). ya i knew something had/was/is/whatever going on with that food. thanks. no blue for my household anyway with the cats allergy though  least not til we figure out exactly what ingredient it is


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