# possible health issues



## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

Hi! Im a new hedgehog mommie! A girl I work with had one and had to get rid of him so I rescued him. Now I dont know how old he is and im guessing the girl didnt take very good care of him so I may just have him checked out by a vet but when I pick him up I can actually hear him breathing. Is this normal? I dont know if its just him breathing heavy from being scared or if there is a problem. Ive only had him 3 days and tried to do a little health check last night and some things just dont seem right....his nails are so long they are curving outward, his one ear looks dry, his skin is red kinda looks like a rash, and I can see his eyes have this film like substance around them, and the whole I can hear him breathing thing (which could just be from fright)...... Just seems like the poor guy is not well but ive never had a headgehog before. Ive done alot of research though and these things do not seem normal...... Opinions?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Congratulations on your new bundle of quills! It's great that you took him in, and hopefully you can get him fixed up. I would definitely try to find out how old he is from the previous owner. If she doesn't know, ask her when she got him. 

I'm not an expert, but I definitely don't think it's normal to be able to hear your hedgie breathe. Just to make sure - and I'm sorry if this seems ridiculous - you do know what "huffing" sounds like, right? When hedgies are agitated or scared, they will "huff" (sounds like a small sneeze) and sometimes "pop" (jump around to try to get you to leave them alone). This is normal. If you can actually hear him breathing when he's relaxed, you should get him in to the vet ASAP.

His nails definitely need to be cut, either by your or a vet. I'm not sure about the ear, skin and eye problems, but I think a vet visit is in order no matter what.

I'm sure someone with more experience will be around shortly, but I'm willing to bet that you'll just get more advice to get your little one in for a check up as soon as you can.

Good luck. Keep us updated.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Huffing sounds like sneezing? That's not how I would describe it, it sounds like heavy breathing at a very fast pace.

Here is a youtube video of a huffing hedgehog. Its not mine and is the first one I came across, I only watched the first few seconds, but it demonstrates the huffing sound:


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Sometimes when my hedgie is calm but something startles her she will huff once that aounds like sneezing :lol:


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

No its not that huffimg sound they make.... I know what that is (he does it often lol)......but I litterally heard him breathing through his nose last night. Ill try and find out how old he is.....i know she got him off one of her family members who got him from some petstore in ohio.....poor little guy  but I can assure him that he has found his forever home!!..... He is such a cutie!!!

One more thing... He stinks really bad!! I didnt think they were suppose to smell lol


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## CourtneyFaye (Jul 31, 2011)

Is it the actual hedgehog that smells or his poop? If it is him then you can try giving him a bath. If it is his poop, what food is he eating and what bedding does he have?


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

Its not his poop, whenever I lift up his igloo I can really smell it and thats where he is 99% of the time, also my hands smell after I hold him so it probably is him... Im going to give him a bath tonight and "attempt" to clip his nails, or should I say nail lol ive read stories and sounds like ill be lucky to get 1 clipped!!!!!!


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

3dgsuperfan said:


> No its not that huffimg sound they make.... I know what that is (he does it often lol)......but I litterally heard him breathing through his nose last night. Ill try and find out how old he is.....i know she got him off one of her family members who got him from some petstore in ohio.....poor little guy  but I can assure him that he has found his forever home!!..... He is such a cutie!!!
> 
> One more thing... He stinks really bad!! I didnt think they were suppose to smell lol


They can stink if they're messy and uncared for which seems to be the case for the poor hedgie before you got him 

Are you sure you are not hearing the sniffing noise they make some make it rather loudly as they explore and move about I have two girls and their sounds a similar but very different in sniffing and even huffing


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

So the girl just told me hes about 2 and a half years old! isnt their average life span about 3 or 4 years?


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

3dgsuperfan said:


> So the girl just told me hes about 2 and a half years old! isnt their average life span about 3 or 4 years?


It varies if I recall the averages are 3 to 5 years however some have lived much longer


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> They can stink if they're messy and uncared for which seems to be the case for the poor hedgie before you got him
> 
> Are you sure you are not hearing the sniffing noise they make some make it rather loudly as they explore and move about I have two girls and their sounds a similar but very different in sniffing and even huffing


 I guess its possible that it is just the huffing thing they do, but I thought they only did that when they curl up or make their quills stick up..... Ill try and listen more closely tonight


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2011)

3dgsuperfan said:


> TWCOGAR said:
> 
> 
> > They can stink if they're messy and uncared for which seems to be the case for the poor hedgie before you got him
> ...


My girl Feral huffs without raising her quills and when they sniff it can sound a bit like breathing but without hearing it it is hard to say


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Most of mine have died in their 4th year. I was lucky to have one live to be 8, and unlucky to have one develop cancer at age 1.

I tell people 4-5 years is average. There are some that live longer though. Queen Louella at the Flash and Thelma Memorial Hedgehog Rescue just passed 6.5 years, her weight has been slowly declining, a sign her health is failing.


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

So I gave my little guy a bath and got all his nails clipped thanks to the help of my boyfriend lol wow that really takes some patience!!!!!! I got a few cut by myself but everytime I would get a foot he would twist himself around in the water so i had to let go for fear of him breaking his leg! I finally gave up and called my boyfriend in to cut them while I held him... Worked perfectly!! he did really good during his bath! I tried to dry him off the best I could but couldnt keep him wrapped in the towel cause he was mad and wouldnt sit still so I put him in his igloo with a peice of clothing and a heat lamp over the igloo so hopefully hes staying warm.... I love this little guy!!


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

so is it normal to lose several quills after a bath? I found like 5 of them but they all had that little ball at the root.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2011)

Even older hedgehogs can shed quills due to stress or other factors however keep any eye out for scratching or other things that might indicate its not natural the bulb being present doesn't mean it is not mites. If it were mites scratching, scabs, and yellowish-orangish gunk could be present but are not always present


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

3dgsuperfan said:


> so is it normal to lose several quills after a bath? I found like 5 of them but they all had that little ball at the root.


Yes. Some will drop quills more frequently than others as adults I have had several who would go through periods where they lost several quills all at once as adults. Poptart was notorious for losing them all the time. She'd go through periods where she wouldn't drop any and then would drop several. She did it the entire time she lived with me.

Just watch for excessive itchy, build up around the base of quills, or thinning of the quill coat. Any of those happen and you need to get a skin scraping done.


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

Well he does seem to be scratching alot and seems kind of irritated... Like he will rub his face on the ground or rub the side of himself on the ground as if hes trying to get something off him. Also he will shake alot then run to the other side of the cage, scratch, shake again, rub his face or side on the ground then run back to the other side.... Ive read that if he does have mites I can bath him in vegetable oil, is that right?


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

definitely sounds like mites to me. i've never heard of the vegetable oil as a mite treatment and to me that doesn't sound very healthy for a little hedgie as not only will it soak into their skin, but they can also lick it off and i'd be worried about it being toxic. your best bet is to get the little one to a vet for some revolution or ivermectin (however its spelled lol). another possiblility with him/her rubbing the side of his/her face could be an ear infection or maybe something with his/her teeth? vet visit is best


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2011)

If at all possible ask for revolution as Intervectim is easy to overdose on a hedgehog while Revolution is much more difficult to due so


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

good call twcogar. thanks for clarifying that


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

shawnwk1 said:


> i've never heard of the vegetable oil as a mite treatment and to me that doesn't sound very healthy for a little hedgie as not only will it soak into their skin, but they can also lick it off and i'd be worried about it being toxic.


The UK hedgehog rescues mention the oil treatment a lot on their websites. I've seen them recommend painting the oil over attached ticks and bathing in oil to rid of mites. I'm a bit stunned at some of the info out there.


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## 3dgsuperfan (Sep 12, 2011)

There are alot of sites that say to put some vegetable in their bath and they all say its very effective. If you google hedgehog vegetable oil you will find them.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

The vegetable oil treatment has been used for a long time. It helps give hedgehogs immediate relief. I remember one particular case where a hedgehog came into rescue and it was nearly bald due to mites, the mites were so bad they crawled up onto the rescuer's hand. A vegetable oil treatment helped kill off most of the mites until she could get the hedgehog to the vet the next day.

The problem with vegetable oil is it doesn't really do anything for the eggs. It will help the problem for a while, and if you are lucky you may get all the eggs too and cure the hedgehog. However, you are most likely to see another bout of mites when the eggs hatch later. Your safest bet is to just take the hedgehog to a vet and get a skin scraping and Revolution.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

kalandra how does that work you just put them in a bowel of veggie oil and scoop some on their back? it's not toxic if ingested? do they have to stay in the veggie oil for awhile or is it just a pour it over them and then its done? do you give them a bath after or let it soak into the skin? i'm just curious how its done (in case i'd ever need to do it for emergency or whatever) since i've never heard of it. thanks


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I've seen several techniques mentioned over the years. The one I used was: in a sink with luke warm water add about 8-10 tablespoons of olive oil. Put hedgehog in water and pour water over them. Try to get the oily water over as much of the hedgehog to get the best coverage. The hedgehog will get a little slippery when you take them out so be careful and be careful what you use to dry them as they will be oily. 

You do have to be careful with the oily water. You don't want them breathing it in. 

I don't consider this a cure, but more of just a quick way to provide them some initial relief. Mite outbreaks need to be treated under the supervision of a veterinarian.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

i usually have a couple things of revolution around just in case, but it's good to know there is something safe that can be done to provide emergency/temporary relief if ever needed. thanks.


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## kurai18 (Aug 31, 2009)

3dgsuperfan said:


> So I gave my little guy a bath and got all his nails clipped thanks to the help of my boyfriend lol wow that really takes some patience!!!!!! I got a few cut by myself but everytime I would get a foot he would twist himself around in the water so i had to let go for fear of him breaking his leg! I finally gave up and called my boyfriend in to cut them while I held him... Worked perfectly!! he did really good during his bath! I tried to dry him off the best I could but couldnt keep him wrapped in the towel cause he was mad and wouldnt sit still so I put him in his igloo with a peice of clothing and a heat lamp over the igloo so hopefully hes staying warm.... I love this little guy!!


Something that works for me when clipping Pineapple's nails..
I can't do it when she's in the bath (Kudos for you for being able to) but if I put a pile of kibble in front of her she'll be so distracted eating that she won't care at all what I'm doing with her feet!
I can get her nails clipped in less than a minute


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