# Humidifier and Oils



## Nicole753 (Dec 16, 2011)

Hey guys, 

So my little guy's skin has been persistently dry lately, and I'm pretty sure it because the air is pretty dry in my house (I've used flax seed oil a couple times that only solves the problem for a day or two and it is definitely not mites). I'm planning on going to buy a humidifier this week and found one that is reliable and cheap. My question is mostly hypothetical but this humidifier comes with a special compartment in which you can put essential oils/eucalyptus and what not in so that they diffuse into the air along with the moisture. I'm not sure I'd even use this feature, but I was wondering if this would cause any adverse effects for Dexter. Just curious and protective. Thanks


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Probably better to just not. Also make sure you get a warm mist humidifier.

For dry skin problems, try Humilac. It's a topical spray, PetCo sells it and it's also on Amazon. We tried it for Archimedes' very very flaky dry skin, and it completely wiped out the problem after a few days of using it daily.


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## Nicole753 (Dec 16, 2011)

Yeah I was going with the warm mist humidifier. Thanks!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

This Humilac stuff sounds very good, has anyone else tried it? Are there any side effects and stuff? I want to try some but would like to know what others think.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I've never used Humilac either. Does it have any smell? I have one from the vet that works great but it is highly perfumed so I'm very limited to who I can use it on as the smell drives some of them nuts.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Please do NOT use humilac on your hedgehogs most have way too sensitive skin for it. This caused severe blistering all over both of my boys backs and rear where I put it. I'd never seen any hedgehog in so much pain, it was extremely sad so please don't risk this.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I used the Avix Rain before on Harvey. It helped some, but I think flaxseed oil in the food and oatmeal baths did more good for him. Or it could have been the combination of all three. It was also nice that he smelled like the Quaker Oat Man. *sigh* (comfort smell). The Avix Rain is just aloe, purified water and a mixing agent (to keep oil and water together). It was cheep and I got it from my vets recommendation.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

shawnwk1 said:


> Please do NOT use humilac on your hedgehogs most have way too sensitive skin for it. This caused severe blistering all over both of my boys backs and rear where I put it. I'd never seen any hedgehog in so much pain, it was extremely sad so please don't risk this.


I remember you mentioned this in one of the past threads I saw discussing humilac. Your experience was the only negative one I could find of the people who have tried it, and the rest had fantastic results. We contacted our vet to ask about it, and got his approval, so we decided to try it and watched closely for any sign of a bad reaction. For us, there was none. Allergic reactions can happen to a lot of things, and it's something to watch for, but from the research I did about other people's experiences using it on hedgehogs, all of them were positive otherwise. So, I would still highly recommend Humilac.

Archimedes seems to love the feeling of it, whereas he was never very happy in the past about having flaxseed oil dribbled on him. The flaxseed, which we put in his food and on his back daily (with maybe a few skipped days), caused only very minor and short-term improvement, and that was in combination with a humidifier right next to his cage. The Humilac produced an immediate and very obvious improvement and Archimedes' flaky and dry skin, which was pretty severe (despite the daily flaxseed and humidifier for over a month). Severe enough that he was leaving flakes of skin in his hedgie bags and on our bed, and his skin mostly appeared white from the flakes (i.e. skin wasn't visible through the white flaky bits). The first day (taking him out the day following the first application) we could see his actual skin again, and by the third or fourth day all of the dry/flaky skin was gone. We're now using it about once a week, maybe twice, to give some extra moisture to his skin and keep the problem from returning.

The Rain spray was another we looked at, but wasn't going to be as easy to get for us, so I can't remark on how well that one works. I remember when I was looking for other people's experiences, the reviews were kind of mixed; for some it was helpful and for others it didn't do much.

Nancy - it does have a smell, although Archimedes hasn't seemed bothered by it; actually he doesn't seem to even notice. It's kind of a sweet smell, which is kind of strong if you spray it a lot, but it disperses quickly from the air and the smell goes away once the stuff dries. So, no residual Humilac smell on the hedgehog. Let me know if you have any other questions about it! :]


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

If it had just happened to one then yes I'd probably chalk it up to just an allergic reaction. The fact it happened to two different hedgies with completely different skin types proves to me and the vet that indeed it was the humilac actually burning the skin and causing blisters. My boys weren't the first hedgies he has seen humilac do it to either so its not that uncommon. Watching the suffering and pain they went through I will never risk putting any hedgie through that ever again, but to each their own if they wanna risk it.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

To each their own, then. :] The research I did suggested that the chances of a bad reaction were low, which proved correct in my particular case. All of the other things we'd tried so far for his skin were giving no results, and I'm glad we tried it, because it completely ended a skin issue that was obviously causing him discomfort for basically as long as we've had him. Because I've seen so little mention of bad reactions compared to the success stories, it seems that there's nothing inherently harmful or dangerous for hedgehogs in Humilac, just that one or more of the ingredients are things that a fairly small percentage of hedgehogs might have some particular sensitivity to. It's great for an owner to be made aware of the off chance that such a reaction might occur, but I consider that to be outweighed by the fantastic good that Humilac can provide, and I'll definitely keep recommending as an excellent method of treating a hedgehog's dry/flaky skin. Archimedes is clearly so much happier and comfortable now, and I consider it completely worth whatever minimal risk there might have been.

Regardless, since Humilac didn't work well for your hedgehogs, hopefully you found something else that did! :]


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I think since not enough is known about it I shall pass, thanks Shawn for pointing out the issues you had with it.


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

I use the Avix Rain spray on Pliny. It doesn't have a scent and works really well. I bought it from the exotic vet Pliny sees on her recommendation, along with Sunshine Factor.


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