# weird growth on my 2 month old girl... please help identify!



## Shanna (Oct 13, 2011)

Molly was born August 5 this year and we've been together for three weeks now. Just this past Saturday I noticed a small red bump halfway down her back in the middle of her quills. It had a small little flat opening inthe middle of it, looked like a very angry popped pimple. That night i did my research and came to the conclusion that it may be an ingrown quill, it seems to make sense because she is quilling alot right now. The next day it was a little worse, bump was taller and surface area of opening had increased. First thing Monday morning I called her vet and went in later that day. Vet looked at it and agreed that it did look like an ingrown quill, but wasn't certain because no discharge or quill came from the opening when she tried to drain it. She told me to keep putting antibiotic ointment on it and watch for improvement. Well it has only gotten more swollen and red and the opening is much bigger. I took her back to the vet today and they gave me some baytril and said to continue with the ointment. If that doesnt work then i will be crushed. She is only 2 months old and I'm dreading the possibilities of something worse than an ingrown quill. I have some photos of her booboo from the first day I saw it till up to today, but the pics are to large to attach to this. So if anyone thinks they have seen anything like this before and can give me some insight as to what Molly and I are up against I would be extremelygtful. I can email the pics to you if


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## Shanna (Oct 13, 2011)

If you know what an ingrown quill looks like or are experienced in identifying any sort of hedgehog growth then please reply and I can send you the photos.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I would take her back to the vet and have him re-examine the spot. Without seeing the mass in person, it will be impossible for us to try to diagnose what it is, a vet needs to do this. 

A couple of things I would ask about though is either having the mass lanced to see if there is a quill deep in, a fine needle aspirate to see what type of cells come out, or having it biopsied if it appears to be a solid mass.

A fine needle aspirate FNA is where they stick a needle in and draw out some of the cells to look at under a microscope. Its a procedure that is done in the clinic and should help the vet determine if the bump is normal tissue, pus, or abnormal cells. 

Any time you have a bump that is not healing right, it is in the hedgehog's best interest to return to the vet and have it further examined. I've seen bumps in the quills that turned out to be an abscesses, encapsulated ingrown quills, and even cancer. Far too many possibilities.

This may be nothing more than just an infected ingrown quill that needs lancing and oral antibiotics. Good luck!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If you email me the pictures I'll shrink them and try to add them in your post. 
[email protected]


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I added the pictures into the first post about Molly. She is adorable. 

I think I would have her checked by a different vet. I'm not sure what to make of that lump but a second opinion would be a good idea.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

After seeing the images, I would take her back to the vet or see a new vet and have it re-examined. That is a nasty looking mass. If it is not healing, it is suspect. If it is not clear that it is an ingrown quill, or obvious what is causing it to not heal, I would ask about having a full excision biopsy performed. This means surgery to remove the mass and a pathology run to determine the nature of it. Hopefully its nothing, but wounds that do not heal are suspect of being cancer. Cancer, while not as common in young hedgehogs, can happen in the very young.

My opinion, its time to go back to the vet to have him re-examine the mass.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Can't give any advice (and you can't get better advice than from Kalandra and Nancy!) but just wanted to send good thoughts/wishes. That mass looks painful!  Molly is adorable though, and I hope it's nothing serious!


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## Shanna (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks to everyone who replied. Now I know some different ways of determining what it could be. I've taken her to the vet twice this week and will be taking her back on Monday if there are no major signs of improvement. I give her an oral antibiotic once daily and I clean the area with hydrogen peroxide every other day and apply neosporin twice daily. Shes been on the antibiotic for 3 days so far and this morning I'm noticing slight improvement so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying the antibiotic is working. She has been so amazing and sweet through all this vet, medication, and cleaning stuff. We've only been together for three weeks now and she already loves and trusts me so much. She is irreplaceable to me now. Again thanks a lot


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Did your vet say to use Hydrogen peroxide?

I don't usually like using hydrogen peroxide because it kills the good as well as the bad...basically kills everything. Personally, on say... if my horse got a scratch, I'd use a betadine wash rather than hydrogen peroxide to clean. But, if you are unsure, call and ask the vet first.

Random note... I find that on cuts on myself, if I used hygrogen peroxide, I always scar. And on the same type of cut, I only use polysporin(same as neosporin, only canadianized) then it heals without scarring.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Hydrogen peroxide needs to be very diluted because it damages healing tissues when used full strength. 

If by chance this is an abscess, it might need to be surgically cleaned out to heal. Often antibiotic on it's own won't heal an abscess.


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## Shanna (Oct 13, 2011)

Oh OK, I didn't know peroxide would kill everything. Ill call her vet and see if I should use the betadine.


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## Shanna (Oct 13, 2011)

Molly's booboo is sooo much better since my last post. Its smaller than it was when I first discovered it! I'm sooooo relieved it's almost gone.


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## Matthew (Jul 12, 2013)

Shanna said:


> Molly's booboo is sooo much better since my last post. Its smaller than it was when I first discovered it! I'm sooooo relieved it's almost gone.


So did this problem heal mostly by itself? I'm going to be a new hedgehog owner and im very scared if something like this happens and, other than going to a vet, If there was any other thing I could do to help the hedgehog if this happens to me!


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