# soft quills....help



## wking26 (Nov 15, 2010)

i have noticed my hedgies quills are really soft when she isnt in a ball, are they supposed to be soft when you brush your hand towards her head? or should i make a vet appointment?


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## Sunshiner (May 12, 2010)

I think that is normal. Pixel has soft quills as long as she isn't mad!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

What do you mean by soft? Do you mean the quills bend easily?


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## wking26 (Nov 15, 2010)

when i run my hand from her bum to her head gently they quills are soft and not prickly like i thought, they do bend kinda, also her skin looks dry to me, but that could be just me...she doesnt seem bothered by anything if something is up, i keep fresh water in her dish every day, and food. she usually sleeps all day, shes asleep when i go to bed and sleeping when i get up.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

wking26 said:


> when i run my hand from her bum to her head gently they quills are soft and not prickly like i thought, they do bend kinda, also her skin looks dry to me, but that could be just me...she doesnt seem bothered by anything if something is up, i keep fresh water in her dish every day, and food. she usually sleeps all day, shes asleep when i go to bed and sleeping when i get up.


Well, you shouldn't be petting your hedgie from bum to head, that's not good for them >_>
But that's all I can say about this, I'm not sure what you mean by soft... sooo..


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## wking26 (Nov 15, 2010)

i wasnt petting her like that, just did it a few times when i noticed they werent prickly


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Sometimes quills can vary but they shouldn't beable to bend easily. What kind of food is your hedgie eatting and the hedgies age? Reason I ask is it might help determine if its a normal thing or not . When my hedgie was a 6 week old baby her quills were different than after she went through a quilling. I did find a bent one before when she was a baby but I don't ever find them on the hedgies now that they are older.


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## indygo88 (Aug 21, 2010)

We don't make a habit of petting our hedgie from bum to head either, but I've done this a few times & have always been surprised at how "odd" it feels. To me, it feels almost like the quills are "loose" when you pet them this way, as if they're going to fall out. They don't, of course, but I'm always amazed at how it doesn't feel like I would expect it to. So if that's what you mean by soft quills, I think that's normal.


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> Well, you shouldn't be petting your hedgie from bum to head, that's not good for them >_>
> But that's all I can say about this, I'm not sure what you mean by soft... sooo..


Really?? I did not know that this was bad for them. Wilson actually seems to enjoy having his quills gently rubbed the "wrong" way. Closes his eyes in what I assumed was relaxation. Can you explain more how this is bad? He honestly seems to prefer it!


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I don't think its bad bad for them but brushing that way would put a little stress on the quills, since its 'against the grain' of flow, though if he enjoys it that way, I can't say that I've ever read anything it being truly bad, just at least in my own mind as said, it puts stress on them and done wrong would probably hurt the hedgehog. I've never gone that way but even a cat, head to butt, otherwise they get an afro.

As for the soft quills, I think its just because your hedgehog is in a relaxed mode, they can feel smooth and soft when relaxed. If the actual quill isn't stuff and very soft, then there's something lacking in the diet. Otherwise yeah, when they go into alert mode, they seem a lot more stiffer.


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