# 2 month old hedgehog with dry skin... I think??



## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

I recently purchased a hedgehog from a reputable breeder and at first everything was fine, I didn't notice any issues with his skin, but then he went through his second quilling and I started noticing his skin was getting pretty dry despite having a humidifier near his cage and constantly running. I tried using extra virgin olive oil which seemed to help and was light in colour and it seemed to help, the dry skin was going away, but then read in the forums that flax seed oil was better for him. So I purchased that and I would drip a few drops on his back as well as in his food and I think that has made it worse. The skin started coming off in huge flakes and was a yellowy tinge. I was very worried that it could be a fungal infection (and it might be) but I gave him an Aveeno Oatmeal bath and the yellowness went away and the flakes are just white now. It is not centralized to the base of his quills, and since his quilling I haven't seen very many quills coming out lately, just one or two here over a week's period but the ones that do come out, while the bulb is on the end of them they don't look like the ones that came out when quilling. I've tried the black cloth test and have seen none of the flakes or skin moving at all (even did some scraping of the dry skin throughout his back and found nothing moving).

I have him on fleece lining and have since I brought him home (the breeder had him on wood shavings). He had a vet check before I brought him home and had a clean bill of health. I'm just worried about him since I'm a new hedgie mom and I don't know if I should take him to the vet again or wait a little longer and see if it clears up. I did change our routine of when I clean out his cage to when I get home from work everyday rather than in the morning and he is a very particular hedgehog and doesn't like to get messy.

I have him on Royal Canin Fit 32 and have been trying to get him to eat some apples and bananas, which he'll take a little but prefers the cat food. I just bought him meal worms and he loves them but I'm wondering if maybe he had a deficiency in his diet...

His poops have been normal, a healthy brown colour, never had green poop even when I brought him home. He's drinking normal, using his wheel normal (actually even more so). He has no discharge from his eyes, ears or nose (nose is a regular moistness).

His disposition was very good until I started obsessing about his skin and now he's upset with me cause I won't leave him alone and keep checking on his skin which he doesn't particularly like. We were making such progress too  He would just chill in my hand as I rubbed his head or massaged his back he even whistled/chirped the other day (scared the living daylights out of me until I read the posts on here) but now he gets huffy with me so I'm going to stop searching through his quills for a bit.

Am I just obsessing and he's fine or should I be worried and take him to the vet?

I have so many questions and a lot of the posts have very different information so I'm not sure what to do.

Also, side question, how much food should I be giving him a day? I think I'm giving him too much (2 and a half - 3 teaspoons a day)..

Sorry for the long post  :?


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

I cant offer to much advice but I know the flaxseed turns my girls flakes when she has them yellow also. Its just cause the flax seed is that color. 
Most of us let our hogs free eat. As long as hes not over weight then you should be fine. 
Is he itchy and always scratching kinda thing?
Personally I'd give it a little more time. I freaked when Opal had some dry skin and it was nothing. I think just as hedgie parents we're always slightly paranoid about our hogs. lol 
But on a side note congrats on getting to hear that chirping noise.  Thats great ^-^ I haven't heard it yet.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

See well that's the thing... he doesn't really scratch all that much. The one time I heard him really going to town was when I forgot to add water to the humidifier before I went to bed and it stopped running. And the thing is that I get really dry skin also and when the humidifier isn't running my own skin itches like crazy too sooo I probably am just freaking out for nothing....
But thanks for letting me know the yellow tinge is common when using the flaxseed oil.

And yup we are very over protective parents haha. :lol:

And don't worry, you'll hear the chirping at some point. My Oreo has only done it once so far


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

Hmm not sure about the humidifier thing. =o
No problem. 
I hope so. <3 She's been such a grumpy muffin lately. :roll:


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

Ok so when I got home today his skin is so much better a good amount of flakes were in his igloo but his skin has cleared up immensely after using the extra virgin olive oil instead of the flaxseed oil. Maybe he's allergic to the flaxseed? 

Either way I'm happy he's getting better.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

Definitely my bad. I don't know why I keep thinking Oreo is 2 months. He's 3 months and going through his final quilling. I was able to see a lot new quills coming in. 
So the lesson: don't jump to conclusions immediately. Lol


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## ShutUpAndSmile (Mar 7, 2011)

Lol it's cause they grow so fast. I can't believe Opal is 8 months old. 
But it's good that it's nothing but quilling. Yay


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Could it be perhaps seasonal?
My apartment gets incredibly dry when the heat starts running for the first few weeks. Kashi gets very dry skin at this time, so I just add a bit of flax seed to his kibble.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

It very well could be. I've made a vet appointment for next Saturday just in case it doesn't get better. I'm pretty sure he's also going through his final quilling as I'm finding quills in his cage when I wake up in the morning and they have their bulb on them (though I've read that this does not definitively say that mites aren't present). I've done the black shirt test and saw nothing moving at all. I put his flaky skin under a microscope and some skin scrapings from all over his body and nothing...

I moved the humidifier into a different room last night because I cleaned the burner with CLR to get the lime scale off it and I didn't want him breathing in any residual fumes if they were left behind and I heard him scratching this morning so it may in fact just be that the apartment is very dry. I'm crazy paranoid about mites. Too bad there isn't something out there that we could treat them with as a preventative measure.

It also seems like there are a lot of hedgehogs who's owners are on this forum who are experiencing the same thing with their hedgehogs.

I even got a bit worried when I woke up early and saw that he hadn't really touched his kibble...only to have him wake up around 15 minutes later and be chomping away. Probably just needed a nap after running all night.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

If you're paranoid about mites, you can always give your hedgie a dose of Revolution. It won't hurt them if they don't have mites, but it will get rid of the mites if he has them 

I suspect that it's just the last phase of quilling along with the dry weather that's causing the dry skin though ^_^

And the ball at the end of the quill means nothing. It can't help determine whether or not your hedgie has mites.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

Where can I get the Revolution?


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

lcam85 said:


> Where can I get the Revolution?


I think in the US you can even order it online. I'm not sure about the dosage, though, so you should probably search around the forum for that.
In Canada, you need a vet's prescription for it though.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

Just as an update to Oreo's condition. I find too many posts ask for help but then never give an update about what worked for other owners to read. 
I got him Sunshine Factor after reading some posts on here and have been giving it to him for about a week now or a little over and his skin has completely cleared up 100%. No need for revolution. 
He's still quilling so in order to soothe his skin I've given him aveeno oatmeal bath and he actually liked it. Well at first he tried to get out of the tub but them he settled down when I started brushing him with his toothbrush. And then afterwards I sprinkled a little evoo over the centre of his back. I've also made sure the humidifier was on and the moisture level correct and comfortable. 
But he's still really grumpy. The quills look really big and uncomfortable coming out  poor Oreo. 
The temperature in his cage was too high. I had the heater going, his CHE and the warm humidifier and he started crawling under his fleece to sleep. I guess he was too hot. 

But he's back to normal  
So yay!


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> lcam85 said:
> 
> 
> > Where can I get the Revolution?
> ...


You don't need a prescription for Revolution in Alberta Canada anymore.


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