# This is concerning... Wounds on legs



## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

So, I was getting the hogs out for their nightly "human with hedgie" play time and I noticed two things. I am pretty sure my new addition to my family is a BOY and not a girl (it seems to have the "belly button"). I never thought to check it's "under" it, due to trusting the breeder and I also have a female adult hog that I obtained from her. *sigh* It is fine since they are both in seperate cages any how, so that is the LEAST of my concerns.. 

So as I was looking at the "under" side of my baby, I noticed that in his "armpits" (if you will) on his hind legs... (the part that connects the inside leg to the belly) has these sores that look to be scabbed over (still a bright red color). On both sides! Now granted, I just got the little guy this Monday from the breeder, so had him almost a week. He wheels every night, eats a lot for a quilling hog, and seems to be in a normal mood considering that he is beginning the quilling process. I am SOOOO upset about this since I spend hours taking care of my animals and I know there isn't anything he couldn't of been caught on. :x 


So, could this be a wound from his/her Momma? What could cause these? They are about the size of ball bearings (smaller than a pea). They are not open. They look to be scabbing over, but do I need to bathe him or her to prevent any infection? She/he does a lot of wheel running at night and that gets messy and I can't imagine that being good on the wound.

Has anyone seen this before? I am thinking if I don't hear anything from anyone, I will just go to the vet tomorrow. I am trying to keep my cool on this.... :?


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Update: 1 hour later

So after frantically plowing through old posts in this forum, I think I might have more of common case the originally thought. I think some of these wounds might be possibly self-inflicted as I can feel and hear him nipping at something, and I am assuming he is nipping at himself. Is this a normal thing they do when they are quilling? 

I ran a warm bath for him (it is confirmed, he is.. a he, by the way) and rinsed the areas with a mild non-scented soap and followed up with a bit of neosporin (just ORIGINAL, not pain relief etc). Right now, he is wrapped up in his baby blanket (which I heated in the dryer for him so he would have a warm place straight out of the bath) on my chest, sound asleep. 

I am SUPER upset with the breeder because I wanted a baby girl so that I could house her later on (after she adjusted, quarentined, and off kitten kibble) with my other girl, Pequop, in the massive C&C cage. But now that I have found this ... extra part. This shared caging will not be possible and I just couldn't keep this boy in the super pet cage all his life (just not my personal way of housing hedgies permanently). Also, what a irresponsible mistake on the breeder's part. I could of been one of those "oh my goodness, I have babies!" posts and I personally, do not want that. I am not going to return this boy, just because I already am in love with him and, he is probably better off with me then with this ... breeder. 

So, back to the main topic.... Any suggestions on these possible "bites"... or how to get him to stop nipping at his legs? Assuming that is what it is.. Or do I just repeat these baths with the neosporin treatments?


Thanks for letting me vent... And thanks for any advice as well!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

The sores could be the beginnings or end of a staph infection. It causes little round sores that start out like pinpricks and grow in size. Once they reach the scab size, they get itchy which makes hedgie bite at them. Often the scabs start on the legs, chin and face. I've had a couple of babies with a staph infection and it is fairly common in babies of all species. Sometimes a baby will have a less mature immune system and when you consider hedgie moms walk through their poop and urine, it's a wonder all babies don't get something.



















When caught early staph is easily treated with Antirobe. Once they start to scratch and chew at it, they can cause quite large sores so it's best to get treated asap.

I would contact the breeder and make a complaint about the mixup in sex. It's not like hedgehogs are difficult to sex. At the very least you should get some money reimbursed. You could get your other girl spayed or him neutered.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Running off to the vets now. I will post what they say. I just want a happy, healthy baby boy.

Thanks again Nancy.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

Great pics, Nancy, those will be very helpful for other people in the future. 

stephanie, Sorry to hear you have a vet bill right after you get your new addition, ugh. On top of having to figure out new living quarters for the male. :| 

I wish I could house two together as well but both of mine are males.


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## Stephanie76 (Nov 2, 2009)

Thank you for your kind words krbshappy. I of course don't like vet bills, but I wouldn't get a baby and not be prepared for any situation. 

I just got back from the vet, she does have a "skin infection" (the vet didn't want to call it a staph infection, but it clearly is). Poor boy has pinprick wounds all over his front visor and his legs. The vet gave me some beef baytril and I just gave the lovie his first dose. I just laid him on his tummy, pulled his visor quills back and put the syringe in his mouth and he took it. I just need to watch how he reacts to it the next few hours. He received a meal worm for his hard work just being a sick hedgie and he was happy. 

Nanc, or anyone who has experienced this, when are they considered not contagious with the antibiotics? I naturally wash my hands after handling each hedgie, mostly due to OCD :lol: . 

As for the how gender issue, I would like to see what the breeder proposes. I have the documentation that proves the skin infection and the gender.... I just left the breeder a nice (sarcasm intended here) voicemail inquiring in what she plans on doing about giving me a sick hedgie with a different gender that could of been a problem had I not been an educated buyer. 

Ughhhhhhhhhh.


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## poorhedgie (Nov 11, 2017)

*My Hedgehog's Leg*

I have been very bad over the last few weeks. I have moved to a different state, and my hedgehog has not been having the attention she deserves. One day I decided to play with her a little, because I haven't got to in a while. I then found her leg was caught by a hair, and tangled her leg. We got her untangled and thought all was good... Well I went to check on her again, and it has become very infected and large! What do I do, and what should I do to stop the infection and swelling! Pls Help!


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Go to the vet asap. There is nothing you can do at home, she needs medical treatment.


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