# Pimple/boils/ingrown quills near butt



## Stacyjean (May 12, 2014)

One of my hedgies, Conan, has devolved several bumps near his bum, where his quills meet his fur. The bumps look like red pimples, one larger one and two little tiny ones, each around a quill. I noticed them last night. After checking the forums to make sure it was safe for him, I applied a bit of regular neosporin (not pain relief). This morning I woke him up to check again and reapply more neosporin and noticed no change, neither worse nor better. Tonight, I checked again and the bumps seem to have come to a head, like whiteheads and the larger one had gotten a little smaller and had drained a bit of blood and pus, which I wiped away with a damp Q tip before applying more neosporin. I took the draining as a positive sign that maybe his body was removing the infection. He has been acting totally normally otherwise, eating, drinking, running in his wheel, etc. 

My question is should I take him to the vet right away or wait another day or two to see if he improves? He is a rescue that I've had for about a year. When I first got him, he was extremely obese (1025 grams) and was absolutely terrified of everything (he even had to be sedated at the vet to have his nails clipped because he would not calm down!) His weight and his fear levels have both gone down significantly in the past few months, but he still can get extremely stressed when doing things like going to the vet.mObviously, keeping him healthy is my biggest concern, but I'd like to avoid a trip to the vet for the sake of his stress levels unless it's absolutely necessary. Anyone have any thoughts or advice? Also, sorry for the long-winded post. I'm a relatively new hedgie mommy and Conan is my first! Just want to make sure I do the right thing for my little man! Thanks everyone! ?


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## Flamepool (Apr 11, 2015)

Can you maybe show a picture? It sounds like it is nothing serious, just keep applying Neosporin to it. If they don't go away within two or so days, you should probably get him checked. They can remove the ingrown quills and give you antibiotics to stop infection.

Edit: If the spot isn't too irritated, you can pull the quill out yourself. If it seems to be hurting your hedgie, stop and let the vet do it. The quills come out quite easily. It makes a pretty ugly hole, and it may bleed a little, but he shouod be fine. Add Neosporin to the hole.


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