# Update on Mac: Possible Skin Infection



## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Name: Mac
Age: 1yr and 3 mos
Lived with me: 5 mos

Recent Changes:
Last 3 weeks, temperature change (generally colder outside at night, has slightly affected house/indoor temps but only one degree lower at most.

Cage Temp: 75 - 76 degrees F

Lighting: 6am to 6pm

10/12/2011: Noticed redness, dry skin, quill loss

10/14/2011: Skin scraping done by vet, positive for mites, treatments with Revolution begins @ 1 dose every 7 days for 4 weeks

11/11/2011: Noticed first red area on upper lip, looks like a pimple

11/12/2011: Noticed second red area on visor on same side as first area

Weight
Weighed regularly (nightly), weight fluctuates between 480 and 460, average 472 grams

Poop
- normal size and texture
- colour normal
- smell normal (which is strong, but this is normal for Mac)

Urine
normal in color and amount

Nose
moist, licks upon waking, then occasionally throughout the time he is under my supervision

Breathing
normal

Eating
normal amounts of food, normal intake of water

Skin
Scratching - occasionally
Dry skin - medium to large flakes
Sores - small (1/8 inch diameter) on upper lip and visor on left and side of face
Quills - Some loss, bareness increasing on rump but no all-out bald spots yet

Vomiting
None

Activity
normal activity, still wheeling all night, rummaging around the cage, playing with TP tube

very huffy and has been biting in recent weeks, chalked this up to irritation from mites

Meds
none

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>_<

I feel terrible, Mac has this pimple-looking bump on his upper lip on the left-hand side; I saw it last night, and thought it looked like an ingrown whisker, so I put polysporin on it and let it soak in before letting him loose for the night. Now it looks worse, and there is a spot on his visor that is similar, smaller and red looking.

It looks like these on this little one and are in almost exactly the same locations:









From this thread --> http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=84649

So I'm freaking out a little bit, and about to make some phone calls to get in with the vet.

One question:

What antibiotic course of treatment would be best for staph, if that's what it is?

Okay, one more question:

How would the vet need to test the area to see what it was?

My vet is excellent, but has zero hedgie experience other than me and my boys, so I want to go in with as much info for them as I can.

Mac hates hates me going anywhere near his face and can/will bite, so I applied the polysporin last night with a q-tip. Will the vet be able to get anything from these red areas to test? Or would it be safe to go with an anti-biotic like Clavamox or Baytril to clear it up? Topical remedies? >_<

Sorry, I'm being spastic, just worried about my little boy.

Also, I should be keeping Mac and Dougie apart so this is not transferred, correct?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Awwww, that's my baby Blue.  

Little spots like that that keep appearing is probably a staph infection. Antirobe is usually the antibiotic given for staph. It is generally well tolerated by hedgehog and usually minimal if any tummy upset. 

Best to get him in first thing Monday because it gets worse quickly and he will soon start to scratch at it. Once he gets on the Antirobe, it usually clears up quite fast. 

Normal locations are on the legs, chest and neck area, face and head quill line. 

Poor Mac. In babies, staph usually only affects one baby and my vet said it generally means that baby has a less mature immune system. I've had it with one baby in two litters and the litter mates were not affected. 

Did Mac just have some tummy issues not long ago or am I dreaming? Was he on any antibiotic?


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Thank you Nancy! I am calling the vet and going in on Monday if they have an appointment, if not the soonest possible one I can get.

And actually it was Dougie that had an upset tummy a little while back (green poops) but he quickly went back to normal once I discovered the culprit (Hills a/d), which he was eating because he was on anti-biotics for a possible URI (he had Clavamox).

Mac is my tubby boy who has been fit as a fiddle until now. If anything I think the weather changes and the mites he's been dealing with for the past few weeks might have been what did his system in...

I was thinking, can they get staph from scratching themselves with poop boots on their feet? I ask because Mac is horrendously messy and gets a foot bath every morning because of his messy feet, and if he scratched himself itching from the dry skin / quill loss he might have infected himself.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Will the vet be able to get anything from these red areas to test? Mac hates hates anything coming near his face...

Also, I should be keeping Mac and Dougie apart so this is not transferred, correct? Is this a potentially contagious bacteria? My first instinct is yes...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I have no doubt that scratching with poopy boots could cause the infection. Generally a strong immune system will fight any infections, but bacteria in any cut or scratch can do it. When you think about hedgehogs and poop boots and scratching, it's a wonder they don't all get infections. :roll:

Your vet may just look at it and know what it is. I don't remember if baby Blue was tested or if she just looked at his sores and knew. 

Yes, keep them apart. Chances are Dougie would already have been exposed if they have been near each other, but best to keep them apart now until Mac has been on antibiotic for a few days.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Poor baby...

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[attachment=1:20xivp2z]IMG_6926.jpg[/attachment:20xivp2z]

[attachment=0:20xivp2z]IMG_6927.jpg[/attachment:20xivp2z]

I'm going to call the vet in the morning, I hope they have an appt for tomorrow, otherwise it will be wednesday before I can go... *sigh*

In good news, I don't see the one on his head anymore, so maybe it went away, or was just crustiness from scratching? Still need to get him in regardless for this one on his face.

Can I put Polysporin on it until he sees the vet, or would this cause more problems than it would solve?


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Good news!

I think I jumped the gun; Mac's cheek is healing up nicely, and when I went back to look for the spot on his head again, there are two brand new visor quills in the place where it was and they very well could have cause him to scratch at them and irritate the area, which is now completely normal looking with no traces of a problem.

The spot on his cheek is almost gone, the scab is much like one on us would be, smaller by the day and darkening with no redness/yellowing, puss, or other irritation like I have seen in pictures here on HHC of hedgies with staph.

I am going to keep putting Polysporin on it and watching it, but thanks to some advice from Nancy I think he'll be keeping himself cleaner from now on and not scratching, which is what I think caused this problem in the first place.

Thank you all for your advice, and of course thanks to my wonderful vet ^_^


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

That's great news!!!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Yay! I'm happy to hear that things seem to be clearing up. He's such a handsome guy


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Continued healing thoughts for little Mac!


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Thank you all ^_^

I hope it helps him feel better, poor dear, he's been so irritable lately with the many many new quills coming in. His skin looks fantastic though, and he'll be getting another light scrub and oil rinse as that seems to be helping the most. Yay for organic shampoo that doesn't dry out his skin!  

Maybe one day in the not so distant future he will cease to try and nom on me at every opportunity, I like his belly fur *grin*


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Mac is such a little precious. Even if he likes to bite. :lol: I'm glad he's doing better.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Mac's my baby. Dougie is a sweetie, but he's hedgie daddy's little man. I'm just clean up and hygiene as well as dietician *grin*

And before I got him I knew Mac had a tendency to bite, so it's not like I was caught unawares. And I'd be bitey too if I had needles growing out of my back by the dozens, so it's all good. 

We understand each other. He knows I'm going to love him no matter what, and he'll just have to accept that my love means baths, nail trimmings, and poking him with q-tips to apply oil, polysporin, etc. And I know that he'd a bit testy, and I don't blame him. I want to blame the 3 homes he had in his 10 months of life before he came to me, but I don't know the circumstances of the surrenders / rehomes, so I just grumble at the past and look forward to several happy years. He's mine now and he's not going anywhere!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Your last sentence is beautiful. It comes from a beautiful person!


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Mr. Mac is all better! He just had a booboo on his face, which is right as rain and not even a scab left any more.

He's going to despise me in a few hours because it is bath day and cage cleaning / liner swapping day so I can do their laundry, but it's okay. His grumpiness makes me love him more, how odd am I? *grin*

Just a little update to let you all know he is doing great! Lots of new quills too, so an oil rinse is in order tonight to soften his skin and help that along.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

Gret news! Im glad he is doing better!


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

Yay, Mac! No more scaring your mom


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Glad to hear he recovered quickly! Inky has spots all over that look just like that, I'm hoping they heal just as fast.


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## Alastrina (Sep 18, 2009)

Thank you everyone! After I finished cleaning his cage tonight Mac was running like a maniac on his wheel  

And poor Inky! I hope he heals up quickly!


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