# quills again



## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

ok so today i found 4 more quills in sages cage... now i know that could mean mites but i honestly dont think that it is. she isnt itching she has no dry skin at all and when she walks on a black piece of paper and i rub her nothing falls of not even dead skin... so believe me i am the first one to call a vet and bring my pet to the vet if i think any of them are having a problem but i just dont think its mites. Could they loose quills if they are stressed? cause it usually only happens when i take her out of her cage and she still isnt as found of me as i am of her... im getting frustrated because i care for her alot but it just seems no matter what i do, things keep going wrong!! any advice or help here?? 

Thank you!


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## h_EDGE_hog (Sep 29, 2008)

Now, I'm not at all an expert, but here it goes... lol. How old is she? I believe they quill twice before they turn one year. She could be quilling again. Has her attitude changed at all? That is a pretty good key in figuring out if they're quilling. Watch her carefully. Sorry if this wasnt a good help. Good luck!


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

she is almost two! And her attitude didn't change ... she still and never has liked me ... i was thinking i mean sometime people or animals just don't like certain people or other animals so maybe sage just doesn't like me ? i got her as a rescue and maybe i just stress her out! ?? maybe??


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

She may be stressed out and she may have mites and it could be both.

Keep an eye on her food/water/poop either way. Have you taken her to the vet since you've had her? If you got her as a rescue it may be wise to get her checked out by one (if you haven't already) and get a treatment for mites anyway, especially if you don't know the quality of life (i.e. the condition of the house/cage/room she was in) Sage was previously living in. I would highly suggest getting Revolution (which is prescribed from a vet) for kittens and put a drop or two on her neck/back.

I (and a lot of other people on HHC) would HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST INVERMECTIN (http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6) shots. It's really easy to over dose hedgehogs with it and I can't imagine a shot in such a tiny body is pleasant.

As far as the whole not liking certain people goes, I'm not sure hedgehogs are capable of that sort of emotion. That being said, she may not be, and may never have been, very cuddly/playful. She may just rather curl up into a ball and sleep. I'm not sure they can pick and choose who they like/dislike, although I'm not a hedgehog theorist. That being said, if they can pick and choose between who they like/don't like, it wouldn't surprise me :!:

Most of all, remember to be patient and understanding. She probably doesn't know what's going on yet. Make sure you hold her a lot and don't give up!!!


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

thank you very much i feel a little better about the situation now


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I was looking at the pictures of your little girl. She is just adorable!!!!!!!! Such a beautiful face!!!


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

aww well thank you very much!! Most people i know around here wouldnt pick an albino as there first choice but i just fell in love with her when i saw her!! thanks


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Quill loss can happen for a variety of reasons. If mites and bacterial infections have been ruled out, then I would explore the realm of stress related.

Stress definitely can cause it, but my experience has been that the stress was quite some time before the quill loss. For example: I had one that bit her tongue so badly that we had to syringe feed her. Several months after her tongue healed she started shedding quills. I could count 50+ quills from just holding her in a blanket for a few minutes. We feel that the stress from the tongue bite probably caused damage to her quills. She regrew quills in as fast as she was losing them.

Another lost quills after having surgery to remove a tumor. The quill loss occurred a couple of months after the surgery.

Dietary issues. If her diet was poor before and it becomes much better, it is possible that she will shed quills to lose those less healthy quills. 

Dry skin is another factor that can cause some quills to fall. 

Oh and I would pick an albino in a heartbeat. I absolutely love staring into an albino's eyes. They are absolutely fascinating to me.


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

Our Geoffrey came to us when he was about 6 months old, after his quilling period, so he hardly ever lost any quills for the following 2 years. He is now 3-1/2 years old, and nowadays I find a stray quill once or twice a week constantly! At first, I too was worried if he got mites or other health issues causing a quill loss. However, I was told that older HHs tend to lose a few quills from time to time, and it's completely normal. Sage's quill loss could be more age-related than stress-related. I would keep a close eye on her just be sure though.

As for her shyness, G was super shy when he was younger. Like Sage, anything and everything we did seemed to stress him or throw him into a sheer panic. It took more than a year for him to finally start relaxing around us. He was still jumpy and huffy for another year, but he could "tolerate" us. Then one day, almost 2-1/2 years after he first came to us, he had a major breakthrough and turned into a total sweetheart! He is still shy. He hates being held too. But now he comes out to greet me every morning, runs to the door to greet my husband, snuggles with us, and even lets me rub his belly! So don't be discouraged and keep working with Sage. I wouldn't be surprised if she will come around to be a sweet little angel much much sooner than our G.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

Kalandra said:


> Dietary issues. If her diet was poor before and it becomes much better, it is possible that she will shed quills to lose those less healthy quills.


While I realized a dietary issue could cause quill loss, I did not realize that they can actually get rid of quills that aren't healthy and get new ones. That's such great information and can actually explain a lot of rescued hedgies quill issues!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

That is what I was told by a couple of vets when I asked once. I had taken in a hedgehog who was eating pretty pets & banana chips as his diet. He changed his quill coat when put on a good healthy diet. Now the quill loss was not great (nothing like the stress related ones I mentioned), but enough that I took him for a mite check.


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

wow i had no idea about the food thing! That might just be it cause she is eating alot better here(ithink) I am still seeing more quills ive collected 6 so far which isnt actually that many i guess.. ?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Another thing to consider is hedgehogs can have stress related quill loss. I've had numerous that have. One girl did after a spay and I've had a couple of rehomes that loss massive amounts of quills after their change in home. From what I have noticed, stress related quill loss seems to happen about a month after the stressful event and they will get very thin on their back and then new ones will start growing in.


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

OH! It has been one month since the move! :!:


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

ok since sage let me get near her and play with her i noticed that the quill loss is only noticeable when she is balled up when she is playing and happy with her quills down i don't notice any baldness at all however in the past 2-3 weeks i have found 11 quills little ones and big ones. Also she is an albino so maybe because she is so fair her pink skin is more noticeable than another hedgehogs?


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

I haven't dealt with a good number of hhs in person to be 100% sure, but the density of quills seem to vary from hh to hh. Some have very dense, smooth, and even quill coat and some have rather sparse and uneven quill coat.

I believe our hedgie is pretty average but has a few "bald spots". They are neither big or obvious. You wouldn't notice them if he has his quills down. He had those spots as far back as I can remember. Recently, I had a chance to examine the spots closely under very bright daylight. The spots appear to be the human equivalent of the centres of hair whorls or very small scars where hair is missing. In other words, not enough to worry about.  

I don't know if bald spots stand out more against pink skin of an albino hedgie, but I bet the thickness of albino quills varies just like any other colours, so it's possible that your Sage's quill coat is thinner or uneven and that's why you're noticing her pink skin showing through more.


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

well, over the past week i have not found a single quill  hopefully it was food related or stress related cause the girl i got her from said there is probably no way she has mites .. and she isnt scratching at all! SO I keep my fingers crossed! 
Just wondering, Sage wont let me near her toe nails and i need to cut them BADLY! What dod i do? how do i let her let my get them? She will curl up in a ball with her feet tucked in and i am afraid that if i try to pull one out to cut it i will hurt her...


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

YAYAYAY.



sagesmommy said:


> Just wondering, Sage wont let me near her toe nails and i need to cut them BADLY! What dod i do? how do i let her let my get them?


Try to cut her nails while she's getting a bath. We have to do this with one of our guys and it's both of our least favorite thing to do. I have to hold him with both hands and when he pokes a foot out, I usually grab it between my middle and ring fingers. THEN my husband clips his toes as quickly as humanly possible, which, more often than not, isn't quick enough. If he gets too antsy, I'll put him back down in the (warm) water for a little bit and then try it again. 
Our other two guys get clipped fairly easily by my husband (not when they're in the bath), although, they can get pretty squirmy too, but they're a little more tolerant, knowing there's worms in it for them in the end :lol:


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## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

ohh the bath thing didnt work as soon as i go for a leg or toe she goes into a ball ... Woe IS ME!


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## R3d foreman (Jan 1, 2011)

sagesmommy said:


> ohh the bath thing didnt work as soon as i go for a leg or toe she goes into a ball ... Woe IS ME!


have you tried resting your hedgehog on a heating pad (ON LOW)? we're lucky enough that peter doesn't give us a lot of issues clipping his nails....but it's no cake walk either. i've only clipped his two long nails on both back feet so far because they grow quickest it seems, the rest aren't long at all

so yeah try the heating pad...otherwise.............be patient grasshopper


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