# how do you tell if a hedgehog has mites i just got him



## tonykunz (Jan 10, 2011)

:? he has small tears on his ears thay look old so im very confused


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

Do you know the age of the hedgehog? The best way to tell if your hedgehog has mites is to put him or her on a piece of black fabric and shuffle his quills a bit, then take a magnifying glass and check it out. you could also take him or her to the vet to get checked. If the ears are tattered you should put some flaxseed oil on the back of them ( Don't get it in the ears) and rub it in gently and see if its build up. can you provide a picture.


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## tonykunz (Jan 10, 2011)

hes only ten months an i can put a pic of his quills


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

He doesn't look like he's losing quills, but I would take him to the vet anyway. It's also good to take them for a checkup after you get them. Usually after they have gotten used to their surroundings and you know about them to answer questions the vet might have.


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## mtnwmn (Nov 25, 2010)

He's beautiful. What color is he?


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## tonykunz (Jan 10, 2011)

thank you im taken him next week an can you tell one more thing what color type do you think he is lol sorry :?:


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

A vet will be able to tell if he has mites but he will be itchy and maybe losing quills If he does have them. 

If his ears are tattered you can put a small drop of flaxseed oil on them. Be very careful not to let it go in the ear. Also, buy the flaxseed oil in capsules so it doesn't go bad, then just pop one capsule open when you need it. 

As for the color id, please post pictures of him on the Color ID help part of the forum.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

He is beautiful. While tattered ears can be a sign of mites or fungal infection, most often it is just a build up of dry skin and gunk. You can use vitamin e oil, flax seed oil, vaseline to rub the edges of his ears. After a few days the gunk should start to rub off. 

I've had some pretty horrid looking ears here on rescues. Some the tatters are 1/4" long or more and I've yet to have anything other than just a gunky buildup. Some hedgehogs will never develop it and others start getting thick edges to their ears after a week. I had to rub Peaches ears every week or she was getting a buildup. It also has nothing to do with how clean or dirty, or if their skin is dry or not. 

If he had mites, he would be scratching and it is a frantic type of scratching.


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## tonykunz (Jan 10, 2011)

thank you all for your info my lil oscar was rescued out of a bad home he was checked by a vet befor i got him so he is in good helth im not sure what color type he is if you guys got any cule plz tell me hes like a rust red with some white so i reallly dont no what color he is


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## llaethog (Apr 16, 2015)

my 8 month old hedgehog has tiny dark bugs on him. they are not fleas and are smaller than any tick I have seen, smaller than a pin head. any one know what they are?


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

This thread is over 6 years old. Please start your own thread with your question


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## CotyBest (Oct 1, 2015)

I'm very new heagehog owner.i got a heagehog for my B-day and 3 days later I looked at her back and it looked like some of her spines where falling out.her spine look like they had 2 sharp ends.she is a year old.my friend said something adout mites I looked them up at found this.Again I'm a heagehog owner for 4 days


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

As already mentioned this is a very old thread. Please start your own thread with your question.


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