# Hedgehog quilling and dry skin plus ear fungus??



## impressthebest (Jun 29, 2013)

Please help. I live in Delaware and there arent many experienced vets with hedgehogs here. I have taken him to a vet previously and he gave us a dose of revolution but problems have only gotten worse. Johnny has very very flaky skin. Its so dry so I have tried to apply flax seed oil but nothing has gotten resolved. I have also gave him a bath in oatmeal and again nothing seems to work. He is losing a lot of quills. When I searched it up, they said hedgehogs can quill in the first year a lot so I thought it was normal but now Im noticing bald spots and less quills day by day. He also has ear fungus and I have no idea on how to treat that. Please give me some advice. He does run on his wheel at night and I have a heat lamp in the room. The temperature is about 79 degrees. He is eating Purina sensitive stomach as the breeders recommended for him. Johnny's cage is fleece and there are no wood objects. Thank you


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Try Humilac spray for dry skin. As for the revolution, I believe it needs to be administered a few times, two weeks apart, so one application likely won't take care of all the mites if he has them. Be careful with applying oil - if he has mites or a skin infection, oil will just trap in the bacteria and make it worse. The vet should be able to prescribe something for the fungal infection.


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## rubydissolution (Feb 24, 2014)

Athletes foot cream should work for the fungus. Just a little on a q-tip and apply to the ears. Just be careful he doesn't ingest it.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I would do as Abbys suggested and take him back to the vet. Find one that's at least willing to work with you and do research in order to treat your hedgehog, even if they don't have a ton of experience. I would get a skin scraping done to test for skin infections, particularly fungal. Another dose of Revolution would be a good idea too.

As for the ears, how do you know he has ear fungus? What signs are you seeing? Does he just have the edges of his ears bumpy and uneven or is there something else going on? If it's just the edges of the ears being funky-looking, that's due to dirt & build-up and you can remove it (over time) by rubbing it with flaxseed oil, bag balm, or nipple cream. Make sure if you try anything new, you put a little on your finger first & let him sniff it to see if he'll have a problem with it before you put it on him.

If he does have an actual fungal issue going on with his ears, then I would again do as Abbys suggested and have the vet take a look and prescribe something. I wouldn't use human medicine on a hedgehog.


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## rubydissolution (Feb 24, 2014)

I only recommended clotrimazole (athletes foot medication) because that's what I was told to use on my hedgie's ears. She had wood fungus.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I agree with Lilysmommy. How do you know he has ear fungus? The vast majority of times rough ear edges is nothing more than a dry skin and dirt build up and can easily be cured as Lilysmommy has mentioned.

Does he scratch? You mention he was given a dose of Revolution but if he has mites, one dose will not get rid of them. He needs a 3 dose treatment with each dose being 2 weeks apart as Abbys has mentioned.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ah, I see! It'd still be best for a vet to prescribe a medication for the issue though, since it's a different hedgehog and could be a different problem. Sometimes treatments work well for other hedgehogs & issues, but just in case, it's better to have it checked out. Especially if it ends up being only dirty ears, then there'd be no reason to use medication at all.


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