# sudden quill loss?



## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

how do you know the difference between normal quilling and potential mange?? fluffy is suddenly missing a patch of quills off her forehead and her skin is starting to flake in large chunks accross her back. Shes somewhere around 3 months which ive read is a normal quilling age but how do i know she is deffinatly quilling and not suffering of a skin problem that needs vet care?


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

that sounds more like mites...i have never seen a bald patch with normal quilling on either of my girls. i would make a vet apointment imediately. could also be a fungal infection. if it is mites be sure to get revolution and not ivectermiacin (sp?) no matter what the vet says.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

ok i will do that asap which unfortunatly cant be until wednesday =( the only hedgehog accepting vet is only open MWF 9-12 =/ would mites be contagious to humans?


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

i dont think they are, but i may be wrong. just besure to get the poor thing a vet appointment asap......im not saying you wont, just some people on here lately have been stubborn about heeding the advice they asked for.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

lol dont worry she will definatly get her vet apointment asap even despite it meaning skipping out on costly college classes id otherwise sleep through >.> i may not have had fluffy long but she means alot to me already and i wont have her live in discomfort for the slight inconvenience of a vet visit =P


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## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

im very glad to hear that, i can tel lyou are actually a friend of hedgeis, not jsut when it is convienient unlike some others that shall remain nameless...she knows who she is.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

*comment deleted*


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

I found another vet thats not listed in this sites vet list thats near my parents home and fluffy has an appointment for saterday morning but they said if it is mites they will give her an injection. My mom made the appointment to save me a long distanceish call and only talked to a receptionist not the actual vet so i dont know if they have any alternatives to it. Is there any injection that any one knows of besides ivermectin and is it safe? If they diagnose it as definatly being mites but will only treat w/ an ivermectin injection can i refuse her treatment and get revolution treatment at home? And even worse if this is ivermectin my mom just told me theyll do the first injection there and send me home w/ the meds and syringes to inject her myself every 2 weeks at home =(


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

you can refuse the injection. I jsut did it today.

I told the vet under no circumstances to use that medication and specifically requested revolution.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

i will tell him first thing in the appointment that if its mites they can not give ivermectin but what should i do if they havnt heard of revolution? im from a somewhat remote area and its not uncommon for even the human doctors to get confused n not know what your talking about if you mention a new or uncommon treatment =P lol i guess maybe ill save my worrying and what ifs for after the appointment =X ill update after the appointment as to how things go


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Hmmmm, I think it might be better for you to call the vet instead. It'll save you time and money in the long run, because the last thing you want happen is that you go there, the vet looks at your hedgie and tells you that all they have is injection and no Revolution. Which would mean that they would have to specially order it for you, OR you have to find another vet, end up paying both vets for the initial checkup fee.

So call them, talk to them, and specifically ask them if they have revolution.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

lol i think i was in such a panic i didnt even think about calling back to ask what their alternatives are =P


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I hope they do offer Revolution, but if they don't, I've heard you can order it yourself online. It's easy to apply, you just put a small drop (I believe the dosage for Lily, who's about 340 grams was .04 mL) on the hedgie's back, then repeat one month later to catch any remaining mites. The Revolution I got at my vet's was pretty inexpensive, only about $12. We didn't bother doing a test for mites, because he said it can give false negatives if mites just aren't in the spot you tested. So we just treated her, and her bald spots are long gone.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

ok so good call on calling back n make sure =) that particular vet would have to order but i did find another vet in the same area that would take her and though theyre strongly trying to encourage me to get her the injection (which im ignoring) they said they do have revolution there and if its what i feel safer with they will give her that though its apparently derived from the same thing so they dont see why i think itd make such a big difference. lol they gave me the over the phone "who are you going the trust the breeders or the vet" lecture but im sorry to them ill take the warning of people w/ stories of dead hedgies over risk it becuase a vet w/ little to no expirience in hedgies said so. The particular vet on call the day ill be in town has no expirience with hedgehogs though which is a downside but the clinic has treated several so hopefully itll still go okay =/


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Just make sure you continue to budge if they keep bringing up the injection. You made a very good call with refusing to let them use it. The main problem with the Ivermectin injection, my vet explained to me, is that it works by paralyzing the mites, therefore killing them. However, hedgehogs are such small animals that it can be very easy to give an overdose. An overdose of Ivermectin would then paralyze the hedgehog and could kill it. Even experienced vets could overdose the hedgehog, to say nothing of an owner who may have never given a pet an injection before.
The other reason I was glad I turned down the injection was that Lily did an amazing job of being good for her first vet visit. If she had to go back once a week for four week and got stabbed each time she went, I have a feeling future vet visits would have gone nowhere near as well, lol.
It should be alright with something like mite treatment, the vet not having experience with hedgehogs. Just make sure that he a) doesn't wear thick leather gloves when touching your hedge (it'll freak him out) b) you warn him if your hedgie is prone to popping or biting, you don't want him to drop the hedgie from not being prepared for it and c) make sure you get the proper weight of your hedgehog in order to give him a correct dose of Revolution. I don't believe the effects of an overdose would be quite as dramatic as those of Ivermectin, but it still wouldn't be good.


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## Callie255 (Dec 24, 2008)

Revolution has been around for a while. Although it may be slightly new to be used in hedgehog mite treatment. It is a product made for dogs and cats to prevent heartworms, fleas, intestinal parasites, ear mites in cats and mange in dogs. Your vet should use the puppy/kitten version of Revolution and apply a few drops on the skin between the shoulders. If your vet does not carry the Revolution you can ask for a written prescription and get it from another vet. Revolution is a prescription product so you would not be able to obtain it without one. I have very strong feelings against ordering these types of products online but that is another option if you can't find any vets around that carry it.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

Just figured id give an update on how the vet appointment went =)

They did a mite scraping and didnt see anything but Fluffy was being a brat n wouldnt let them scrape the "good spots" lol but she looked pretty textbook mites case and the tests are frequently false negative so the vet decided to treat her anyway and after a looong (about 35 mins) lecture on the pros and cons of every medication she possibley could think of for the mites she gave her revolution =) 

so how long after treatment will i notice any major improvement? or does that tend to vary from one hedgie to the next?


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## Callie255 (Dec 24, 2008)

Well glad to hear everything worked out okay! I think within a week or 2 you should notice some improvement. Sometimes they may need another does of Revolution in a month. Good luck!


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