# Dry, cracked ears? Mites or dry skin?



## HedgieCKC (Feb 18, 2012)

Recently I've noticed that my 6 month old hedgehog's ears are cracked around the edges, they aren't bloody or peel-y, they just look bumpy all along the edges of both of his ears. I've checked his skin though and it isn't dry at all. I give him aveno oatmeal baths and like I said the rest of his skin isn't dry at all. He isn't itching and he also doesn't seem to be irritated by it but is there any cream or oil I can rub on his ears to help? Should I consult my vet? Thanks for any responses!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

That's pretty normal, even if the rest of his skin isn't really dry. You can use flaxseed oil on them, if you already have it, or vaseline or bag balm has been recommended as well.


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## ItsMe (Dec 9, 2011)

Hello! Your hedgies symptoms sound very similar to me Pixie's!









I took her to my vet and I found out she has a fungal infection! They had to special order her some medication and I have to give it to her orally for a month. I also dab Chlrohexidine with a Q-tip on her ears daily. The picture above is after a week of treatment so that wasn't the worst. It might be a good idea to have your local vet check your hedgie out. I am so glade I did because I originally thought it might have been a diet problem or needed to add oil to her skin. Turns out Pixies case was a little more serious  She will be just fine though!


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## HedgieCKC (Feb 18, 2012)

Thank you so much for the responses! I will definitely get his ears checked out, just incase it's something more serious. I've attached a picture so you can tell me if it looks like what your hedgie had. It's not the best but you can get an idea atleast


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Most often that 'tattered' ear look is caused by gunk and dry skin building up, which can be treated by rubbing a little bit of vaseline on the ears daily until it goes away. Occasionally it's something else, like a fungus, but that's not as common.


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## ItsMe (Dec 9, 2011)

Your hedgies ears look similar to my pixies. Again I thought it was just dry skin too! I am someone who rather be safe than sorry. I'm glad I did because it is going to take a month to treat it as it is. I also have wash her bedding in warm hot water so I don't recontaminate her to it! Good luck!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Dry tattered ears is very common and rarely is it fungus. I too would try rubbing his ears daily with vaseline, vit E or flax seed as Moxie has mentioned and see if it helps. If he allows you to rub, the gunk should start coming off after a couple of days. If nothing happens by the end of a week, it is possibly fungus. Of course, a vet visit is always a good idea to make certain.


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## HedgieCKC (Feb 18, 2012)

Oh okay good, I'll try the vaseline and see if it improves at all, if not I'll make an appointment with my vet. I'm so glad there is this forum, I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right for him. Now if it is just gunk and dry skin is there anyway to prevent it from coming back, anything I should be doing? I switched him from CareFresh to cage liners almost 2 weeks ago, and I clean his wheel almost every morning or every other morning. The only thing I can think of is the litter in his litter box. My breeder recommended and used non-clumping, dust-free cat litter so that's what I use as well and he uses his litter pan every night but he also likes to roll around in it, almost like a chinchilla in a dust bath. Is this a bad thing? Should I use something else for his litter pan? If so what do you recommend?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Any small cat litter, even non clumping is not good to use. It will still stick to private parts and we have had cases of self mutilation due to foreign objects. 

My personal rule of thumb is that if you dampen your finger(just lightly, don't have to have actual droplets of liquid) and lightly touch the litter, if any pieces stick, it will likely stick to urine dampened private parts, especially boys. 

Many of us here use pelleted litter such as Purinas Yesterday's News, or even just plain paper towel.


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## HedgieCKC (Feb 18, 2012)

Great! Thank you, I figured it would be good to ask about the litter. Thank you for the info!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Some hedgehogs are more prone to gunk build up on their ears than others. I've had ones who were getting buildup again within a couple weeks and others who never during their lifetime had any. I can't comment on if shavings, carefresh or litter makes it worse or not as all my gang with the exception of moms and babies are on liners with paper towel in the litter box.


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## HedgieCKC (Feb 18, 2012)

I wanted to thank you all for your posts and replies. I have been rubbing vaseline on his ears every night and almost all the gunk is gone! His ears were looking so tattered and it's amazing how much better they are looking after only a few nights! Thank you so much. I will continue to monitor to make sure they don't start looking unhealthy (now that I know fungus could be a concern). I also tried to switch him to paper towels in his litter pan and he did not like that and wouldn't go near it. So I've decided to slowly wean him off the kitty litter, by putting less and less in there each time I clean it. Thanks for the advice everyone, and I'm sure Charcot is much happier too!


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