# Itchy from holding hedgie - allergic reaction or mites?



## lmashbri6983 (May 29, 2009)

Hi Everyone, I've got a few questions relating to both hedgie's health and mine...

First off, ever since I got Layla from her previous owner she has had dry skin and has sometimes been pretty itchy. Before trying Revolution for mites, I did what others have suggested a few things: Aveeno oatmeal for bathtime, switched to liners, and flaxseed oil in her food. Her dryness and itchiness has improved.  

Recently I started noticing a difference with myself and my skin's reaction to her quills. Yes, whenever the quills might poke me, it'd be a little sore / itchy at first. However these days all I have to do is pick her up and hold her for a minute or two, and I get pretty severe itchiness wherever she touched. I'll sometimes get bumps that look like tiny hives if I keep scratching. I've been using hydrocortisone to relieve some of it but I havent been able to figure out why I'm reacting so much more now than I used to be.

This leads me to a few questions that might or might not be related...
- could she have gotten mites and that's what is bothering my skin? :shock: 
- if a hedgie does get mites, do the mites ever spread to the couch or anywhere the hedgie has been, kinda like fleas do? Can the mites also jump onto the owner and irritate them as well?
- if this isnt mites, could it be anything other than an allergic reaction? (I've tried bathing her & making sure she's all clean, but even then, holding her makes my hands itch)
- if all else fails, should I just result to having no bare skin whenever I hold her?

Gotta say this is so irritating, after having so many peaceful months and no problems with allergic reactions or whatever this is!! Geesh


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

The only question I can answer is the one about mites bothering humans. We went through this with our guineapig and where assured by our vet that the mites that humans can sometimes get and the mites that animals get are not the same. So that should not be what is bothering you.

it does sound to me like an allergic reaction and often they get worse with time. But I am no expert in that area so hopefully someone else will answer.


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## lmashbri6983 (May 29, 2009)

Thanks for your input, I hope you're right! I'd be very happy to find out that the mites that hedgies can get dont ever bother humans... that would be one question answered, and one to cross off my list of possible reasons for this!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

There has been several threads on this forum about people becoming allergic to their hedgies months after getting them,hope i'm way off on this but it sounds like you have become allergic.


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

Oh and I remembered what it is called when humans get mites if you want to google it. Mange.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I'm allergic to nothing (er, feather filled pillows, I forgot about that one) but I do get this weird feeling from where their quills have touched me, can't say itchy or anything but some sort of minor reaction.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

My hands often burn/itch if I get pricked by Kashi's quills.

The only thing that seems to alleviate the discomfort is giving him baths (no more than once every 2 weeks, though, since I don't want his skin to become dry).

I'm pretty sure I'm allergic (I've started developing hives if I don't bathe him enough). It's nothing that I can't handle though ^_^ I'm sure you could find a way to get around it


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## vbno1 (Mar 27, 2011)

most people do it only last for a minute with me tho maybe its their slavia cause mine bit me once and it raised a lot


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## leaveittoweaver (Sep 25, 2010)

I've noticed with a lot of animals, allergies develop over the time of having them. For instance, when I had rats I was not allergic at all. Over the course of a year however I developed a skin allergy to them. 

I know handling with gloves is not ideal. But if the gloves smell like you, your hedgie will still know it's you and you won't itch as much. It does unfortunately sound like an allergy :/


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## lmashbri6983 (May 29, 2009)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> My hands often burn/itch if I get pricked by Kashi's quills.
> 
> The only thing that seems to alleviate the discomfort is giving him baths (no more than once every 2 weeks, though, since I don't want his skin to become dry).
> 
> I'm pretty sure I'm allergic (I've started developing hives if I don't bathe him enough). It's nothing that I can't handle though ^_^ I'm sure you could find a way to get around it


Yep, my hands and forearms burn/itch once I hold Layla, and it's more severe if she pokes me with her quills. Unfortunately giving her a bath doesnt make a difference in my reaction. I've also noticed the hives whether or not she's just been bathed. That being said... looks like I have a hedgie allergy!

Good idea with the gloves, although I dont want to think about not touching her and holding her with my bare hands. I think what I'll do for the next few weeks is make sure that the only bare skin showing is my hands (which means no holding her with a T shirt on for a while...  ), and then try to put her down if she starts squirming, since I get a much more severe reaction when her quills actually poke me, as opposed to them just brushing against me.


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## lmashbri6983 (May 29, 2009)

Oh and one other question...
With allergies like this, is it possible to also get irritated from other things that Layla has touched / that have her scent/oils/whatever on them? For instance her favorite blanket that she always cuddles in with me - I dont know if it's just my imagination or if I really do start itching sometimes if my bare legs/arms touch certain parts of the blanket that's she's recently been on? If allergies do work like that then I'll just have to wash her blanket more often. Hmm.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

lmashbri6983 said:


> Oh and one other question...
> With allergies like this, is it possible to also get irritated from other things that Layla has touched / that have her scent/oils/whatever on them? For instance her favorite blanket that she always cuddles in with me - I dont know if it's just my imagination or if I really do start itching sometimes if my bare legs/arms touch certain parts of the blanket that's she's recently been on? If allergies do work like that then I'll just have to wash her blanket more often. Hmm.


It can certainly happen if she gets any saliva or dander on it and you are allergic to her.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Yes anything that she has touched can cause you to react. Do you use liners? If not, sometimes the allergy is to the bedding and not the actual hedgehog. 

I suggest you give her fresh liners daily and use a clean cloth daily to hold her. Yes it makes for a lot of laundry but it may make a difference in your reaction. Use vinegar in the rinse water to not only cut the soap residue but it also helps with any remaining allergens. 

Fleece is fine for liners but I personally prefer using flannel baby receiving blankets to hold them with. This may sound odd, but my boy Smokey whom I was allergic too, his fleece bothered me more than flannel. 

Keep a damp washcloth or baby wipes handy to wipe your hands and exposed areas off while you are playing with her. 

My Smokey gave me respiratory issues but as long as I cleaned his cage and litter box daily he didn't bother me. It was his urine that affected me and thankfully he used his box with a paper towel in it to pee on. Poop he wasn't quite so trained about. :lol: I have a few that give me minor hives and often it happens more when they need a bath. 

Do you have any other allergies? I know of people who have wheat, corn, etc allergies and changing the food to one that didn't contain what they were allergic to ended the reaction.


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## lmashbri6983 (May 29, 2009)

Nancy said:


> Yes anything that she has touched can cause you to react. Do you use liners? If not, sometimes the allergy is to the bedding and not the actual hedgehog.
> 
> I suggest you give her fresh liners daily and use a clean cloth daily to hold her. Yes it makes for a lot of laundry but it may make a difference in your reaction. Use vinegar in the rinse water to not only cut the soap residue but it also helps with any remaining allergens.
> 
> ...


Yes I use fleece liners. I've also been playing around with her litter box lately, trying to figure out what works best. A few months ago I had switched to Yesterday's News and for the most part that worked fine, although sometimes I'd wake up to find paper pellets ALL over her cage :roll: , then recently after getting her the CSW with the black litter pan it comes with, the newspaper pellets seemed to jump out of that litter box 10 times more than the one I had before, so I started using paper towels. I doubt that has anything to do with it, but right now I'm to the point where I'm noting anything and everything that I'm doing.

I doubt I'm allergic to her pee or poo, since I've let her and her dirty paws run all over me and havent gotten any worse of a reaction than if I just pet her quills a little.

I'm not allergic to wheat or corn or anything, but do have slight allergies to a few fruits. Other than that just penicillin.

Good ideas about changing liners and using clean cloths to hold her - I think those should help out. I'm hoping that the allergic reaction will be minimum now that I'm trying my best!


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## Amy Rose (Jul 13, 2015)

This happens to me too but i do not get red marks of hives it just burns/itches I've had my hedgehog for a couple weeks now almost a month and it has progressively gotten worse I'm pretty sure its allergies or it could be the skin reacting in an odd way beacues the skin might not be used of he quills. I dont know!


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