# quill loss concern



## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

Hello, my hedgie Mai has recently been losing about 5-8 quills a day. They all have the bulb at the end. She seems normals and I don't see anything physically wrong with her. She still runs on her wheel and eats like normal. She just loses a few quills a day. She is about 8 months old. Is this quill loss normal or should I bring her to a vet?


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## leaveittoweaver (Sep 25, 2010)

How old is she? She could be quilling.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I have heard of hedgehogs quilling at around 1 year, which isn't very common, but not 8 months. I'm definitely not an expert, though...

Does Mai have dry, flaky skin?

I know a good way to check for mites is to leave a black shirt in with the hedgehog and then check for tiny white spots after a while. The fact that the quills have the little bulb at the end kind of points me away from mites, though. 

I guess I would say try the black shirt thing, keep an eye on Mai's skin, maybe give her an Aveeno colloidal oatmeal bath, and if there isn't an improvement, take her to the vet.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2011)

hanhan27 said:


> I have heard of hedgehogs quilling at around 1 year, which isn't very common, but not 8 months. I'm definitely not an expert, though...
> 
> Does Mai have dry, flaky skin?
> 
> ...


The bulbs mean nothing, mites can still be the cause use a magnifying glass and search the skin for moving white dots if your hedgehog is comfortable with you like my girls are.

Quilling can happen at 8 months the 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 1 year is a guideline but every hedgie is different think of quilling like puberty some hit it early, others on time, some late, and others is small growth spurts over time. In that sense it can seem a bit more likely.

Either way pay close attention and then if you think its mites get revolution from you Vet


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> The bulbs mean nothing, mites can still be the cause use a magnifying glass and search the skin for moving white dots if your hedgehog is comfortable with you like my girls are.


Well... according to Nancy, the bulb isn't a definitive answer, but if there isn't one, it's a good indicator of mites.

But, whatever you say.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2011)

hanhan27 said:


> TWCOGAR said:
> 
> 
> > The bulbs mean nothing, mites can still be the cause use a magnifying glass and search the skin for moving white dots if your hedgehog is comfortable with you like my girls are.
> ...


Nancy was the one who corrected me that the bulb does not mean there are no mites in a different topic

This Topic



Nancy said:


> TWCOGAR said:
> 
> 
> > Examine the quills to you see a small white tip bulb? If so she is quilling, for dry skin get some flax seed oil and apply a few drops on her to help moisturize her skin. If there are no bulbs then the quill lose is not due to quilling and is likely mites and you should seek a vet.
> ...


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Yes. And the reason I said that the bulb makes me think it isn't mites is because she said

"If there is no bulb then chances are good it's mites"

Chances are good. It isn't a definitive sign, as I previously stated, but it's a _good indicator_.

I understand correcting people when they are making statements about true/false situations, but what's the point in trying to correct someone when they are merely making observations and stating opinions? I never said that because there's a bulb, there's no mites. I simply said that in my non-expert opinion, because of Nancy saying no bulb = good chances of mites, that I don't think it would be mites.

:roll:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

You won't know for sure if it's mites unless she sees a vet.

How long has this been going on?
Is she scratching? Or uncomfortable in any way you can see?
How's PEW? Poop Eating Wheeling?
Is she losing hair/fur as well? Or just quills?

I agree: we need to make sure we are clear that we are giving our OPINIONS...there are no yes/no answers for hedgies...we simply don't know enough about them.


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

Hi guys, thanks for your replies. I notice only very very little dandruff from mai but no dry flaky skin, and only on her sleeping shirt. I did bring the shirt out and used a high powered magnifying glass to look at every white speck but they all turned out to be dandruff. She already went through one quilling when she was very young.



MissC said:


> You won't know for sure if it's mites unless she sees a vet.
> 
> How long has this been going on?
> Is she scratching? Or uncomfortable in any way you can see?
> ...


It's been going on for about 2 weeks. When I bring her out she doesn't scratch more than normal or sometimes not at all. Her poop is solid brown and eats a ton everynight. She's running a lot everynight (I have an odometer on her wheel). She used to shed a little bit of hair (like a cat) when she first started losing quills but not alot. But now I hardly see any hair/fur loss and it's just the quills.


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2011)

Exactly i meant no disrespect but just like in a previous topic Nancy posted after me as I did now to clearify that we just don't know with hedgehogs and my motto with hedgehogs is its better safe then sorry. I know words without tone or diction can easily get interpreted which was not the case and point of what I did 

I just want the OP to keep all perspectives in mind, there are a lot of people out there who thing if the bulb is there then you shouldn't worry but that isn't always the case and I wanted to express that.

I apologize if I came across inappropriately as I am very passionate but been a mediator for most of my career

Did you see any new quills coming in?


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

TWCOGAR said:


> Did you see any new quills coming in?


Nope not really. I don't even notice any quills missing. I rummaged through her quills but I didn't notice any missing quills or bald spots.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

What are you feeding her? 

According to my vet - and this kinda makes sense to me - if it's not quilling, dry skin, mites or some other external parasite, quill loss is usually caused by diet. Snarf seemed to have a sensitivity to salmon oil, for example, a very common ingredient in catfood.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

I don't think anyone was disrespectful, and the topic was clarified by everyone and kept on track on mites as should be.


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

MissC said:


> What are you feeding her?


I think her main cat food is Purina cat chow for indoor cats. I also feed her plain boiled chicken from time to time and 2-3 whiskas temptations (turkey) treats a day.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Cat Chow is basically crap:

Corn meal, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), powdered cellulose, animal liver flavor, soybean hulls, malt extract, calcium carbonate, phosphoric acid, salt, choline chloride, potassium chloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, parsley flakes, niacin, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. I-4500

The first five ingredients are pretty much nutrient-free, then it just goes downhill from there.

This is the first thing I would change...very gradually... 

Again: A vet appointment is necessary to rule out mites and other internal/external parasites/bacteria.


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2011)

MissC is right and I would also add some insects to that diet. I know its gross to some but they need substance from insects to be healthy and strong, crickets are lower in fat if they will take to that. A lot of people purchase live bugs and then freeze them so they die and are preserved and then defrost them for treat time


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## Chippymunk (May 24, 2011)

Ah! I will try changing her cat food then. Which cat food would be good? My brother has a chameleon so he has lots of mealworms and crickets but I tried many times to feed it to Mai but she just won't eat them :? I also tried cutting them up but she just sniffs it and walks away. I will try freezing them to see if that works!


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2011)

Chippymunk said:


> Ah! I will try changing her cat food then. Which cat food would be good? My brother has a chameleon so he has lots of mealworms and crickets but I tried many times to feed it to Mai but she just won't eat them :? I also tried cutting them up but she just sniffs it and walks away. I will try freezing them to see if that works!


Sometimes hedgehogs don't get it for some reason and take forever before realize mmmm this will be tasty lol least my girls have been like that 

Let us know how your hedgehog's is doing


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