# Cuts on feet



## Bertine (May 26, 2011)

Hello,
My poor little hedgehog, Maximus, ran on his wheel so much last night that he got a sore on his hind right foot! Now there are little bloody footprints all over his fleece liner. I am going to give him a bath to get all of the poop off his feet and take his wheel out of his cage to let the sore heal a bit before he can run again. I looked at his foot, and it lookes a little puffy... What is the proper treatment for a sore on their feet? I was thinking polysporn but I wasn't sure if that good for hedggies. 
Any tips?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Usually just keeping the foot clean and putting a little regular polysporin (no pain killer or maximum strength stuff) on it is usually fine. If he will tolerate his wheel being gone for a night, you could do that too, however for some hedgehogs this may not work for as they become neurotic when their wheel is taken away. Foot wounds typically heal very quickly. If it becomes red or is looking infected, a veterinary visit to get oral medication is advised.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Ouch!  Kalandra covered the important stuff. I'm just wondering what kind of wheel does Maximus use?


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## Bertine (May 26, 2011)

He has a Silent spinner. I would love to get hum a bucket wheel, but im not sure where to get them in Canada...


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

You can order one from Carolina Storm Hedgehogs. LarryT is the owner of this company and his Carolina Storm Wheels are seriously amazing. He ships to Canada! You should look into it. Highly recommended


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

Today I woke up to a bloody wheel! I have the same SilentSspinner and I am going to throw it out! My hedgie cut himself so bad it was covered in blood. Those wheels are dangerous! When I bought it (I am in Canada as well) people at the pet store highly recommended it, but I was concerned about those little holes in it, they told me not to worry. And they were wrong. Unfortunately it proved itself to be a bad product. My poor hedgie was all in blood still trying to run in it.I soaked him in a tub with lukewarm water but he is a very shy guy (he was a "rescue" and mistreated) so he has very hard time trusting people. I can't put polysporin on his feet. He just doesn't let me.
I wonder if I should do anything else to speed the healing?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Try using a q-tip to dab some on his feet. If that doesn't work, you can try putting a thin layer of polysporin on a piece of paper towel and setting him down on it so he has to walk through it. Good luck! And definitely try to upgrade to a bucket wheel from LarryT.


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

so polysporin is not toxic to hedgies??
The problem is it is impossible to get Vanya to come out of his ball...he is still in his "shell" very much and doesn't trust me yet (i think he was mishandled before i got him- he's been with me for 3 weeks now).
Is there anything i can add to his foot bath perhaps? It seems this is the only thing he enjoys the most(poor boy!)!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Plain polysporin is ok. Just don't use the pain killer or maximum strength varieties and you don't need to put much at all on it. Their feet usually heal extremely fast. Keeping them clean (which can be a challenge) is important. Keep a close eye on them and if they look like they are needing something, you will need to get a vet involved. 

I have had one that was still an angry biting machine, who if he uncurled in your hands, your fingers were in danger. He managed to break a toenail completely off and required twice daily foot cleaning and medicating. Putting ointment on his toe was a challenge. It required a lot of patience and time with a q-tip at the ready in order to get his foot treated.


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

Thank you so much! Such a great support! 
Just a quick question: would it help if I put just a tiny bit of salt in water? Or would it hurt too much? Just don't want this little guy completely lose his faith in me


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

My Hazel poked herself in the butt with a brow quill and made a bit of a sore (nothing major ). She freaked when I put Poly on so what I did was dipped her butt in lightly salted water / or wiped with wash cloth...worked just fine for us and no freak out :lol:


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## Dillyhog (Nov 16, 2011)

funny, I tried polysporin last night on Vanya's feet and he had a funny reaction to it- because of his hissy fits and rolling to a ball with no guarantee of further communication attempts from him I decided to put/paint poly on a paper towel and just park him there for a bit so he would maybe walk on it- so i did- Vanya froze after i placed him on a paper towel with poly- he just froze lol and he didn't move a bit or rolled in a ball at all- so I thought that was awesome- he couldn't walk or anything just stood in the position he landed on a paper towel. I gave him mealies so he was happy after and was even happier to ride in my hand right after.

Thank you guys for your support!
Next step is to put polysporin onto his ear.
I don't know what happened but he arrived to me with a quite a scab on his ear. It is swollen now. It looks like he maybe got into a fight? I never got to know though I asked the pet store they had no answer.


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