# Staph



## JadeJackson22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Hi.
I recently have been diagnosed with having a staph infection on my legs and I am worried about my hedgehog. 
She's been itching quiet a lot in the past two weeks but theres really no other signs. No quills have fallen out and there is no sores or scabs. I did the whole mite test with a black cloth and nothing. 
I does seem like she has staph on her but it's just not getting bad?

I would like to know if theres anything I can do for her to help kill the bacteria. Like, would bathing her with baby shampoo help? I have given her a bath three days ago but I only used a little bit of oil thinking it might have been dry skin.


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Let me just give a disclaimer by saying my only experience with MRSA is in humans when I was an MA. It's HIGHLY contagious between humans, but I don't know about animals. In my opinion, you should take your hedgie to the vet and get a professional diagnosis-- he'll be able to run an actual test to see if that's what's going on, and if it's MRSA, he'll be able to help you figure out a plan of attack to treat it. I found this site about MRSA (aka staph) in animals: http://tahilla.typepad.com/petsmrsa . Maybe it might be of some assistance? Again, I have no experience with animals having MRSA, not even in my vet tech-ing days, so I can't be of much help. I just know that MRSA is very painful for humans (I'm so sorry you have it!! No fun!!), and I suspect it could cause some very serious problems for such a small animal, so in my opinion it's best not to take any risks and to just take your hedgie in to the vet. Be sure to tell him your concerns over the phone before you come in though, so that he and his techs are prepared (ie, they would be extra careful to handle her with gloves so as not to possibly pass it on to other animals). Your vet would know best in this situation. My concern would be that if the hedgie has MRSA, it's an infection that's not likely to go away with baby shampoo, and taking her in to get some treatment for her would be your safest bet. Even if she doesn't turn out to have it, the vet will be able to answer questions for you that online advice probably couldn't answer. Best of luck, both to your hedgie and yourself!


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## JadeJackson22 (Apr 6, 2012)

Thank you so much for the reply and website!
Ill see what I can do for my hedgie.


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