# Purple feet



## adrianalozano (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm really concerned right now. I've had Harold for 2 weeks now,he's 6 months old, everything seemed normal, appart from the biting. Yesterday I took him out for a feet bath and I noticed his feet were kind of purple, it's not a dark purple is more like this purple. Since the wheel (Comfort Wheel) was practically new to him (it has been there for about 4 days), I thought it may have had something to do with his feet getting use to the wheel. Today I took him out for another foot bath and I noticed his nose was kind of reddish. I really don't know what to do or how bad is this, I feel like I did something wrong, but I don't really now what. Please help me, I'm really concerned and really nervous.


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## bmaditz (Jun 11, 2012)

Is his wheel solid plastic or made of wire???? Do you have any toys like cat balls with holes in them big enough for him to get his nose into???


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## adrianalozano (Jun 29, 2012)

His wheel is solid plastic, but it's the Comfort Wheel so it has the lines and I do not have any toys in which he could've gotten his nose into. But his hiding place is a kind of wood house and he loves lo go into the corner and start scratching before going to sleep and his nose always ends up in the exact corner. Could this be the cause?


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## bmaditz (Jun 11, 2012)

Well I'm no hedgie expert, but I'll give you what I think it is and hopefully more experienced hedgie owners will come along and add in. That wheel is absolutely fine it wouldn't be the cause of his feet issue. You said he stratches on the wood. What kind of wood is the little house made out of???? Wood really isn't recommeded to go into hedgie cages because it can harbor mites. So even if that house isn't the cause of his issues I would think about replacing it with a plastic igloo.  The wood may be irrating his little feet and nose espacially if it is cedar or pine. I'd take it out and see if there is any improvement. Sorry I couldn't help more.


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## adrianalozano (Jun 29, 2012)

Thank you for your help, I'll take it out and for the moment I'll replace it with a snuggle bag. Also I just saw his feet only the front feet have purple and the one that has more is the left one. Also they are not totally purple there are parts. I would upload a picture but he is hyperactive so I can really get him to stand still or take his feet.


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## bmaditz (Jun 11, 2012)

Hahahahaha just try your best hyperactive hedgies are hard to take pics of! Glad I could be of assitance!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Comfort wheels can actually hurt their feet a bit, with the ridges, especially if they're not used to a wheel, or if they run a lot. Not sure if that would be the cause of being purplish though. Do the feet that have purple bits seem tender or painful at all? If he's not bleeding and he doesn't seem too concerned with his feet, I think he's probably fine, but you could keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't get worse. If you're ever looking for a wheel upgrade, the Carolina Storm Wheels are the best you could buy. They're made by LarryT, a member on here, and you can find reviews in the For Sale section for both of his wheels.

For the nose being red, it might be due to sleeping in the corner, but I'm not really sure. How big is the wheel? Is there any chance his nose is rubbing on it or something while he's running? What kind of cage is he in?


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## adrianalozano (Jun 29, 2012)

Of course at first I wanted a CSW but I live in Mexico, so I actually had a hard time finding him the one he has now. I just got back from the US and that one was the best I could find because the other one was the Silent Spinner and I'd heard they could really hurt him.
His wheel is 12" and I don't really think he could be rubbing it in the wheel, at least he has never done it while I'm seeing and I'm watching him constantly. He's in an aquarium and I know is not the best at all, but he's a climber, actually when I got him he was in a cage and he climbed and fell at least 6 times in just 10 minutes, the worse part was the pet store guy was laughing at that as if it was a joke, even then without previous research I knew that wasn't right and that it could hurt him.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Wheel is definitely big enough for him...hm. If he just got a wheel then, I'm wondering if the nose came from rubbing it on the glass of his aquarium? I've heard of hedgehogs doing that before, out of boredom, if they don't have a wheel. If it doesn't clear up in the next couple days though, I would keep looking for possible causes.

Yeah, you definitely don't want him to climb! Something that you might be able to do though...Plastic bins are usually seen as a better alternative to aquariums, because you can drill holes in the sides for better ventilation. They're also lighter and easier to clean. I'm not sure whether you might be able to find them in a store near you, but two of them attached together by a 4" PVC pipe might make a great cage for him that he can't really climb well. If you're interested in checking into this option more, there's some great examples in the cage example threads - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1860 and viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71 He also could've been climbing out of boredom if he didn't have a wheel, and it's possible that he wouldn't go back to doing it now that he has one, but definitely understandable not to want to buy a cage and find out that he still likes climbing!


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## connorshogs (Mar 24, 2011)

As said shavings are not recomended but some people including my self prefer them due to the amount of hedgies I have. One of me females a week before she's due I remove her wheel and she gets a lil rub on her snout from the rubermaid running like a crazy girl I wouldn't worry about that


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## Kelsey the hedgehog (Jun 15, 2012)

does the purple look like bruises?


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## adrianalozano (Jun 29, 2012)

Not really, he has never had bruises, but for what I've heard, bruises on hedgehogs are practically the same color as in persons and this is definitely a more lighter, brighter purple. Also it doesn't have a pattern or anything, it practically looks like purple lines on his feet. I am much calmer right now because he's been wheeling through the day and I even took him to the park, everything seems to be fine, also, the redness in the nose has dissapeared.


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