# Red Itchy bumps from where Hedgie's Quills touch me - hives?



## lmashbri6983

Hi All,
I've had my hedgie for a while now, but within the past 2 weeks or so I've noticed that when she crawls / nests / sleeps and her quills poke my bare skin, I'm getting what looks like a rash or hives. I get red itchy bumps that if I scratch them they start to look more like hives, more whitish and poofy. Is it possible to suddenly have an allergic reaction to an animal? I'm confused because I havent changed any of her surroundings, and she hasn't gotten into anything recently. I'm thinking that I'm allergic to something that's on her quills but I dont see how anything 'new' could be on her quills. She self annoints sometimes, is it possible her saliva is causing this?
I'd love any tips or insight, because I love to hold and play with her but lately have had to wear long sleeves and not let her near my hands due to this irritating 'rash' I get.

Thanks!


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## Nebular

I sometimes get little red itchy bumps on my arms as well if Norman pokes them with his spines or digs in with his nails to climb. I'm not sure if it's quite the same as what you're getting, but I've found that just washing the area with plain ol' soap and water clears it up pretty quickly and makes the itchiness go away instantly.


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## Nebular

I suppose I should also mention, to help put things in some context, that I have rather fair skin, burn easily, and usually have a reaction to any sort of cosmetic product. :roll:


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## Judi

My skin is like that and so is my daughter's. We both used to get little red bumps when we held the hedgies, but that quit happening after a month or so. Now I only get red bumps if a hedgie decides to hang out in my shirt for a while.

Allergies are supposed to get worse with repeated exposure, though, so maybe that's why you're suddenly having the reaction and didn't before.


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## nibletsmom

I am also fair skinned and pretty sensitive to most things. I also get the same reaction when Niblet's quills touch my bare skin. I get little red bumps that itch and burn like fire. I too, like Nebular said, wash the area with plain soap and water and I can see/feel a difference in it after that. If it is still a little itchy, then i put some Cortisone cream on it.

I am a nurse and for many months have considered the reason that this is happening. My best guess is that when his quills touch my skin that they penetrate my skin which sets off a release of histamine and the inflammatory process. Who knows if that is exactly accurate but that is my best guess. I believe that it is just the skin/body's reaction to being punctured as opposed to an actual allergic reaction.

Either way....I would rather wear long sleeves and/or wash my arms and apply cortisone cream than get rid of my Niblet. So that is what I will do.


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## lmashbri6983

Hmm, I hope I'm not actually developing an allergy to hedgies.  I've always gotten small red bumps whenever Layla's quills would poke me, but I had never had a problem with them itching. They'd just be there for an hour or two and eventually just disappear. These newer symptoms seem a little different and needless to say, more like an alergic reaction... I'm curious to hear if anyone else has had this happen and what they've done or what info they know about it.


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## Eotheod

The big thing to know with allergic reactions is that they don't happen the first time you are exposed to the allergen. An allergic reaction can happen the second or 304863586794568732nd time you are exposed to an allergen. Allergic reactions are the body overreacting to a relatively harmless thing, but the body has to learn to notice the allergen first. Kind of like if you and a friend were sitting around and a house fly flew by. Your friend looks at you and says, "Hey, what was that??". You explain what it was and what you know of flies. Your friend goes, "Oh, huh never seen one of those before." You both go on about your day. The next day, you and your friend see a fly again and this time, your friend yells, "OMG EWW A FLY! DIE!!!!", breaks out a machine gun and begins chasing the fly, firing at random. 

It can be harder than it seems to decide what you are reacting to, but the most likely culprits are probably either the hedgie herself, trace amounts of urine/feces on her quills, or if she has a mites you might react to the mites. Talk to your doctor about the reaction, see if he/she thinks it is indeed an allergic reaction. See how you react after she is freshly bathed.


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## nibletsmom

When is the last time you bathed her??

I know that my bumps sometimes get worse the longer it has been since Niblet has had a bath.
I would say that if this is indeed an allergic reaction then it would be to something that is already on her quills and not to the hedgehog herself.

Try giving her a bath and using a soft bristle toothbrush on her quills with some Aveeno soap and see if that helps.


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## Eotheod

nibletsmom said:


> I am also fair skinned and pretty sensitive to most things. I also get the same reaction when Niblet's quills touch my bare skin. I get little red bumps that itch and burn like fire. I too, like Nebular said, wash the area with plain soap and water and I can see/feel a difference in it after that. If it is still a little itchy, then i put some Cortisone cream on it.
> 
> I am a nurse and for many months have considered the reason that this is happening. My best guess is that when his quills touch my skin that they penetrate my skin which sets off a release of histamine and the inflammatory process. Who knows if that is exactly accurate but that is my best guess. I believe that it is just the skin/body's reaction to being punctured as opposed to an actual allergic reaction.
> 
> Either way....I would rather wear long sleeves and/or wash my arms and apply cortisone cream than get rid of my Niblet. So that is what I will do.


Nurses FTW!  I'm a new grad myself. 
Excellent advice. For the first month, I didn't react to my hedgie at all. Now I occasionally get light red bumps myself. I've noticed it happens when I get jabbed harder by her quills, light presses don't do it. The longer it has been since she had a bath/the dirtier she is, the more likely I am to react. I'm fairly positive I'm having inflammatory reactions to micro punctures myself. Soap and water clean the bumps up post haste.


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## lmashbri6983

I gave her a full bath about 2 1/2 weeks ago, pretty soon she'll be due for another one but I really try to avoid overbathing because she has such dry skin. Sometime within the next few days I'll give her another full bath with my Aveeno and toothbrush and see if that helps. Until then I'll just try to wear long sleeves and not have any bare skin showing wherever she decides to roam...


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## shaelikestaquitos

lmashbri6983 said:


> I gave her a full bath about 2 1/2 weeks ago, pretty soon she'll be due for another one but I really try to avoid overbathing because she has such dry skin. Sometime within the next few days I'll give her another full bath with my Aveeno and toothbrush and see if that helps. Until then I'll just try to wear long sleeves and not have any bare skin showing wherever she decides to roam...


I have to bathe Kashi every 3 weeks or so or else when I handle him I get hive-type things that burn and itch as well. Recently I was afraid I was developing allergies to him, but after I gave him a bath it got better... so maybe I do have allergies but it's not to a point where I have to give him up. He's staying with me, even if my hands itch and burn after I handle him ;D


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## Nebular

Makes me wonder if it's nothing more than a reaction to their saliva and urine (you know there has to be some getting on them when they go in their wheel then continue to run). I get the same sort of itchiness when he occasionally bites. Soap, water, Polysporin, itch gone. Allergy or not, the little bugger isn't going anywhere unless I can't breath.


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## Bri

Okay so i see this post is old and hopefully some one can answer my question .. i am too having the same problem .. But we've only had our hedgie for about a week now and the moment i held him i started getting tiny bumps all over the palm of my hand and they itch really bad .. Not sure if this is caused by his quills or something else .. The bumps haven't exactly gone away but i suppose if it's from the quills then that's because i'm holding him every day so he will get use too me .. i'm afraid too put any creams on my hands cause i'm pregnant atm so i don't want anything that will soak into my blood stream that could affect my baby girl ! We haven't bathed him yet cause he is still a young one (not sure how old they can be too bathe them) and we haven't had him but a week mayb .. Any help of wuts causing these aggravating itchy bumps on my hands and how too make it stop would help me a lot ! Cause i'm not getting rid of my hedgie !


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## Bri

Okay so i see this post is old but hopefully some one could help me and post on this soon .. So i too have small bumps on the palms of my hand that itch like crazy .. But this has happened too me since the first day we got our little hedgie ! We have only had him for about a week now , so we are new hedgie owners .. Strange thing is , this only happens too me and not my fiance .. The palms of my hands itch like crazy at times and really haven't gone away cause i'm holding him everyday so he will get use too me .. Is it his quills causing this ? And i'm not really sure on what too doo about cause i'm currently 7 months pregnant so i don't wanna put any creams on my hands that can cause any problems too my baby girl .. The bumps don't itch all the time , but they doo every now and then .. and wen i itch them they get worse .. Wen i stop itching them for awhile they aren't really visable anymore or itch that often ... But they itch every now and then ! And wen i doo itch them they kinda burn .. There not bllisters and my skin don't peal off , there jus small little bumps all over the palm of my hand that itch really bad ! any suggestions of wut too do too make them go away and ease the itchiness ?


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## Van

Clover's quills do the same thing to me. Its the same reaction I get after trimming our pine trees. So far I think its just a natural reaction for skin to do that. I just wash it thoroughly and use plain lotion and it always helps with the itching


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## gracefulchaos01

That does sound like a straight up allergic reaction, Bri. But you have options. Start with giving your little hedgie a bath. You may be reacting to the waste that is stuck to his fur and quills. If this is the case, you will need to make sure he is as clean as he can be when you hold him. Also you can bond with him through fleece. Holding him in fleece during bonding time would protect your skin from whatever allergens he is carrying and still allow you to spend quality time with your pokey baby. I have to do this with Gabriel and it hasn't been a deterrent to our relationship at all. Later, after pregnancy, depending on the circumstances you might want to try an oral allergy medication and see how that works for you. Some people have good results with it. Others don't. You just have to try.


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## kageri

Small animal allergies are usually to urine and then saliva. Hedgehog quills pushing things into the skin probably makes it worse than usual allergies to these things. Keeping the cage dry of urine and giving baths when possible, especially after anointing, should help. We start bathing hedgehogs when they are weaned at 8 weeks but infrequently at first. I find that after a reaction cold water and dawn dish soap works well but I don't get hives. The poked areas burn and anything that goes too deep to wash off causes a little blister that itches like crazy for a day or 2.


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