# Scratching -- Should I be concerned?



## sgt.floydpepper (Jun 4, 2010)

I just brought my baby girl home a week ago. She's 9 weeks old. I've noticed her scratching a good amount in the last few weeks. When she's exploring or on my lap chilling with me, it seems like she's scratching every 4-5 minutes. I'm hoping that it's just normal behavior or related to her quilling, but should I be worried about *mites*? Are there any other symptoms I can look for to be sure mites aren't causing this?


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

I don't have the best information on this subject, I know one method is to get the hedgehog on its back (balled up probably) on a black *shirt* and kind of lightly shake them, LIGHTLY to get some skin/dander or whatever to fall off, and then holding the shirt under the light and seeing if there is some movement. I've never tried it and its hard to see tiny little things moving.

Hedgehogs do scratch in general from what I've read when they first wake up, kind of like grooming themselves to rid 'bed head' style hair, but it can also be a sign of just dry skin and whatnot.

One other thing I read is how the hedgehog is scratching. If its just a general moderate slow scratch, its probably nothing. If they're scratching fast and kind of furious, then its probably mites.

Someone else with more experience will chime in, I'm not sure if your girl is too young for revolution yet or not but look in the Health Section under 'Revolution Dose' with how to do it, either your vet can provide you with it or it is available online from various sites. But as said, my experience with mites is very limited, so listen to the others (heh).

Oh, and quilling is probably a big reason for scratching, its not a fun time for the hedgehog, think of having all these sharp quills coming up out of your skin, makes me scratchy just thinking about it.

And if anything, you could give your hedgehog an oatmeal bath, you use natural oatmeal and put it into a sock, setup their bath (sink or tube with maybe 1, 1.5 inches of water, enough that they get wet but can touch bottom) and let the sock oatmeal sock soak in the water for a few before putting the hedgehog in.

As said, the more experienced owners will chime in.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Er...Puffers? I think you typo'd shirt and the forum censored it. xD


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## sgt.floydpepper (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks Puffers; I'll try the black shirt method and see if there are any visible mites. Are there any other owners out there with similar experiences? I'd love to get as many opinions as possible.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

There is no way to 100% know that there are no mites. Skin scrapes at vets can give false negatives. 

Try giving an oatmeal bath to ease the itchiness. If quill coat becomes sparse, maybe some bald spots, then a vet visit would be in order, and probably precaution treatment with Revolution. If you see crusty buildup, then again, vet visit and Revolution treatment. 

You can try supplementing her food with flax oil capsules, usually 1 capsule every 3-4 days to start, then as skin gets better, you can ease off to 1/week. 

The flax oil can also be used in an oil rinse after the bath, for extra moisturizer. 

Side note... not all hedgies like the taste of flax, to test on a kibble first and offer, before coating entire bowl of food with flax.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Yeah...shirt. Heh, my keyboard was made when Bill Clinton was president.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

That typo had me stumped for quite awhile. hahahahaa what the heck were you putting your hedgie on to? ohhhhh shirt!! 

Thanks for the grin


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

CLINTON? My god, how long ago was that? (Being Canadian and not really interested in politics, I have no idea.)

Also, Calypso is BEAUTIFUL. Lovely picture, too, I love the lighting effect. <3 Pretty baby.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Clinton was elected in 1993 and served til 2001


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## sgt.floydpepper (Jun 4, 2010)

I used a black shirt to collect whatever flakes came off of her back. A good amount came off, but it as far as I could tell it was all dead skin. I looked at it under a bright light and none of the specks moved at all. I'll try giving her an oatmeal bath to help with her dry skin and hope it helps. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good guide to preparing and giving oatmeal baths :?: Any other ideas to treating dry skin would be appreciated as well.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

She is so beautiful!


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