# Quill loss, Yellow skin



## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I just gave Sonic a bath and four quills came out on my hand and in the water. I don't know if hedgehogs can lose quills because of stress, but Sonic was recently moved to the living room in my house to avoid the fumes from me painting my room.

When I turned him over, I saw that the skin on Sonic's belly was a yellowish color. I'm sure he gets exercise every night and he doesn't look like he is overweight.

Does anyone have an idea as to what might be going on?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

The yellow fur/skin is probably from pee and boy time. :| The quill loss could be from a number of things, stress being one. Keep a close on him for scratching and such incase of mites. How old is he, he could also being started to quill. Some others should be through soon with more help than I can give.


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I did wash him, so I don't know what the yellow skin is from. It's still there even after the bath.

And Sonic is a little over two years old. Definitely too old to quill. I do see him scratch so its possible he could have mites. I know we have plenty of fleas in our house..


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Revolution for kittens is great for fleas and mites if that's the case. Only like 10-15 bucks from the vet. Nancy has a sticky in the health section on dosage and stuff.  
Is the yellow area like matted fur to the belly?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

What does Sonic live on? Is there anything yellow in his cage? Could the coloring you see be staining? Is it his entire stomach or more localized under his armpits?

Do you feed a lot of yellow fruits/vegetables, like sweet potatoes, carrots or squash? 

If his skin is truly yellow, then he needs to see a veterinarian soon. Yellowing can be a symptom of liver damage. We used to see it a lot when fatty liver disease was fairly common. Yellowing can also be from fat, typically they are obese when this happens.

Do you have a picture you could share?


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I will try to get Revolution. I know where vets are in my area.
The yellow is on his skin, not the fur. The fur itself is white.
I have a few pictures of it but I'm not quite sure how to put them on this website.
I don't feed Sonic any vegetables, just his hedgehog food (Pretty Pets) and mealworms for treats.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

My first thought when I read 'yellow skin' was liver issues. I would get to a vet ASAP.


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

Also it doesn't seem to be just under the armpits. It's on his belly too.
I will try to get to a vet but I'm not sure if anyone in my area is good with hedgehogs.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

You could check the vet listings here on HHC or start a new post asking for recommendations.


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I looked at vet listings on the Hedgehog Welfare Society website a while back and we actually went to one of the vets I saw on the website for our hamster and rabbit. I can try to go to them but my mom said they weren't much help for our rabbit.

And can a hedgehog still have fatty liver disease even if it isn't obese?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

OK a couple of comments.... if there is no chance this is staining, vet and vet soon. If this yellowing is because of a liver problem, it can turn deadly quickly. FLD is extremely hard to treat, and we lost a lot of hedgehogs due to it early in the history of pet hedgehogs. While it usually happens in obese animals, it can happen otherwise... it just isn't common. It can happen with animals that suddenly go off there food for several days. 

Its better to play it safe and see a vet to rule out liver problems.

Typically we would see hedgehogs start to show yellowing, then they would start to be less active, and would start to eat less, until they stopped eating. It was commonplace because we were not feeding the right foods, mostly we were feeding too high of fat foods, but it can also be caused by poor quality foods too. You state you are feeding pretty pets. Pretty pets is not considered to be a good food for hedgehogs. It is full of low quality ingredients and fillers.


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I will make sure I go to the vet as soon as I can. I'm pretty worried because I don't take Sonic off of the food he is eating and he is always very active. I check his food bowl every day and he eats most of the food I put in there.
What food should I give my hedgehog that I can find easily, like in Walmart?


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Got a petco or petsmart around? You are more likely to find a good food in them than in walmart. Both of these petstores are carrying higher quality foods lately. Take a look through the diet section, there is a sticky at the top that gives a listing of foods. You'll find most of us prefer the higher quality cat foods to hedgehog food. Most of the hedgehog foods on the market just are not good. Either they contain harmful items (like raisins) or are made from low quality ingredients. 

See a vet and we'll keep our quills crossed here that my concerns are unfounded and the yellowing is something silly. If the vet rules out liver problems, then slowly start to switch the diet. Try to go slow, but I'll be honest with you, the hedgehogs who have come to me as rescues eating Pretty Pets won't touch it once offered the foods I feed.


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## speedyhedgie95 (Feb 21, 2011)

I'll look into the cat foods and see if I can order some online. One time I went to the pet store looking for hedgehog food and they didn't have any so the girl there gave me a mix of Pretty Pets and cat food that they fed the hedgehogs there. I know Sonic didn't touch the Pretty Pets until he had eaten every last crumb of the cat food. It can't be too hard to get him off of it


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