# How to clean off some serious gunk?



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

I am treating my new adoption, Zelda, for mites. I've given her the first dose of Revolution, and she's had a bath, but I cannot get this crusty orange goop off her quills. I put a drop of Aveeno oatmeal body wash directly on the toothbrush and tried to work it off, but no luck. 

Maybe I should try to use a little olive oil and scrub the toothbrush from side to side, rather than down the quills? What do you think?


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

A good soak in the tub and working at it with a toothbrush is probably your best bet. They never like it, but it's better to be clean! I had a rescue come in with fleece fibers packed down against his skin all over in his quills, I sat for a good hour picking out the pieces with tweezers yesterday and still am not done! You might have to work your way through all the gunk over several baths, since it can take a while.


----------



## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

A good soak and brushing with the quills seems to have worked for me in the past. I've used the aveno baby wash watered down with warm water in one of those hand soap foamers before and squirted that on a baby toothbrush to get Chloe clean when she first arrived... she had never had a bath... but did a good job keeping her feet and face clean.  

...Chole, I must admit recently I discovered she had fleece fibres jammed at the base of some of her quills! I had to soak her and pick them all out with tweezers! I feel so awful as I'm not sure how long she had that fluff there, I'd never noticed it before... it was all tan coloured the same as the base of her quills... she seems to have gotten it only from one snuggle sack... guess she really didn't like that one as she attacked it something fierce...or was trying to become one with it... not sure..


----------



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks for the tips. I gave her another bath (last one for a while, so her skin doesn't get dried out) and kept pouring little cupfuls of water down her back. When we were towel drying her, some of the gunk seemed to have come loose. I was able to pick out a few pieces with tweezers. Little by little, we'll get there!


----------



## NoDivision (Aug 29, 2010)

just think, all that bath time is forced bonding time. Boy I bet she just loooooooves you


----------



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

NoDivision said:


> just think, all that bath time is forced bonding time. Boy I bet she just loooooooves you


Oh yeah, she's crazy about bonding with me :lol:

Actually, she doesn't seem to mind baths so much. She stands pretty still, like she's enjoying the nice, warm soak. Who knows, maybe she's never had one before!


----------



## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

Oh yea I gave her bathes hehe but she didn't mind much actually shed just huff a bit


----------



## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

I think you have a way with her that I just didn't she seem to love you  it's good to know ! I loved her but I think I just didn't know how to go about properly holding a grumpy Hedgie so it was harder for me . I feel bad that I couldn't do what you can  but hopefully ill get better with grumpynesss hehe


----------



## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

What about a combination of coconut oil and baking soda (or really, any oil with baking soda)? I use it as a natural goo gone, and both items are safe for hogs... the baking soda gives a really gentle abrasiveness that could help.


----------



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Christemo said:


> What about a combination of coconut oil and baking soda (or really, any oil with baking soda)? I use it as a natural goo gone, and both items are safe for hogs... the baking soda gives a really gentle abrasiveness that could help.


Hmm. I may have to try that. Most of the gunky orange quills have been shed, she is looking much better. There is at least one quill on her head that has some fleece wrapped around it so tightly that I have not been successful at getting it picked off. The other issue is that her ears are still kind of tattered, with some kind of gunk that I haven't been able to rub off. I have put Vaseline on them, but nothing seems to work.

If you look closely at her ear in this picture, you can see the scab or whatever stuck on her ear. I kind of don't think it's a scab though, as it probably would have fallen off by now (I've had her since October).


----------



## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Zelda really is pretty!


----------



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

shetland said:


> Zelda really is pretty!


Thanks, shetland! She's a little diva, too...


----------

