# could i be sick from my hedgehog? please help!!



## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

i was wondering if hedgehogs could carry sickness and get me sick. If, not can i get sick from picking up his poop with a tissue or cleaning his cage? I have some symptoms that i want to rule out as possibly being from my hedgie.
-i have a very sudden horrible soar throat. [woke up with it this morning, hasnt gone away all day.]
-i have a sharp pain near the lower part of the right side if my neck on the front of my neck, and it feels puffy compared to the other side.
-on my hand i have three raised dots that get red when i touch them, they form a perfect triangle. the dots seem to be hard and sometimes itch.

please help, i am very concerned. can hedgehogs get people sick?


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

Sounds like you just have a cold to me. I probably gave it to you.  Sunday night I developed a random fever, Monday morning a sore throat and swollen glands. I went to the doctor and she said that I have a sinus infection and possibly a touch of strep throat. And all of that came out of nowhere. So the sore throat may just be from something random you got. At my college, there's a virus going around that a lot of people are catching that have similar symptoms. Since you've got some illness symptoms going on, be sure to wash your hands before you handle your hedgie so you don't pass anything on.
As for the red dots, they could be from where you're not used to handling your hedgehog. Keep an eye on them and see if they go away.
There are only a couple types of sickness that can really be transferred between humans and animals because of the differences in body temperature. Things that can live in us can't live in them because their temperatures are different than ours, and vice versa. The two that I know of are upper respiratory infections and pink eye. Quills poking the skin can make it easier for other bacteria to get into your body, though, so you should wash your hands after handling your hedgie.
Odds are you just have a random cold or some allergies going on, and your hedgehog didn't make you sick.


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## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

okay thanks a lot! maybe i'll just go to a doctor or something.


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

I suggest you go see a doctor, you probably have a cold or URI or strep.


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