# change in temper and quill loss



## w0ahitssam (Jun 13, 2010)

hi so im new to HHC and i got my hedgehog, knuckles, about a month and a half ago. so i know i def should have asked the guy how old knuckles was, but i was so excited on getting her that the question slipped my mind. when i first got knuckles she was as sweet as anything, anyone could pick her up she tempted to cuddle with anyone to was holding her. and about two weeks ago my older sister went on vacation and i watched her two big dogs and they were a handful, and i gave knuckles as much attention as i possible could. after they left i went to go play with knuckles and she was completely shy got defensive as soon as my hand even went in her cage. the past two weeks ive been trying to play with her more and more but it seems her temper isnt going back to how it was
on top of this knuckles has been losing quills. after every time i play with her or shes walking around i have to look for her quills chillin on my bed or on my floor being ie laid on them before and ive also stepped on them before and they hurt a LOT lol. knuckles wasnt a baby baby when i got her and shes almost twice the size from a month ago. i was wondering if anyone know anything about this or has heard of anything like this? 

also on her lower back she was a small cut inbetween her quills, i noticed it the other day and didnt think much of it, then today when i brought her over my boyfriends house she had a patch of blood and it kinda worried me bc i havent seen her bleed before, esp from just being handled. 


any help would be much appreciated, thank you


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Sounds like she may be quilling,not sure about the blood though. Since you have just got her a Vet wellness visit would be a great idea  
Welcome to HHC


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

He beat me to it; Larry's got you covered. 
Welcome to HHC! :mrgreen:


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Welcome to HHC 

Yeah like Larry said, it might be that she's just quilling. When I got my hedgehog he was already starting his quilling (I picked him up when he was 6 and a half weeks old), and he is actually going through his second quilling right now (he's almost 9 weeks now). He is definitely quite huffy at the moment, but I'm hoping that it will pass and he will be sweeter ^-^ I mean, he isn't so bad, but he can be pretty grumpy :lol:


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

If it's not quilling, it could also be stress.

The change with the dogs. Perhaps if there were barking, general noises that your hedgie hasn't heard before. Were the dogs able to get into the room with the hedgie? If so, perhaps the smells of the dogs can trigger stress as well. 

With stress comes quill loss as well.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

How many quills is she losing? Are there bald patches?


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Did you wash your hands after handling the dogs?


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## w0ahitssam (Jun 13, 2010)

since the dogs were big my mom made me keep them
in my room, so knuckles stayed in my sisters room. the dogs weren't to bad with barking and they never saw her.I also have a bischon who can be a little yapper but she doesn't bother with knuckles since when I
was introduceing them knuckles got scared and poked her in the nose.

I always wash my hands before I handle knuckles, so I don't have the smell of anything else on my hands and she knows it's me.

she doesn't really have blad spots but it seems to be a few every time I pick her up and sometimes when shes huffing a few will got flying off of her if that makes sense. 

i could post a picture of her if maybe anyone could help me with her age and if she is suppose to be quilling or not ? 

I live in nj and hedgehogs are not a common pet so I've been looking around seeing if any vets know anything on them and most don't /:


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

If they fly off when she's huffing, it almost sounds like malnutrition... what are you feeding him right now?

Because I have never had my Kashi's quills fall off when he huffs, but they have flown off him when he was scratching himself.

Try finding an exotic specialty vet (there's a list of vets on this forum). There should be at least one around your area, and call and ask about it, maybe.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> If they fly off when she's huffing, it almost sounds like malnutrition... what are you feeding him right now?
> 
> Because I have never had my Kashi's quills fall off when he huffs, but they have flown off him when he was scratching himself.
> 
> Try finding an exotic specialty vet (there's a list of vets on this forum). There should be at least one around your area, and call and ask about it, maybe.


Loosing quills for *any reason* and quills can fly off with ANY movement including huffing, walking, shaking, scratching, being touched

w0ahitssam It could be a stress reaction to the dogs or possibly mites. She might also be quilling since you say she has doubled in size since you got her. Perhaps she was younger than you think.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Nancy said:


> shaelikestaquitos said:
> 
> 
> > If they fly off when she's huffing, it almost sounds like malnutrition... what are you feeding him right now?
> ...


Oooooh I did not know that, I just figured that they wouldn't be so... loosely attached (I guess?) to the skin? But I guess that makes sense
Thanks for correcting me, Nancy  I learned something new today


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## w0ahitssam (Jun 13, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos - shes on "nutrient rich hedgehog diet ultra blend select" along with a few hedgehog treats here and there, she also gets a scramble egg once a week with "hedgehog booster vitamin supplement" and "calcium supplement" sprinkled on top. or sometimes in the middle of the week ill sprinkle them both on her food 

nancy- is there any signs of mites i could tell? now im nervous /:


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Hedgehog ultra blend select is not a good food. If you look at the ingredients, its Chicken by-product, which is what they can't sell for human consumption ie: beaks, feet, bones, feathers, and chicken fat...there's no real meat in it. The next two ingredients are corn...which hedgehogs can't digest. Check out the Dry Cat food list that's under the nutrition section for a selection of good foods for hedgies.

The hedgehog booster isn't much better, mainly corn and sugars, and hedgehogs don't require extra calcium either. The only time extra calcium is given is a new mom nursing babies.

Ultra-Blend Select
Ingredients: Poultry By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, and Citric Acid), Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Digest, Wheat Flour, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Taurine, Iron Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide (Iodine Supplement), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Copper Proteinate, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K activity), and Sodium Selenite.


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## w0ahitssam (Jun 13, 2010)

when going to pick out hedgehog food and etc.. the lady was the owner of 7 hedgehogs, and told me that was the best good and that the vitamins and calcium was needed to make sure the hedgehog stayed healthy. theres been a few people that told me cat food is not good for hedgehogs and can cause server liver problems and digestive problems. 

i guess the information i got was wrong and i have a lot of research to do tonight. :/


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

> i guess the information i got was wrong and i have a lot of research to do tonight. :/


Yes, unfortunately. :shock: All those poor hedgies, being kept so horribly... Thanks Nikki for posting the food ingredients, it refreshed my memory of how absolutely disgusting those foods are.


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## w0ahitssam (Jun 13, 2010)

LizardGirl said:


> > Yes, unfortunately. :shock: All those poor hedgies, being kept so horribly... Thanks Nikki for posting the food ingredients, it refreshed my memory of how absolutely disgusting those foods are.


wow I'm really glad I found this site, and thanks everyone
who has been helping me, I feel horrible for my hedgie /: but it soon be eatting a lot better !


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Don't feel horrible, you're here trying to learn and that's the important thing. You were just doing what you thought was best for your baby.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

The reason that people think that cat food causes liver problems is because they are feeding the wrong cat food. Food too high in protein can cause problems and make existing conditions worse. However it's still much worse for the digestive system to have things than cannot be digested at all and have no nutrients in them.


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