# Seasonal quill/fur loss?



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I have read in a couple of old threads here that hedgehogs can have minor quill and fur loss during Spring, when the seasons change. 

Col. Mustard will be 2 years old in August. She has flannel and fleece liners in her cage and I haven't changed the soap I wash the liners with. She has Yesterday's News in the litter box and I have used it since we got her last July. I clean the cage and wheel with vinegar solution and have done so since July as well. 

Nothing has changed in her environment that could be stressing her out. During winter the temperature of her cage was a consistent 78F (she likes it a but warmer) and now it reaches 80F sometimes but usually stays around 78-79. Her food is the same. Light schedule is the same. She has been eating, drinking, pooping and wheeling normally. 

For the past couple of weeks, I've been finding a few quills (maybe 5-6) and some fur in her cage every morning no exception, and sometimes when she is out if we pet her, she will drop a couple of quills and shed some fur. I know some hedgies will lose a quill here and there and that's normal, but besides the time when she was quilling at 1 year old, it's very rare for me to find any quills in her cage. 

She is not scratching and her skin looks very healthy, not dry, flaky or crusty. She does not have any bald spots but I can't find new quills growing. 

I started thinking about a seasonal quills loss, but I'm not sure how long it usually lasts if this is 
the case? And if this is the case, will new quills grow back? Help!


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## Olympia (Aug 4, 2010)

At the end of last fall, Zoé started loosing 2 or 3 quills a day and it lasted about 2 weeks. There hadn't been any change in her environment and everything else was normal so I concluded it was the change of season. I don't know if she grew new ones because she has a lot of quills and it's really difficult to even see the skin on her back through them. If you don't see bald spots on Col. Mustard, then I thinks there's probably nothing to worry about.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

My Zoey has always lost a few quills & hairs here & there. But when I cleaned out her cage this morning & looked in her cuddle house, there were about 10 quills & quite a bit more hair. I'm not too worried yet, as I believe she has done this in the past.
Cholla has never lost may quills or hair. Go figure.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Snarf was doing the same thing a few months back. I removed anything with salmon oil in it and added SF every other night. His skin is perfect now - zero flakes and he loses maybe 10 quills a week at the most.

I do think a lot of his quill loss was a seasonal thing but I felt better after I removed the salmon oil stuff and he felt better once SF started. (Tho' it took a few weeks to see any difference.) Who knows...? :?


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## newfie_nurse (Apr 28, 2011)

I also had a similar question, so i am interested in the answers in this thread. Chloe is having more and more quill and fur loss lately ( about 20quills or more but they are totally intact). she is about 5 months old( if i can believe the pet store). She does have dry skin which I am battling with. When I took her to the vet a month ago she did not think she had mites, but didnt do a skin scraping. She has no bald patches, but does scratch a bit more at times. Could it be seasonal, or should i go back to the vet and just get a skin scraping and revolution as precaution??


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

It's been almost 3 weeks since my first post above, so I thought I'd update everyone. 

Mustard stopped shedding fur but she still loses about 10 quills/day. It's weird because I can't see any new quills growing (i check her skin every night for at least 5 minutes and haven't seen anything) but she doesn't have any bare spot on her. Her skin has never looked so good, appetite is normal and level of activity is normal too. 

She isn't scratching at all so I don't think she has mites. And if she did, Pete would probably have them too, but Pete is fine. I'm puzzled! 

I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow but I don't know how helpful that is gonna be. Im gonna ask for a skin scrape but I really don't think she has mites so I don't know what we are gonna do. I'll keep you guys posted tomorrow.


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