# HELP!! first baby hedgie and she QUILLING!



## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

MY BABY IS QUILLING! what do i do i never had to deal with quilling before. help would be most appreciated. ( thx!

Sincerly,

Danilious


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## darkestz (Aug 8, 2010)

leave her alone during the day. she's in alot of pain. When you give her baths make sure its a bit warm and you can add oatmeal too. It will soothe her skin.


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

You can try a little flax seed oil on her skin as well. It wil help keep it softer and less flaky.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

she is really grumpy, >.> which is understandable.i'm afraid to give her bathes i did last night and she seemed okie , it was until i put her on a towel to dry and she freaked out. I felt soo bad.T_T how long do hedgies actually quill? this is just soo hard because i just got her 4 days ago and shes not even us to me yet. but im trying to help her i feel soo bad. -_-


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## darkestz (Aug 8, 2010)

It takes about 3-4 weeks.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

oh okie i just feel so bad for her


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

All you can really do is let them go through it. Putting some flax seed oil on her skin or in her food should help keep her skin from drying out and ease some of the pain. Some of them are more grumpy than others when they go through it. They go through a few quilling phases as babies. My little guy went through all of his back-to-back, so it's possible for them to just go through them all in one long stretch.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

should i be concerned if my hedge is still losing quills after 12 weeks . it is exactly 10 weeks after.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Any bald spots? Are you sure its quilling? Any flakey skin? There are other health concerns that cause quill loss and grouchiness. On the other hand yes hedgies can lose quills up to a year or even older (not all will be done with quilling by 6 months old as many previously thought) and still be considered going through quilling it really depends on the hedgie. How many quills are being lost a day? Something else that may help the quills come thru if it is quilling is taking a soft clean toothbrush (not the one you use for poopy feet you don't want to cause an infection) or a baby hair brush and gently rub/massage his/her back in circular motions. And of course as mentioned flax seed is good, vitamin e works well, a humidifier helps soften the skin too to help the quills break thru and prevent/treat any dry skin, oatmeal/aveeno baths.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

i do remember seeing quills start to come through so she must still be quilling. it just scared me when i realized it was after 12 weeks. I've been using flax seed oil on her skin and it worked for awhile. so I tryed it in her food and its working a little bit. but ill try those things to see if she will have softer skin.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

If your using the flax seed a couple times a week (which most prefer anyway) then I wouldn't use the vitamin e with it. Either vitamin e or flax seed, but you don't need to do both. Don't know if that was confusing how it was worded before. Oh and seeing quills come thru is a good indication that indeed it is just quilling and will just take some time (seems like forever, but it really doesn't last).


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Some hedgehogs are just quill droppers... Thats how my Milly is. She is over 6 months old and she drops quills every day. I keep an eye on her skin to make sure she still has new quills coming through.

You do need to watch your hedgies skin to watch for flakes, crusts, off colored patches of skin and baldness. If you see any of those things a vet visit might be needed. 

Also, until you are sure its just normal quilling/shedding, flax seed oil should be put on hedgie's food instead of directly on the skin. If for some reason your hedgie has a fungal or bacterial thing going on, the flax seed oil on the skin can exacerbate it.

Keep us posted!


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Hanhan thank you for making my thoughts more understandable to everyone else, its one of those days I guess :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

shawnwk1 said:


> Hanhan thank you for making my thoughts more understandable to everyone else, its one of those days I guess :lol:


I got your back! :lol:


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

oh hmm i was thinking my be she did get a fungal thing because at the time it stopped helping her skin she had yellow patches of flaked she with was different than before. she is also got dry skin flakes on her face like her nose, like between her eyes area.


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

which touching her ears and face and feet even is the end of the world


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

and recently it seems she is more irritated than normal


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## danilious (Dec 14, 2010)

and recently it seems she is more irritated than normal


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