# Flea Bath URGENT



## OllieTheHedgie (Aug 4, 2012)

My hedgie is a 2 month old baby boy. He is a sweetie. Anyways he has been itching ALL the time lately and we recently saw a bug on his blanket that we think jumped off of him. To make sure I want to give him a flea bath because we also have a dog that we dont want getting fleas. What flea shampoo should I use though? I heard it must be kitten friendly an dnot say Long lasting on it. Also is it okay to bath him at a young age like that? Thanks so much.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

We do not know how safe any commercial flea bath stuff may be. The safest treatment for external parasites like mites and fleas will be kitten Revolution, which you can get from the vets.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I know that cat/dog flea sprays are poisonous to European hedgehogs. I would assume it's the same for ours. Just recently had a conversation with someone in the UK involved in rescue/rehabilitation for wild hedgehogs there, who's had repeated experience with them dying because they're brought into vets that do flea sprays without knowing any better. Not sure how that translates to flea baths, but I'd just stay away from it. They don't really get fleas - there's not much "real estate" on them, so to speak. If you're worried, go to the vet to get your hedgehog treated with Revolution. We use it primarily for mites, which is the most common parasite that hedgehogs can get, but it also works to kill fleas and prevent any eggs from hatching.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

A lot of cat/dog parasite treatments are dangerous even to cats and dogs, and when trying to dose a teeny tiny hedgehog, it gets pretty difficult to safely treat them. If you're worried about parasites, get to a vet and have them prescribe you some Revolution (which has been used with good results on hedgehogs) like Immortalia said.  There's no guarantee any over the counter medication or shampoos won't be harmful. 

The only thing I would suggest that's over the counter is pyrethrins, which are a mammal-safe insecticide. You can get diluted amounts as a bird mite spray, or buy it concentrated and dilute it (be SURE you follow the dilution properly) and either spray your hedgie with it, or use it as a rinse. Even though it's safe for mammals I would still be VERY careful not to get it in the eyes/nose/mouth. There is also the problem of the odor being very strong for a hedgie, and might cause some problems. If your hedgie acts frantic around the smell or seems lethargic, I would not use it / wash it all off the best you can, ASAP. I can imagine that it might be too overwhelming. I've used it on other mammals to treat mites but have not on hedgehogs, so just be very careful if you decide to go that route.

If you had to choose one or the other, I'd recommend visiting the vet first - just make sure they don't try to use Ivermectin, which has caused many hedgehog deaths.


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