# On top of Mount Baldy



## GingaSnaps (Aug 19, 2011)

My friend got a hedgehog from her ex fiance and she didn't want the memory of him so the hedgehog came to live with me at my work. We work with exotic animals and said, sure why not we'll take her.

My friend told me that the hedgie had been living with her parents and was being fed Purina, the same food the breeder was giving her (it was NOT Purina ONE). She said that when she got to her parents they said her quills were falling out. It was a bit of an understatement.










Anywhere you see tiny quills she was COMPLETELY bald.










But we didn't care, we were already in love with her. So my boss bought her super worms and hedgehog diet, I am not sure which ones. The pictures above were taken a week ago and her quills have quadrupled in length.

We were just nervous because she had molted once before and will be a year in October, so we didn't think she should be doing it again.

Any suggestions on live bugs to give to the little critter? Looking for nutritionally significant ideas/snacks based on her history/quill loss.


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## GingaSnaps (Aug 19, 2011)

To add: She had no itching, skin irritation or flaky skin.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2011)

Hedgehog diet as in commercial hedgehog foods? A better quality cat food then the Purina she was feed is a good choice.

Super Worms are fine but its been found they can bite hedgehogs even when ingested and their heads should be cut off.

If you visit our Diet and Health sections you will find loads of collected information to help you along the way.

She is absolutely adorable! 

What was the cause of such quill loss? Mites, Bacteria, Ring Worm? 

Also how long have you had her cause you mention she was with her parents which is strange cause most males will kill their young and eat them and males near females after 6 to 7 weeks of age can end up with a pregnant hedgehog.


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## GingaSnaps (Aug 19, 2011)

Sorry for the confusion.

she was with my friends parents, ie in their care while she was at school.

We do not know the reason for the quill loss so I was hoping someone could shed some light, she loves the meal worms and I will be sure to cut their heads off from now on.

I also want to make sure her diet is adequate to prevent it in the future, she is sweet and out going hardly curls, loves her wheel and well we just got really lucky

Definitely wasn't ringworm, I checked her over carefully (I've had ringworm before, comes with working with animals.) I don't think it was mites there was no itching, and I don't know how it could be bacterial because her skin was perfectly clear.

But that's just based on what I saw of her.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2011)

GingaSnaps said:


> Sorry for the confusion.
> 
> she was with my friends parents, ie in their care while she was at school.
> 
> ...


Ah okay gotcha

Meal Worms you don't have to just Superworms 

I am glad she is being cared for  She is very lovely

Diet wise most people here think a mixture of good quality cat foods with real meat as the first ingredient is important and protein under 35% and under 15% fat if I am not mistaken. As I mentioned the diet section is very helpful to new hedgehog owners.

Crickets are a hit too if you have a large plastic tote or bath tube you can let her "hunt" live crickets which I think really stimulates them to get to chase their food, but not all of them catch on right away on what to do.

You can also freeze the crickets of night and take out the amount you want to feed her they defrost pretty quickly.

Meal Worms and Superworms are much higher in fat but that should be fine until she is an adult, which is why crickets also end up so popular because they're lower in fat 

I am sure she'll be very happy with you


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## GingaSnaps (Aug 19, 2011)

Yes I think she is enjoying her time with us. We set up dog expens in the grass on warm sunny days and she runs through the dewy grass and cleans herself off, above the sun hadn't come out yet so I put her on my car to get her clean, which was futile because my car was a mess.

Thanks for the help, I will be buying her crickets today.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Unfortunately I don't have any help on why the quills were lost, but just wanted to say that even half naked she is awfully cute! I'm glad she grew them back in without trouble for you.


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

she is just precious! I had never really knew that after massive quill loss they could grow back.. so glad she is in your care now!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Welcome to HHC! Poor baby. She's adorable though. I'm glad you're taking care of her.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

She is so cute!  No wonder you all fell in love so quickly!  The quills look to be growing back fairly well, Nancy should be around soon.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2011)

If she's not losing them any more best guess with little hedgehog experience but years of animal experience in general...

Something while she was at your friends parents she was allergic to or he body reacted badly to, it could have been the bedding she was on, if they used a fragrance or air freshener near her cage or in her cage. If they cleaned the cage with a chemical cleaner such as general purpose cleaner or windex.

Its just a thought and I am not saying that is what happen, just speculation especially if she is no longer losing quills and only growing them in.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

She is a cutie pie and it sounds like you are doing a good job with her!

Just so you know, sometimes ringworm doesn't actually look like ringworm. Signs of ringworm in a hedgie can be as simple as quill loss and dry skin, without the typical ringworm crustys and skin issues.


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Awe. No wonder you fell in love with her. I'm a sucker for rescues....babies I can pass up in a heartbeat, but a ragtag rescue just sucks me in! :roll: She's very lucky she found you to care for her. 

By any chance is she underweight? It might just be from the "nakedness", but the first picture makes her look like she has an hourglass shape. It just might be the angle too. 

Give that baby lots of love and hugs from Harvey, Izzy and me!


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