# Losing Quills After a Bath



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Hey all,

I gave Ledgie his first bath yesterday, it was a terrifying experience but it seem to have ended well... Until this evening. When I went to check up on him, I found four quills inside his sleeping bag! I'm so scared that it was because I brushed too hard or something because I was trying to get these fiber things out of his quills (His previous owner used a regular towel for him to sleep in, so naturally, there were lots of strings pulled out from the towel and tons of red fabric-y things around his quills). 

I used an old toothbrush so it'd be extra soft, Aveeno Skin Relief unscented, and luke warm water. He did just sort of splat out on the side of the tub when the water drained, did that mean the water was too hot for him? After the bath, I wrapped him in a gigantic piece of fleece, and he stayed wrapped in it for the next hour or so until he sort of fell asleep, so I put him back into his cage.

I got him back in November, and had only gave him a bath now because I was very worried about his dry skin issue. The previous owner also said that he "tried to give him a bath once, and he didn't really like it". Ledgie is now 1.5 years old, and if the owner really only gave one bath that whole time he had him, then could the quills have fallen out just because he wasn't use to getting baths?

Other than that he seems fine, nicer than usual actually. He had something to eat when he went back to his cage, and ran for a bit. 

Please help! He already doesn't have much quills on his back, I dont' want him to end up as a quill-less hedgehog! :roll:


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Hi there,

I've been a hedgie owner for only a few months but I'd say, hang in there and watch him over the next few days. 

It might be that the quills were about to fall and the bath just made them lose. It's normal for hedgies to lose a couple of quills here and there.

But, you said he doesn't have a lot of quills on his back. Are you sure he doesn't have mites? Mites can cause quill loss. Is he itchy? Does he have dry/crusty skin?


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

No.. he doesn't itch, ever. The skin is pretty dry though, so I've been giving him flax seed oil in his food and on his ears, so he's been getting better. He was on really bad hedgehog food with his previous owner, and I thought that was what caused the dry skin. He might just have a bald spot on his back... I'm not so sure.

Will they grow more quills? Or is it sort of once it's gone, it's gone for good? Kinda like human adult teeths?


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I think depending on their age they might grow new quills but not sure. One of my girls is approximately 2.5 years old and when we got her less than a month ago her skin was horribly dry and I can tell she's lost A LOT of quills dues to stress and poor nutrition. We've been giving her Sunshine Factor along with a better diet and sometimes I wonder if her quills will ever grow back. Hopefully someone will know the answer for that.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Same! My hedgehog's previous owner was feeding him very low quality hedgehog food, and he ended up with bald patches on his back. What's Sunshine Factor? Is it like a nutrient add to their food?


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Sunshine Factor is a supplement of palm fruit oil. I use a syringe to give to my hedgies a few times a week and they love the taste. Since I started using it a few weeks ago, their skin looks a lot better.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Oh. I'm currently giving my hedgie flaxseed oil several times a week. Have you had any experience with flaxseed? How does it compare to the one you're using? Perhaps I should try Sunshine Factor.. the flaxseed seemed to help with his ears but not so much the back.


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Most peopl here use flaxseed oil with success. I have tried with Mustard but I guess she has a more sensitive tummy and flaxseed would give her the farts. :lol: I do use it on their skin when I give them baths, I squeeze a capsule in the rinse water and pour it over their backs, it works great.


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Most hedgehogs loose a few quills here and there so not to worry about a few. It is also possible that he is going through a stress related quilling since you haven't had him that long and the stress from a new home can trigger a mild quilling.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Hopefully it's caused by stress. At which point should I be concerned? he lost 4 quills on the first night after the bath, 4 more the night after (last night). Then when I took him out to play, I noticed he lost 1 more when he was drinking (found it next to the drinking bowl), and four more on me or on the fleece blanket I had him in... So far, today I don't see any in his cage, but I usually find it in the bag he's sleeping in so I'll wait until tonight to see if there's anymore.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Could he be losing so many quills because I used too much soap? Should I rinse him down again with water...

I'm freaking out now, he lost another 4 last night. Tonight, he woke up, went to poop in his litterbox, again didn't wheel or if so not very much. Then when I picked him up using fleece, he lost another quill! I'm so scared he's going to to bald at this rate. His nose also seems wet, but since I don't know how wet his nose normally is, I can't say if it's anything unusual. But he has been sleeping a lot or just hiding a lot lately, which made area where he sleeps all moist, so it makes it seem like his nose is more wet than usual..

Please help!


----------



## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

susanaproenca said:


> Most peopl here use flaxseed oil with success. I have tried with Mustard but I guess she has a more sensitive tummy and flaxseed would give her the farts. :lol: I do use it on their skin when I give them baths, I squeeze a capsule in the rinse water and pour it over their backs, it works great.


Give her the farts I laughed so hard when i read that  whoohoo maturity!


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

pooka dotted said:


> susanaproenca said:
> 
> 
> > Most peopl here use flaxseed oil with success. I have tried with Mustard but I guess she has a more sensitive tummy and flaxseed would give her the farts. :lol: I do use it on their skin when I give them baths, I squeeze a capsule in the rinse water and pour it over their backs, it works great.
> ...


 :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

linda9 said:


> Could he be losing so many quills because I used too much soap? Should I rinse him down again with water...
> 
> I'm freaking out now, he lost another 4 last night. Tonight, he woke up, went to poop in his litterbox, again didn't wheel or if so not very much. Then when I picked him up using fleece, he lost another quill! I'm so scared he's going to to bald at this rate. His nose also seems wet, but since I don't know how wet his nose normally is, I can't say if it's anything unusual. But he has been sleeping a lot or just hiding a lot lately, which made area where he sleeps all moist, so it makes it seem like his nose is more wet than usual..
> 
> Please help!


I really don't know how many quills is normal for a hedgie to lose due to stress. Hopefully a breeder or someone experienced will come soon. 

My two thoughts are: Are you sure she is 1.5 years old and not more close to 1? Because she could be quilling if she was around 1 years old, but then you'd be able to see the new quills coming out. And, are you absolutely sure she doesn't have mites? You mentioned she isn't scratching at all, right?


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

I don't know his exact age as I bought him from someone who didn't seem to know much about hedgehogs at all. I bought him back in November, and he said that he's had the hedgehog for close to 1.5 years and he never asked for the birthdate from the breeder. He had the hedgehog in a bath towel where the seams were all pulled out by the hedgie, and gave me a bag of hedgehog food and corn cob bedding. So I had assumed that I wouldn't be able to get much information out of him. :roll: 

I hope the previous owner is wrong about the age and he's just quilling. I'll keep checking to see if any is growing out. He's got a nice bunch of tight quills on his shoulder area, but it's near his butt area that the quills are really thin, so I'll keep checking there to see if any grows out.  

He doesn't scratch. He only shakes his head when I put flaxseed oil on him. And he only bends in weird directions when he's annointing. I have found that there's a lot of flakey skin being left behind on the fleece. Could that be a hint that he scratched? Or simply more evidence for the dry skin?


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Oh actually, I just checked my email exchange with the previous owner again. It seems I have read it wrong. In november, he said he's had the hedgie for about 7 months, and "im guessing he's roughly a year old". I guess he could still be just 1 year old, and therefore quilling, but it will all depend on how old he was when he was being sold.


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Keep checking to see if any new quills are coming out. 

When Pete first came she would leave dandruff everywhere she passed, it was ridiculous. :shock:  She wasn't scratching, it was just really bad dry skin, so the flakes you see in his cage aren't necessarily indication that he's scratching. 

:?


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

He's pretty much leaving 4 quills per night now, and a couple here and there when he's out and about. He barely comes out, and barely eats. Today, I saw him on the wheel, and I got all excited. It turns out, he went on the wheel to poop and pee, and didn't actually run at all! What's wrong with him... I also fed him a live mealworm yesterday, he didn't even look at it. I left one in his bowl overnight, it was still there in the morning...


----------



## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

He could be quilling. Some hedgehogs do loose about 4 quills a night and it is completely normal for them. 

If he is quilling you should see new quills coming out. If you are really worried you could seek vet care and possibly a mites treatment (make sure your vet gives you revolution for mites do not let them inject the hedgehog with ivermectin).


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

He is possibly going through a stress related quilling. That happens usually a month or two after a stressful event such as surgery, going to a new home, pet sitter, traveling etc. 

Not all hedgehogs go through a quilling at a year old but it could be that. 

It may also be his normal. Some loose a few on occasion, some loose a couple per day, some never drop any and some loose them seasonal.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Thank you everyone! Does new quills look smaller than usual to begin with? Kinda of like new teeth/hair, where you see a bit of it at first, then it grows more and more? I'm guessing he's not just going to shoot out a perfect quill in one night. :lol: 

I'll keep an eye out for him. I really don't think it would be mites, and my closest vet who has experiecne with hedgehogs is on vacation until the end of this week. So if it persists, I'll give him a call. 

If it is stress related quilling, combined with the not wheeling and not eating as much, can he get sick?

If he's just quilling because he hasn't done it yet, is it normal behavour to also not wheel and not eat as much? I know they're in a lot of pain if it really is quilling. 

Other than the quills falling out and such, he's been better than usual. He doesn't huff and puff as much compared to when I first bought him home. He'll actually stay on my hand without pooing.. although I can't say the same about other people. And he doesn't jump at the sound of us talking anymore.


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

linda9 said:


> Thank you everyone! Does new quills look smaller than usual to begin with? Kinda of like new teeth/hair, where you see a bit of it at first, then it grows more and more? I'm guessing he's not just going to shoot out a perfect quill in one night. :lol:
> 
> I'll keep an eye out for him. I really don't think it would be mites, and my closest vet who has experiecne with hedgehogs is on vacation until the end of this week. So if it persists, I'll give him a call.
> 
> ...


If he has new quills growing, when you look at his skin you will see part of the quills coming out, like a new hair growing. 

If he isn't getting out of bed a lot, you can put some kibble in bed with him. Count all the kibble you put in his cage, and then count again in the morning to make sure he is still eating.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

That's a great idea, putting kibbles into his hedgie bag. I put a bunch in it earlier, and now it's all gone. I just went to put a bit more, and made sure that I put some near the opening of the bag, then I made a trail of kibbles from the bag to the food bowl :lol: Hopefully he'll follow the trail..


----------



## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

Thank Nancy for that tip, she told me to do it when Mustard got sick a while back and it was one of the best advises I have gotten here so far.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

Thanks Nancy and thank you suzanaproenca for sharing the tip! Ledgie is doing well now, at least he's eating. He's still not wheeling as much as before, he jsut seems to like to hide somewhere at night instead of coming out. I tried taking his hedgiebag out so he's forced to roam around a bit, instead he just went and tucked himself under the wheel. He's also still falling out quills. I have a feeling that they're not so much "falling out", more so like they're not holding on as tightly, so whenever he huffs inside the bag, or has something near/on top of him, the quills will get stuck in the fabric, and then "fall out". He's still losing about 4-6 quills a night, and a couple here and there. But I hope he's just quilling, or it's just seasonal.


----------



## linda9 (Nov 26, 2010)

So I realized the easiest solution would simply ask the previous owner if he's experienced any quilling in the past, and he hasn't. So mystery solved! Thanks everyone for your help on this topic!


----------

