# Skin problems - help please :(



## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

When I brought Felix home a few months ago, I noticed that he had some dry skin. I started using flax seed oil on his food and in his bath water and for a while the dry skin improved and went away. However, recently it has come back. Not only that, it has come back 10 times worse than it ever was before. It comes off in giant flakes, which I find all over his cage every day and find on his blankets after I take him out to play. He also seems to have gotten more sensitive to being touched, which has really put a damper on all attempts to bond with him. He will literally ball up and huff when my finger even brushes over his quills.

I didn't originally think that it was mites because the girl I got him from had nothing wooden in his cage and neither do I, but now I'm starting to suspect that it may be. Either that or some other form of fungal infection. I'm including a picture and hoping that someone here can give me some insight. I feel awful because it can't be comfortable for him.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

my boys are both dealing with this right now and i just took them to the vet the other day (still waiting on labs so don't know what's going on). 

you need to get him/her into the vet for a skin scrape to check for mites (not always reliable, but still needs to be done) and the vet needs to send it off to the, lab so they can check for a fungal and bacterial infection (they do this by trying to grow whatever it is in a petrie dish so they can then look at it and know what it is, takes about a week or so to get back)

i tried everything from a humidifier in their room running, vitamin e (which can be toxic if you don't know how to give it), flaxseed, and humilac and nothing helped so it is possible that yours too will just keep getting worse until you get to the vet for a definitive answer.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I agree with Shawnwk1, that a vet visit is needed, at least. Lily's always had skin issues, though the main ones just happened this summer. She had a bacterial infection first (diagnosed by the vet because of red spots at the bases of her quills, no skin scraping done), then right after that, she got a yeast infection (either from flaxseed oil on her skin, the antibiotics from the bacterial infection, or both), where she had large dry yellow-tinged pieces of skin coming off. The pieces were as big as my thumbnail sometimes. If nothing else, he may just have chronic dry skin, if I remember right, there's someone on here who had that problem with their hog and ended up getting special treatment for him. I can't remember who though....


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

yeah that "special" stuff the other member had gotten was the humilac that i tried that did absolutely nothing for my boys. in fact it made it way worse and gave them blisters all along their backs and on their rump


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Kelsey always gives good advice. Nancy would have excellent comments to offer.


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks for all of the advice. I sort of figured that this would require a vet visit, but I wanted to confirm that this was the best course of action with people who know better than I do. I’m a college student on a limited budget, so I really didn’t want to make an appointment and have the vet tell me I overreacted then hand me a bill anyway. :lol: 

This situation has been making me feel awful because Felix literally LOATHES being touched. When I first brought him home, I made a bunch of strides with him letting me pet him and having him fall asleep with my hand on his back. Then all of a sudden it was like he absolutely couldn’t stand being touched in any way. I had been noticing lots of pretty large skin flakes all over his cage and started using the flax seed oil, but it just doesn’t seem to be working. I got a really close look at his skin over the weekend and realized just how bad it was. I feel like in some ways, I’m hoping that this skin problem is what has been making him so antisocial, but mostly I just want the poor guy to be comfortable. 

Does anyone have any idea what the price range might be for a vet visit like this? (Visit + skin scrape + lab work to verify mites or an infection). It doesn’t need to be exact. Felix is the first pet that I've had entirely on my own and he hasn’t needed to visit the vet until now, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect cost wise. I’m going to try to arrange an appointment for him for sometime later this week and I just don’t want to be completely shocked when I get the bill.


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## nualasmom (Nov 13, 2011)

lehaley said:


> Does anyone have any idea what the price range might be for a vet visit like this? (Visit + skin scrape + lab work to verify mites or an infection). It doesn't need to be exact. Felix is the first pet that I've had entirely on my own and he hasn't needed to visit the vet until now, so I'm not entirely sure what to expect cost wise. I'm going to try to arrange an appointment for him for sometime later this week and I just don't want to be completely shocked when I get the bill.


I've never had to get a skin scrape for my hedgie, but I've brought her in to the vet twice already. The first visit was about $120. It was about $77.00 for the office visit and the rest was the cost of the topical cream that they prescribed. My second visit was about $145.00 Again about $77.00 for the office visit and then the rest was the cost of the Invectin injection (***BTW, I'll never do again, unfortunately I read about the negative effects of Invectin AFTER my vet visit) and the Baytril antibiotic that was prescribed.

Sometimes, vets are open to offering payment plans if the visit cost gets too high. I remember several years ago when I had just gotten out of college and my cat ended up having to have emergency surgery that cost over $1500.00, needless to say, I was not in the position to pay it, but was able to get approved for "Care Credit" which is a credit card that you can apply for at vets. If I remember correctly, the first 6 months are interest free.

Hope that was helpful and good luck! My little one had some skin problems on her belly within a week of bringing her home (hence the vet visits), but after over 2 weeks, she finally seems to be clearing up.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Prices vary a lot by vets, so you may want to call the vet you're planning to visit and ask about prices for things like the exam and skin scrap. To give you some idea, though, at my vet an exam for hedgies is around $40. Most of her visits that have included medicine have totaled around $50-70. Her most expensive visits have been the one that included a skin scrape/testing (done at the clinic, not being sent out to a lab or anything) and this last one we had that included putting her under anesthesia to thoroughly check her mouth. Both totaled around $95. The skin scrape/testing cost $32.50 and then the medicine cost $22 (that visit was for the yeast infection). From looking at other comments on here though, I think my vet is on the cheaper end of the spectrum, so be prepared for higher prices, just in case. Good luck and let us know what you find out with him! I'm sorry you're both having such a rough time with this.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Kelsey's vet is definitely at the lower end of the price spectrum... My vet charges $50/appointment, $42/skin scraping and $55/cultures. 

Is Felix scratching a lot? Losing lots of quills? Are the ends of his quills gunky looking? If Nancy sees this, answers to these questions might help her help you.  The more details you give, the easier it is for people to give advice.


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

I haven't noticed him scratching excessively and he doesn't seem to be losing many quills. Sometimes I find one or two a week when I do a full cage cleaning, but other times I don't find any. As for the gunky quill ends, I'm not really seeing much of that either. Mainly I'm just seeing incredibly flaky skin. Is it possible that this is just a nasty case of dry skin that might be fixed with over the counter stuff? So far all I've really tried is the flax seed oil. I will definitely take him to the vet of need be, but if it's likely that it's just dry skin and there are other possible solutions, I'd like to try those first.


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

My apartment is notoriously dry in the winter, so when I first got Brillo he was like a little dander ball. I felt horrible! I give him Aveeno baby oatmeal baths at least once a week (sometimes more...how does a hedgehog get poo on his back? lol). Also, after his bath I pop a flax seed oil pill and massage it over his back. In addition to his back, twice a week I'll put flax seed oil over his food so that he gets a double dose of it. Lastly, I run a humidifier at night (for my nose as well as his lil body). 

We've been doing this routine for about a month now, and even though he is quilling, his dander and dry skin has been taken care of. Good luck with your little one!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I forgot this hasn't been mentioned yet, but if you think it might just be dry skin, you could try putting Shineshine Factor on his food. http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/SUNSH ... o/AVXSSF1/ A handful of people on here started using it for their hedgies and found that it really helped dry skin as well. If I remember right though, MissC said that it took about a month before she started to see improvement on her boys with it. I tried it with Lily, but she didn't really like the taste. The "directions and ingredients" link on that page gives you a download with information that includes the dosage instructions.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

Have you figured out what's wrong with Felix? 
My Oreo is going through the same thing.


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

From other stories and pictures I've seen on this forum and other places, I really think that it's just dry skin. Felix doesn't really have telltale symptoms of mites other than the flaky skin, and he hasn't really been exposed to anything that could cause mites. The homepage for HHC mentioned that a lot of people have success with putting a few drops of Vitamin E on their hedgehog's back, so right now I'm trying that. If that doesn't seem to work, I may try the Booster pills that were mentioned or just take him to the vet. My apartment is also very dry, especially since it's winter, so I might give a humidifier a shot.

I've been trying the vitamin E for 2 days now, and I can't really tell if it's making a difference or not yet. His skin physically looks less flaky, but I can't tell if that's because it actually IS less flaky or if it's just temporarily moisturized/oily because of the vitamin E.


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## MargoB (Dec 6, 2011)

My albino hedge hog Harvey had a spot with no spines when i adopted him, i figured since he was obese it was probably malnutrition. So ive been feeding him well and exercising too, hes a normal weight now and the spines have started to grow back ( some are completely back) but he has this little white bump, kinda looks like a white pimple in the middle of his messed up part, This is worrying me and i don't know what it is, does anybody with an albino hedgehog know for sure if it is mites or what they look like? I've already given him two oil baths to be safe i just hope its not an infection :?


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

Has Harvey been scratching a lot? Does he have flaky skin? It's possible that it could be an ingrown quill since his quills have been growing back in, but I'm not entirely sure what that would look like. I'm not super experienced with hedgehog skin problems, but I'm sure someone will be along soon with more advice.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

I went and got Sunshine Factor last night and put it on Oreo's food. He ate it no problem. I think Oreo also just has dry skin because there his quills are quite thick (it takes a lot of patience to try to see his skin), i've done the mite test and he's eating, pooping, drinking and wheeling normally.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

There's several things you can try first to see if they help (none have helped jeremiah, but very effective for other hedgies). You can try the humilac, but please be careful as I said it gave jeremiah bad blisters on his back and rear (haven't had any problems w/ the blisters since we stopped using this). You can also try running a humidifier in his/her room which helps to moisturize the skin and yes some still gets to them in their igloos or under the liner (just not as much as he would in the open obviously). Aveeno oatmeal baths are good for moisture for the skin, but only about once a month cause they can cause excess drying as I'm sure you are aware. And of course the flax seed and vitamin e oil (be careful w/ vitamin e it is actually toxic to hedgies (says the vet) if not given the right dose. 

I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but without a scrape (and even then its not always accurate) its hard to tell. Even w/ the skin scrape and stuff sent to labs they only found a little fungus right around the base of the quills, but not enough for meds so even w/ a vet visit you still might be left w/ no real answers and just having to deal w/ it and make him/her as comfortable as you can. I've just really been careful w/ him (its obviously painful and annoying for him as he gets extremely grouchy if I touch his back) and I try hard not to touch his back too much. His dry skin hasn't gotten better its still flaking off badly, but since I stopped touching his back much his attitude has changed and he has turned back into a sweetheart lately so there is hope . I just wish we could get the dry skin under control. If anything helps yours please let me know, I'm open to all suggestions to make him more comfortable. 

Oh and yes vets are expensive for these little guys. My hedgie visits usually run between $120-$300 depending on what labs need sent out for, if they needed to be put under for something, meds, etc. As said prices vary w/ location and even the individual vet, but its good to be prepared ahead of time. And there is always a chance they will say its only chronic dry skin, but it also could be something completely different that needs meds. I don't mind when I take them in and it turns out to be something minor because then I know for sure they are okay. I'd rather be an overprotective father then a neglectful one that let's things go until its too late.


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## lehaley (Jun 25, 2011)

shawnwk1 said:


> And of course the flax seed and vitamin e oil (be careful w/ vitamin e it is actually toxic to hedgies (says the vet) if not given the right dose.


Are you sure the vet was correct about this? I know that just about any vitamin can be toxic to both humans and animals in large doses, but nothing that I've read about hedgies and vitamin E indicates that you need to use an incredibly specific amount. Most of the things I've read (on this website, other forums, breeders' websites, etc.) have said that a few drops directly on the hedgehog's back once or twice a week are sufficient/safe and very beneficial. In fact, I believe I read somewhere that vitamin E can be helpful in temporarily delaying WHS symptoms. I haven't seen a single mention of problems with vitamin E toxicity in hedgies, although I don't doubt that they COULD happen since fat soluble vitamins are more likely to be toxic in large doses. Obviously you wouldn't want to pour massive amounts of it on your hedgie every single day, just like you wouldn't want to take 3 or 4 capsules as a human every day. People should definitely use this in moderation, I'm just not entirely sure if I'd go so far as to say that it's toxic.

Not trying to imply that your vet is wrong or anything.  I'm just wondering if anyone else has heard anything about needing to use a certain dosage or has heard stories of negative outcomes from vitamin E usage.


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

yes i'm certain that he is right that it is toxic if not given correctly...i would put my own life in this vets hands. he is extremely knowledgeable with hedgies, has been working with them for years, and goes around the world speaking about hedgies. a large number of people in the hedgie community are very familiar with him and his work with hedgies.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Vitamin E, applied to their skin is perfectly safe, it can be toxic if given in large amounts orally.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

The Sunshine Factor has been working amazing! Oreo's skin has made such an improvement since using the Sunshine Factor. His skin looks like it did when I first got him. I think it was a combination of dry air and quilling.


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