# Dandruff?



## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

So after handling Twiggy iv noticed that I see dandruff everywhere she has been. Its on me, her blankets, in her bed and anywhere she sleeps or relaxes in. Should I be concerned or is this normal?
I just got her a few days ago and iv had to switch her food. Her former owners only gave me 1/4 cup of her old food and would not tell me the brand she was on. So I switched her to Blue Buffalo Freedom. Could this be why? I am mixing the food together.
Also her cage is next to our radiator could it just be that the air is dry?

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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Dry skin is pretty common during winter because the air is so dry. It's an easy fix. You can put some flaxseed oil or olive oil in the rinse water of a bath, and flaxseed oil in the food will help the skin as well as digestive system. For bad cases with flaky dandruff, I use a topical spray called Humilac. Use it daily with the quills parted, 8-10 spritzes (avoid the eyes) and it works wonders. It does have a small chance of causing irritation, as with all such products, but I only know of one or two cases - just watch for it the first day or two.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

In the rinse water of her bath? I havent gotten much into how to bathe her. So how do I bathe her? Iv seen some people use ostmeal shampoo, like dog oatmeal shampoo?
Can I do both olive oil and flax? I mean u can overdose them with it right?
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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

You can't overdose with the oil. Just add a little dribble of it. If you use flaxseed oil, get the capsules, and you can use one capsule in the food and one or two in the rinse water. Use oatmeal bath wash - Aveeno is most popular. You don't want any of the ones made for dogs or cats, and anything with "shampoo" in the name is too harsh.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I agree with overdosing in terms of anything that would affect them internally, like chemicals or something, but just wanted to add caution that you CAN put on too much oil - Lily got a yeast infection once that my vet told me was from having flaxseed oil put on her skin too often, making her skin too moist and opening the door for the issue. I'd been trying so hard to avoid dry skin, I got the opposite problem! So definitely add just a little bit of it.


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## swahf24 (Jan 23, 2013)

Both my hedgies had horribly dry skin when I brought them home. After a bath with Aveeno baby oatmeal wash there was a HUGE improvement from the massive amount of flakey skin they had.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

But I should not give her a bath since its now winter where I live should I? I mean it would be hard to dry her off right?
Thank you for your advice. Aveeno baby right? 

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## swahf24 (Jan 23, 2013)

I don't think there's anything wrong with giving her a bath in the winter if she needs it. Just make sure to dry her off completely and that she's in a warm place while she dries. Aveeno baby wash work really well. I have heard that you can use whole oats and swish those around in the water too, but I think the Aveeno wash is easier.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

You can bathe in the winter, you just have to be extra careful to keep them warm afterwards until they're dry, like swahf24 said. Make sure the bathroom (or wherever you bathe) is warm while she's in the water and go through a couple towels when you take her off until you have most of the excess water off, without wiping her with an already-wet towel. Then make sure you cuddle with her for a bit afterwards until you're sure she's dry before you put her back in her cage. I usually bathed Lily at the start of our evening bonding/cuddle time, since it'd only take a few minutes, and then she'd stay out and cuddle with me for a couple hours, plenty of time to make sure she was nice and dry. I also kept a couple extra fleece blankets next to me when I did that - if the fleece she was in felt like it was getting damp, I switched her to a new blanket to make sure she could keep drying. And the Aveeno can be either baby or adult body wash, just make sure it says oatmeal.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

That was great advice! Thank you both!
Also how exactly do I bathe her if really all shes doing right now is balling up and sticking her quills out at me:shock:? Iv been working with her every night since last wensday so I know its going to take her more time to get used to me but everytime I move or talk or do anything she huffs snd puffs aand sticks her quills out. Iv been handling her in fleece blankets and she does cuddle with me:-D but the second I move lol.... she puffs. Makes me laugh every time! She really is funny, but I havent heard her make any other noises other than her hissing huffing sounds. This is normal right? 

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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yup, that's pretty normal! Just continue handling her, cuddling her, and getting her out every night. With time and patience, she should come around and calm down a bit. For bathing her, you can still bathe her even if she's balled up, you just have to be careful. Make sure there's a bit of fleece or a towel or something in the bottom of the sink (if that's what you're bathing her in) so she has a good surface to stand on, that's not slippery. If she's balled up, just make sure you know where her face is, and slowly lower her into the water butt-first. She should unball once she hits the water and want to get her feet under her. Just be prepared - a lot of hedgehogs don't like baths and may spend the entire time frantically trying to escape and generally making you feel like a monster for putting them through this. :lol:


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Just wanted to add that you should only get unscented soap. The Aveeno oatmeal wash is unscented but it's possible they have scented varieties as well. Also make sure the water is not too hot. If you're bathing in the tub sink or in a dish make sure you put all the water in first and mix it around making sure it's all about the same temperature. You want warm water but not hot water, test it with your wrist or elbow like you would for a baby. You don't want a tap running while your hedgehog is in the bath. For one they don't like it and it also causes a risk of the water changing temperature on you. Also don't pour water on your hedgehog's head because it could cause an ear infection.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

But how would you be sure that you got all of the soap off. Do you dip her into different bowls of fresh warm water?

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## swahf24 (Jan 23, 2013)

You would be surprised how quickly they will unball the second any part of them touches the water. Bebop is still extremely huffy/hissy if I move when I'm holding him, but the second I start lowering him in the sink, he unballs and stays unballed the entire time. However, he does spend the majority of the time trying to climb my arm to get out of the sink. I think it's kinda cute since this is the most he stays unballed and not hissing at one time when he's out of his cage.

The easiest way I feel to give them a bath is in my kitchen sink. I run enough water in both sides of the sink. One to get him wet and wash him with the baby wash, the other to rinse him off. I do tend to empty out the first side and refill it with clean water and then put him back in there just so I can be sure he's totally clean. Just keep your hands near them at all times because both of mine seem to not want to be in the water, and really want out.

Bath time is also a good time to do nail trims in my opinion as well. It gets their little feet clean from running in their poop covered wheels so it's easier to see the entire nail. My guys are tolerable enough were I am able to trim all their nails in one quick sitting, however many others on here only trim a few nails at any given time. I personally think it's easier to just do them all and get it over with because you aren't stressing the hedgie out as many times to trim them, however it definitely would depend on your girl's personality. Just don't forget to give them treats afterwards.


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

Reginald really doesn't like the sound of the faucet running, so Maggie keeps a pitcher of rinse water she can use to refill the sink when he's done with the soap/oatmeal/oil.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Twiggy22 said:


> But how would you be sure that you got all of the soap off. Do you dip her into different bowls of fresh warm water?
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


basically yes. depends on where you end up bathing her. Sometimes you can get the soap off with just a little dish of rinse water that gets poured over your hedgehog.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

Well I just got done her bath and she did quite well.. although I thought that she would freak out more than she did but no. I got her the aveeno baby and mixed it with the water then brushing her with a her very own toothe brush. then I rinsed her using cups of clean warm water.
I Got to see how long her nails reeally are! Well I guess next time I will takle her nails.
Now its cuddle time! 

How often should I be bathing her and trimming her nails?

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## FaunaQT (Oct 24, 2012)

Thats good to hear  I usually bath Luna in the bathroom sink since she goes poo and pee. I don't like the idea of my dishes being in the same area that has been contaminated with fecal matter and urine. Which is SO ironic because the other day I haphazardly grabbed a toothbrush and started brushing my teeth with it. I realized mid brush that it was Lunas' toothbrush. Yes, the same toothbrush I used to scrub her poopy feet. I was appalled (naturally) and figured that my sweet fiance had forgotten to put her toothbrush into her bag of things, and I (being the dummy that I am) saw it lying out and put it in the cup i keep my very own toothbrush for the sake or being organized. 

Hope you have a much more hygienic experience!!! :mrgreen:

As for bathing and trimming her nails, I bathe her once a week and trim once every two weeks. It varies on how clean your hedgie is and how fast their metabolism is. They're kind of funny like that...


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

:lol: Oohwow!!!!! Sorry I don't mean to laugh but with my luck that would be something that I would do! But with the many years of experience I have working with animals and feces basically nothing scares me anymore.
Honestly you made my day with your story . Only animal lovers could find that not seriously revolting.

Thank you all for the advice I feel like I actually know what I am doing now... hehehe

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## swahf24 (Jan 23, 2013)

Oh Fauna that's HORRIBLE!!!

As far as how often to give them a bath, it definitely seems to depend on the hedgie. My male could go for a foot bath daily and my female keeps her feet very clean. You can give just foot baths a lot more frequently than full body baths. I don't give mine complete baths unless they start getting dry skin or managed to get themselves extra dirty. Their nails do seem to grow pretty quickly in comparison to other animals and seem like they need to be trimmed about every two weeks or so.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> I agree with overdosing in terms of anything that would affect them internally, like chemicals or something, but just wanted to add caution that you CAN put on too much oil - Lily got a yeast infection once that my vet told me was from having flaxseed oil put on her skin too often, making her skin too moist and opening the door for the issue. I'd been trying so hard to avoid dry skin, I got the opposite problem! So definitely add just a little bit of it.


I think I might have just used too much flax seed oil on Zelda, she's pretty oily. It was around a tablespoon diluted in a mug of water. I think I may try to soak some of it off with paper towels.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

yeah a tablespoon is a lot. most people use one or two capsules and that's probably only 1/8 tsp.


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

I bought the green bottle of flax seed oi; and use an eye dropper. I put a few drops on her back after a bath. Works well.


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## Twiggy22 (Jan 22, 2013)

I used a pin a poked a hole in the capsule and added a drop in her food 

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