# Hedgehog acne?



## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

So, as most of you know, my new little buddy vex has been having some issues lately, ever since i got him from his previous owners who kept his environment very unsafe.
As an update: he is eating more now, i am still syringe feeding him, but i feed him less and less everyday, and he eats more and more kibble everyday. Last night he ate a full 15ml of the soft food as well as 9 pieces of kibble. I am hoping the trend continues as his stool is a very nice shade of brown right now, and firm.
I have brought Vex into the vet once already after he got over his constipation, and the vet took a look at him and said he looked very health, and does not have mites, although at least once every two days he will use his back leg to scratch at his skirt, much like a dog does.
Also his toenail broke off at almost the base, and i am still not sure of the cause as there is nothing in his cage that could have caused it.

I do have one other concern about Vex, and i have already made an appointment for the vet for Friday to see him. On each side of his face, he has 1 little pimple like bump. It is not so much a growth, as it has a thin film filled with what looks like puss, much like a white head pimple. From the center of each "pimple" it looks like there is the tip of a hair. It looks a lot like an ingrown hair or whisker, much like when i have gotten an ingrown beard hair a couple of days after a shave.

I was just wondering if this happens often? and if i should use polysporine to help it heal until i can get him to the vet? I already know not to use extra strength or a pain relieving remedy. 

Is there anything else i can do to try and help him until i can get him to the vet?
i tried to take a picture, but he didn't want to look at the camera for me, and wouldn't let me get it close enough to his face to see the "pimple". I have heard about "hedgehog acne" on another post in this forum, but it just stated an antibiotic was used to heal it, and didn't ahve much information on it.

Thanks for any information regarding this.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

One of my boys had what the vet called "hedgehog acne" when we first got him. It was just an ingrown hair type thing though, so it was red but not very white. I'm not sure if this is the same thing or not...

Regardless, it's good you're getting him to the vet  Damian's "acne" cleared up in about 3 days.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

did the vet end up prescribing an antibiotic? or did he just leave it alone and let it grow out? 
I am taking him to the vet regardless, but i just want to have an idea of the expenses going into it as well.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

He gave us an antibiotic and it cleared it up right away. Again, I'm not sure if it's the same thing or not, seeing as I don't recall seeing anything white (other than the albino-ness of Damian).


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

thanks for the information =D
i'll keep a close eye on it till i can get him to the vet. Hopefully the vet will know more about it.


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

One of my hedgehogs had an ingrown quill and it did the same thing. It got infected and looked like a large pimple. I gently massaged it and the quill moved around just enough that it poked itself through the infected bump. Yellow infection started oozing out, so I gently pressed on it until it stopped oozing. My hedgehog never flinched or acted like she was bothered by the process. The next day, the bump was completely gone and her quill was standing straight up and everything look fine. Basically I treated it the same way I would treat an ingrown human hair.

*This is not meant to substitute the opinion of any vet.* It is just something you might want to try, so you can see if the quill will come out with a little help from you. If your hedgie is bothered by it or in any pain, I would stop immediately and seek the advice from your vet.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

i know its defiantly not a quill as on its face in a grouping of its other whiskers.
He didn't mind me when i touched it to see if it was a hard bump (like a cancerous tumor) but instead it was like a squishy sac. it seems much like an ingrown hair that is infected and waiting to pop.


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## PixiesExoticHedgies (Sep 4, 2008)

azyrios said:


> ...it was like a squishy sac. it seems much like an ingrown hair that is infected and waiting to pop.


Yes, that is exactly the way the ingrown quill was on my hedgehog.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

Can you post a picture, azyrios?


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

i can try when i get home. i am at work right now, and Vex usually sleeps will after i get home, I'll see if he will co-operate enough to get a picture of it. he was very un-co-operative this morning and wanted nothing to do with the camera which is pretty normal for him. He only likes having his picture taken by my girlfriend it seems.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

sorry for the bad picture, but my sister wouldn't let me use her amazing camera, so i tried to make due with a web cam.

In the picture it almost looks like nothing i there. When i got home today the puss bubble was gone, and in its place was the slightly darker pink spot. It looks like it is healing up on both sides, and the ingrown whiskers broke through.

He has another of the same bump on the other side of his face.[attachment=0:2sybwniw]vexface.JPG[/attachment:2sybwniw]

EDIT: His face has cleared up very nicely. I am taking him to the vet tonight just as an overall checkup now and asking her about the bumps. There is a new whisker from where the bumps were, so i am guessing the hairs broke through.


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## GrumpyGus (Aug 26, 2009)

I know this is an older thread, but tonight I took my hedgie out and I noticed on one of his front feet a small red bump, kind of like a pimple a person would get but there was no white head. I'm just wondering what this could be and if I should be worried about it? I know that it must be very recent because I have never noticed it before.


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