# Broken quills



## pennygirl (Sep 15, 2009)

Hi everyone, 

I was looking at Penny's quills very closely today and noticed about 3 quills in the same area of her back where the quills look like they have broken off. They are definitely not new quills growing in; they don't have pokey tips like the rest of the quills but rather they look like they have been snipped off. Should I be concerned? What is causing this?

Thanks in advance


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## Tarynsgate (Sep 25, 2010)

Maybe she got them broken when she fell down or tried to squeeze into something/somewhere too small for her?

I've had Roxie bend some of her quills out of shape before when she squeezes under her wheel where she doesn't belong (she's too big for it but does it anyway) they're not quite broken but they don't bother her at all. 

Unless they're bleeding or causing her discomfort I wouldn't worry too much


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Broken quills can be a sign of mites or a nutritional deficiency. If they are in the same area, chances are good she has caught them on something that has broken them. Usually quills are flexible and don't break very easily but look around her cage and see if there is something they could have gotten caught on.


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## pennygirl (Sep 15, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. 

The broken quills are about a centimeter or 2 apart from each other, and I can only see 3. Hopefully she just got caught on her wheel... she does like to wedge herself underneath her wheel and then huffs up if bothered. Maybe some of the spines broke off in the gap of the plastic between the 2 halves of her wheel... 

Is there a way to tell by looking at her skin if she has mites? I scraped some dry skin over a black piece of paper and didn't see anything moving at all. Her skin is very dry though... could that have something to do with it? I am planning on buying some flax seed oil this weekend. 

I think nutritionally she is fine- nothing has changed in her diet; I feed her a mix of 3 different cat foods suggested to me by her breeder, mixed with a very small amount of hedgehog food. She occasionally gets mealworms as treats. I have offered her other treats (fruits and vegetables) but she has never been interested in them.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

pennygirl said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> The broken quills are about a centimeter or 2 apart from each other, and I can only see 3. Hopefully she just got caught on her wheel... she does like to wedge herself underneath her wheel and then huffs up if bothered. Maybe some of the spines broke off in the gap of the plastic between the 2 halves of her wheel...


Sounds like you have a silent spinner wheel. That gap between the plastic is good at catching and ripping off toenails too. The safer commercial wheels are a comfort wheel and a flying saucer (some have issue with the tilted surface). You can also buy a CSW (caroline storm wheel) from Larry T. Whatever you decide it's best to replace the silent spinner with a safer option.

What cat foods are you feeding? and which hedgehog food? There is a big difference between all the different brands out there. You may think her diet is balanced and healthy but it might be missing something.

Also there may be nothing wrong. I occasionally find a broken quill from Quigley. I'm pretty sure they must break when he violently pops against the hard plastic bottom of his cage. They are all on his lower back/ rump area. I usually find the broken off piece and can see the stub on his back. I've eliminated the possible causes mentioned by Nancy so there is nothing to do about it.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If she has mites she will be scratching and loosing quills as well as the broken off ones. Mites are usually impossible to see and even a skin scrap doesn't always show mites if the scrape is done where no mites are. 

Scratching with mites is a frantic sort of frequent scratching and they often shake themselves too. Sometimes you will see an orangey brown crust at the base of the quills. 

If she has a Silent Spinner then yes, there is a possibility that is where the quills got damaged. Those two halves can also catch little toenails. Silent Spinners are not a safe wheel, they also tip over easily and the nuts that hold them on will often come undone causing the wheel to fall on hedgie.


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## pennygirl (Sep 15, 2009)

Wow- I didn't realize that the silent spinner wheel was so unsafe. I have ordered her a new wheel, the comfort wheel. Thanks to everyone for pointing this out.

Penny is definitely a scratcher, but the type of frequent, frantic scratching and shaking that you mention is not something that she does. When I can hear her waking up in the evening, she waddles out and slowly scratches various parts of her body, and the goes about eating and wheeling.

As far as food goes I give her equal parts:
-Nature's Best Chicken & Brown Rice Kitten food 
Protien-32 Fat-21 Fiber-2 Moisture-10
-Purina Pro Plan Chicken & Rice Formula Kitten food
Protein-41 Fat-18 Fiber-3 Moisture-12
-IAMS Healthy Naturals with Atlantic Salmon Cat food 
Protein-33 Fat-15 Fiber-3 Moisture-10

And then sprinkle in a small amount of:
Sunseed Hedgehog Formula 
Protein-37 Fat-7 Fiber-12 Moisture-12

I'm feeling really worried about her :| I inspected her quills a bit more closely and found a couple more; I think she might have about 5 in total, all within a couple centimeters of each other. Does this call for a vet visit?


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