# Tattered and Frayed ears



## persephone

I recently acquired a female hedgehog form a lady at work. When I got her I noticed right away something is wrong with her ears. I have had her since Friday.

When I googled tattered ears I got 3 suggestions.
1) Mites
2) Fungus
3) Nutritional deficeincy

I just wondered if someone could take a look. It wouldnt surprise me if it was a deficiency as the lady said the hedgehog would go 3 weeks without getting fed sometime, and her nails were so overgrown her toes were curling. I have her all clipped up, bathed and eating well everday but am concerned with her ears.

The pics are not the best but I think it shows the tattered edges pretty well.

Thanks


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## Guest

I noticed you already got some solid advice but I wanted to tell you BEAUTIFUL Hedgie!


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## PJM

She is a cutie! Her ears are pretty bad, but with hedgies, a lot of the reason they get tattered ears is because of dry skin. The dead skin builds up & layers on the ears. The oil, or bagbalm, or whatever you decide to use should help. It can take several weeks. But I would try that first & only worry about something else if it doesn't help. 
It's pretty common in rescues.
That being said, it is a good idea to get a wellness check done at the vets a couple weeks after getting a hedgie. If you don't see any improvement by then, it's something they can check out.


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## Nancy

I have had more hedgehogs with tattered ears than I can count but not one has been caused by anything other than dry skin and dirt buildup as PJM has mentioned. 

Use something like bag balm, vaseline, jojoba oil, vit E or flax seed oil and rub gently on the tatters each day. Depending on how well she allows you to rub, the taters should start coming off either immediately, or within a week. If you are able to rub quit well and they don't come off, then a vet visit is needed to see if it's something else. 

She is adorable.


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## persephone

Thanks for the info. I have been putting the bag balm on every evening and the tatters are coming off. She now only has a couple of spots that are still frayed.


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## Nancy

That's great news.


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## hedgiebuddy

I was wondering if olive oil would work for tattered ears?


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## PJM

hedgiebuddy said:


> I was wondering if olive oil would work for tattered ears?


Yup


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## xo.QuilliesMommie

Nancy said:


> I have had more hedgehogs with tattered ears than I can count but not one has been caused by anything other than dry skin and dirt buildup as PJM has mentioned.
> 
> Use something like bag balm, vaseline, jojoba oil, vit E or flax seed oil and rub gently on the tatters each day. Depending on how well she allows you to rub, the taters should start coming off either immediately, or within a week. If you are able to rub quit well and they don't come off, then a vet visit is needed to see if it's something else.
> 
> She is adorable.


Hey I have jojoba oil can I just use it alone? Or do I have to use something after it?


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## LarryT

xo.QuilliesMommie said:


> Nancy said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have had more hedgehogs with tattered ears than I can count but not one has been caused by anything other than dry skin and dirt buildup as PJM has mentioned.
> 
> Use something like bag balm, vaseline, jojoba oil, vit E or flax seed oil and rub gently on the tatters each day. Depending on how well she allows you to rub, the taters should start coming off either immediately, or within a week. If you are able to rub quit well and they don't come off, then a vet visit is needed to see if it's something else.
> 
> She is adorable.
> 
> 
> 
> Hey I have jojoba oil can I just use it alone? Or do I have to use something after it?
Click to expand...

 That's fine.


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## Jarrett089i

So I've had my hedgehog, Loki for about 2 weeks now and just started noticing his tattered ears, I saw that vitamin E oil was good to get rid of the tatters, today was my first night applying it and I noticed nothing really changed, so am I not putting enough on or something? This is my first hedgehog as well. (sorry for the bad angles, he wasn't feeling very photo-genic)


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## gracefulchaos01

It's not an immediate result. It will take time and regular care before you begin to see real change.


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## Jarrett089i

Ok thanks, is there any way to prevent it from happening again?


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## gracefulchaos01

Not that I have heard of. But perhaps simple preventative care by oiling the ear tips on a regular basis.


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## xshadownetx

I've got a hedgehog that I feel really bad about. Idk if it's just me or if it's not right to be living like she is. I mean it's a lonely life for her. My boyfriend doesn't want to bathe her very often. I'm too nervous to pick her up not because of her prickles but because I had a head trauma that ended in emergency brain surgery and as a result' I drop things I'm holding 75% of the time and I don't trust myself. I'm good when I cuddle with her but picking her up I. And out of her cizy Cage


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