HELP! I think my hedgehog is sick!

[briannaandbutton]

My hedgehog is 11 months old, and I've had him for about 4 months. I was just gone on a 4 day camping trip and left him in the care of my parents and little brothers. He's acting very docile, which isn't very unusual for him but he usually is a little more grumpy when I first wake him up. He's still pretty active - he crawled around on me when I picked him up. He isn't eating a lot, not even his mealworms. His skin is super flaky and when I gave him a bath last week I noticed he seemed to loose a lot of quills (8-10 that I saw). His nose is pretty dry - definitely not as wet as it usually is. His face is pretty clear - his ears aren't flaking and his eyes and nose look clear. Does anyone know what could be wrong with him?? What should I do? I'm really worried, please help!! Thank you!

[Lilysmommy]

What do you feed him? How much exactly is he eating? If he's eating nothing or nearly nothing, you'll want to syringe-feed him to make sure he's getting enough food.

A couple more questions - what temperature is his cage? Do you have a thermometer & heating set up for it? Is he still losing quills? Is he drinking normally? Is he scratching at all? And regarding the food, is the food starting to get old or is it a brand new bag, or in between?

I would recommend a vet visit to have his skin checked and see if there's anything else going on to cause the lack of eating.

[briannaandbutton]

I feed him kitten kibble, it's probably 2 months old, no where near to half gone. I feed him a small handful every night, maybe 50 kibble, which is a little more than he eats. I haven't noticed any of the food from his bowl gone in the past 24 hours, and I wasn't home before that. I put a heater in the room with him, so it's now somewhere between 75 and 80. He hasn't lost anymore quills, and I haven't seen him scratch or drink but his water bottle is about 1/2 way gone from when I filled it four days ago. He's already doing a lot better since I put the heater in, he's more active and ran on his wheel A LOT the past couple hours. I still haven't seen him eat though and there's still the same amount of food in his bowl.

[Gldgood]

If he to is loosing quils that's one of the signs of mites.

[twobytwopets]

Yes, losing quills is a sign of mites. It's also a sign of other issues. The op didn't mention any other signs that could point to mites. Given the information that we've got in the posts, I'm guessing the quill loss is possibly from quilling.
Also the quill loss isn't the concerning issue, the main issue is the appetite change.

Briannaandbutton, even though he isn't eating all the good and drinking all the water are you changing it every day? Is you water bottle functioning properly? Could you try a water bowl instead? If he is already weakened from everything and has to work for a drink he may start drinking less, making him even weaker.

[briannaandbutton]

Thank you! He did finally eat a little last night, and I'm going to try a water bowl to see if he likes that better. He hasn't lost any other quills since last week (that I've noticed) and you're right, the food issue is more concerning. Thanks for the help!

[Lilysmommy]

I'm guessing temperature was the issue if he's perked up with the heater. It'd be a good idea to keep that in there with him to make sure it stays warm enough for him.

How do you store his food? Sometimes they'll stop eating when it starts getting stale, which can happen faster or slower, depending on storage method. Even if the food isn't close to gone, that may be something to consider or keep in mind for future reference. Glad he ate a bit more though!