change in temper and quill loss

[w0ahitssam]

hi so im new to HHC and i got my hedgehog, knuckles, about a month and a half ago. so i know i def should have asked the guy how old knuckles was, but i was so excited on getting her that the question slipped my mind. when i first got knuckles she was as sweet as anything, anyone could pick her up she tempted to cuddle with anyone to was holding her. and about two weeks ago my older sister went on vacation and i watched her two big dogs and they were a handful, and i gave knuckles as much attention as i possible could. after they left i went to go play with knuckles and she was completely shy got defensive as soon as my hand even went in her cage. the past two weeks ive been trying to play with her more and more but it seems her temper isnt going back to how it was
on top of this knuckles has been losing quills. after every time i play with her or shes walking around i have to look for her quills chillin on my bed or on my floor being ie laid on them before and ive also stepped on them before and they hurt a LOT lol. knuckles wasnt a baby baby when i got her and shes almost twice the size from a month ago. i was wondering if anyone know anything about this or has heard of anything like this?

also on her lower back she was a small cut inbetween her quills, i noticed it the other day and didnt think much of it, then today when i brought her over my boyfriends house she had a patch of blood and it kinda worried me bc i havent seen her bleed before, esp from just being handled.


any help would be much appreciated, thank you (:

[LarryT]

Sounds like she may be quilling,not sure about the blood though. Since you have just got her a Vet wellness visit would be a great idea
Welcome to HHC

[tie-dye hedgie]

He beat me to it; Larry's got you covered.
Welcome to HHC!

[shaelikestaquitos]

Welcome to HHC

Yeah like Larry said, it might be that she's just quilling. When I got my hedgehog he was already starting his quilling (I picked him up when he was 6 and a half weeks old), and he is actually going through his second quilling right now (he's almost 9 weeks now). He is definitely quite huffy at the moment, but I'm hoping that it will pass and he will be sweeter ^-^ I mean, he isn't so bad, but he can be pretty grumpy

[Immortalia]

If it's not quilling, it could also be stress.

The change with the dogs. Perhaps if there were barking, general noises that your hedgie hasn't heard before. Were the dogs able to get into the room with the hedgie? If so, perhaps the smells of the dogs can trigger stress as well.

With stress comes quill loss as well.

[EryBee]

How many quills is she losing? Are there bald patches?

[tie-dye hedgie]

Did you wash your hands after handling the dogs?

[w0ahitssam]

since the dogs were big my mom made me keep them
in my room, so knuckles stayed in my sisters room. the dogs weren't to bad with barking and they never saw her.I also have a bischon who can be a little yapper but she doesn't bother with knuckles since when I
was introduceing them knuckles got scared and poked her in the nose.

I always wash my hands before I handle knuckles, so I don't have the smell of anything else on my hands and she knows it's me.

she doesn't really have blad spots but it seems to be a few every time I pick her up and sometimes when shes huffing a few will got flying off of her if that makes sense.

i could post a picture of her if maybe anyone could help me with her age and if she is suppose to be quilling or not ?

I live in nj and hedgehogs are not a common pet so I've been looking around seeing if any vets know anything on them and most don't /:

[shaelikestaquitos]

If they fly off when she's huffing, it almost sounds like malnutrition... what are you feeding him right now?

Because I have never had my Kashi's quills fall off when he huffs, but they have flown off him when he was scratching himself.

Try finding an exotic specialty vet (there's a list of vets on this forum). There should be at least one around your area, and call and ask about it, maybe.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by shaelikestaquitos

If they fly off when she's huffing, it almost sounds like malnutrition... what are you feeding him right now?

Because I have never had my Kashi's quills fall off when he huffs, but they have flown off him when he was scratching himself.

Try finding an exotic specialty vet (there's a list of vets on this forum). There should be at least one around your area, and call and ask about it, maybe.

Loosing quills for any reason and quills can fly off with ANY movement including huffing, walking, shaking, scratching, being touched

w0ahitssam It could be a stress reaction to the dogs or possibly mites. She might also be quilling since you say she has doubled in size since you got her. Perhaps she was younger than you think.