Major scratching?

[Kenzy]

Hi there, I recently picked up a 3-month-old hedgie on Sunday (the 12th) from a owner who had bought her from a vet for her daughter, but her daughter never took care of her (I named her Buttons) and so the mother had to do it. She works a lot and said she didn't have the time to take care of the hedgie, so I bought her. I've only had Buttons a few days, but I noticed some major scratching last night during play time. She's not socialized well, so she's very huffy and pops a lot. Last night was the first night that I noticed the scratching. She was mainly scratching her fur and her face, and I don't know what to make of it. It got to the point where it seemed like every other step she was taking she would stop to scratch an itch. I gave her a bath with Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment with Colloidal Oatmeal. After her bath, she seemed to calm down a lot (and was quite happy to get out of the bath!) and she wasn't scratching at all... but I'm wondering if she could have mites or is it just dry skin?

It didn't look like she was scratching at her quills at all, but she hasn't quite warmed up to me or my significant other yet, so we can't get a good look at the skin by her quills without her huffing and popping. Her belly, face, and legs look fine.

Any idea what it sounds like?

Any suggestions?

[Hedgieonboard]

That's great that you took her in and gave her a home The itching could be from a few things. What kind of bedding is she on? A lot of people here will use fleece which isn't dusty and works great. If yours is already on fleece, what are they being washed with? Is there anything in the cage that could be causing an allergic reaction? It could also be dry skin or mites. The oatmeal bath was a good idea. If she still itches after though I'd take her to the vets to get Revolution cause theres a good change it could be mites.

Hope she gets better soon and stops the itching

[panda]

if it is just dry skin you can use the aveeno baby wash as well as a shea butter lotion for the ears if they look dry, its what i use as well. the oatmeal baths work great so that was a good idea.. you can also use i Tiny amount of olive oil in the bath, you dont rinse the oil off of course so it can soak into their skin... but make sure its a tiny amount its a good thing you took the hedgie in.

[kat]

the same thing happened to my hedgie. she would only scratch her face and fur. i brought her to the vet for a skin scrape on her face and her legs and the vet took some fur to be looked at all test were negative from fungal problems and mites. so she was given an antihistamine with that she scratched less. when i took her off it, scratching went back thus, confirming an allergy. i still opted to treat her with revolution though, just to be on the safe side.

[elise5211]

Originally Posted by kat

the same thing happened to my hedgie. she would only scratch her face and fur. i brought her to the vet for a skin scrape on her face and her legs and the vet took some fur to be looked at all test were negative from fungal problems and mites. so she was given an antihistamine with that she scratched less. when i took her off it, scratching went back thus, confirming an allergy. i still opted to treat her with revolution though, just to be on the safe side.

Allergies! I never considered that's what my hedgie might have. She scratches, but she doesn't have any other signs of mites. What kind of things could a hedgehog be allergic to besides food, dust(?), bedding?

[Lexagon]

What kind of bedding do you use?
Is it a liner that you wash or is it some kind of shredded bedding?

If it is a liner do you wash it in fabric softener? Dryer sheets? I know for a while Maxwell was itching pretty badly it was actually a really bad combo of mites and he was allergic to the fabric softener in the sheets and what his bedding was washed in!

As for if its actual bedding, perhaps it'd be worthwhile to buy just a small bag of a new kind and see if the itching persists? If not then you know it was probably his bedding

[Kenzy]

I replied to this last night, but it hasn't shown up :O! Oh well, heh. Thank you all for the replies I use fleece liners, it might be the detergent. I don't wash with fabric softener. Is there a certain type of detergent I should be using, or is it just hit and miss? I used dryer sheets in my last load of hedgie wash, but up until that point, I hadn't used any. I'll go to wal-mart tonight and pick up some new detergent and wash everything with that. I'll make a vet appointment soon.

[Hedgieonboard]

I use All Free and Clear, it's worked good for me so far

[panda]

well at my house we have always used non allergenic detergents for clothes because i used to get irritated skin from the regular stuff.. not sure if i still would or if i outgrew it but i think the non allergenic is just fine and probably better for you in some ways anyways.. Norma doesnt seem to have any issues with it either :] i would say it could possibly be caused from the fragrance they use. good luck!