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8 1/2 month old quilling??

4K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Meagan 
#1 ·
Max is eight and a half months old and he is losing A LOT of quills. He has had super dry and flaky skin which I have been trying to treat with rinsing him in water and flaxseed oil. I have also put some flaxseed oil in his kibble. Tonight after his bath he lost more than 20 quills and I found about 10 in his cage from last night. He is starting to get thin spots in his quills. Is this quilling? He has new ones growing back in. This has kind of been happening since October, but I thought it was quilling and it wasn't that bad. He has had dry skin and losing lots of quills for 2 months now. Is this quilling or is something wrong with him?
 
#2 ·
They can have a period of quilling around that time (between six months and a year) but it's generally a more mild quilling. If you're seeing patches of thinning quills I suggest treating for mites. What kind of bedding do you use?
 
#4 ·
He may just be having a heavy adult quilling, or it could be triggered by stress. If you're seeing a lot of new quills coming in, quilling is most likely. I still recommend a mite treatment to be sure. Occasionally mites can show up in less obvious ways, like from an outing outside or just because the hedgie had a small number already, and a drop in the immune system allows them to suddenly multiply and do damage.
 
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