Bath Time after Revolution and other Questions

[Chief]

Hello,

I am a very new hedgehog owner. My little guys name is chief and I recently took him to the vet as I discovered a bunch of mites on his face. Its been 3 days since he got his first dose of revolution and by now he's starting to get a little stinky since he hasn't bathed in a while. I was wondering if it would be ok to go ahead and bath him without affecting the process of the medicine. I also think it would be good to wash off any dead mites that may still be on him.

Also, when we first got chief, every time my boyfriend held him, he would break out in little bumps on his arms. We didn't know at the time that chief had mites, so I'm wondering if they were mite bites or if my boyfriend is allergic to chief? I got one bump, it went away very quickly, after he had gotten the dose of revolution so I'm a little confused if its the mites or just the little guy himself.

It's been a bit of a learning experience with the little guy since I've only had a dog before. So learning how to better bond with him has been an important task, I try and play with him as much as possible but most of the time during the day he wants to sleep and gets grumpy if I wake him up lol. He sometimes tries to bite my finger several times and I never know if its him saving the taste or if its something else.
Anyway, any other help and advice or guidance on how to better bond with my prickly friend would be great!

Thanks so much!
- Andrea & Chief

[lifeofdochi]

Im not sure about bathing as my hedgie has not had mites. But the little bumps are not due to mites. Hedgehogs have a mild chemical on the tips of their quills which when you get pricked can cause irritation. More handling of the hedgehog allowing for your skin to get used to it will reduce the irritation.
It takes time to bond with your hedgie so don't get frustrated and quit. Playing with your hedgie for at least 30 mins in the evenings everyday around the time they wake up helps. Also placing a shirt with your scent in their cage where they sleep like those plastic igloos will help them get used to your scent and feel more comfortable around you.

[nikki]

Hedgehog do not have a mild chemical on their quills. They can not manufacture chemicals. What they do have is feces, urine, saliva and anything they many have annointed with on their quills and some people react to that.

[ArizonaHazelnut]

I would check with your vet before bathing your hedgie, just to be sure. You wouldn't want to mess up the process of getting rid of the mites, and the vet should be able to tell you when your little one can have another bath.

Also, hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, which means they need to be left alone during the day to sleep. We usually wake our hedgie up around 8:00 PM every night, and she does well. Otherwise, she is left alone in her cage throughout the day, and has both natural light from the window and a lamp on (using a timer) for 12 hours daily.

Good luck with your bonding time!

[Ozzmae]

I believe that revolution actually soaks into the skin (no citations though) and it would be fine to bath your hedgie.

[nikki]

This is from December, I'm pretty sure they have bathed their hedgehog. Pleas check dates before posting.

[FatLilPony]

I know that this is old, but I just wanted to post this from the wikipedia page for Selamectin (which is what revolution is) for people who are stumbling across this thread asking this same question, since there is not an answer here.

"The drug is applied topically. It is waterbased, and does not lose its effectiveness with bathing. It is packaged according to its varying dosage sizes, and is applied once monthly."

I assume this is the same as bathing a dog afterward-- you don't want to do it immediately afterward, but next day onward is ok.

[SquirtleSquirt]

Please do not post on old threads. If you have any kind of information or question you would like to share/ask please make a new thread.