Quill loss/pinched ends

[PippaPig]

Hey!


My little gal is named Pippa and she's about 1 year old now. I've had some problems with her in the past with (suspected) mites maybe six months ago, but since then she has been great. I am nervous because I've been noticing some weird things with her quills. For one, the ends seem to be "pinched" flat on a lot of them. I haven't been able to find any info on this, and wanted to pick some people's brains.



I know that some hedgies can still be quilling even around a year, but I feel that in the past couple weeks she has been dropping a lot more quills than usual. Her quills have gotten thinned out, but I do see a lot of new ones coming in, so I'm not sure if I should be worried that she has mites or something, or if she just dropped a bunch as a new round of quilling started.



She has gotten grumpier lately, but I would attribute that to general quilling stuff, I suppose. I don't know how she would have gotten mites again- I haven't gotten new food lately, her enclosure has fleece blankets that I wash myself every week, and I clean the bottom of her cage out once a week as well. She hasn't come into contact with any other animal really, either.



I guess I'm just an anxious parent looking for some advice.

[Ria]

The flat quills can happen if they lay in a weird a way and then they top or sometimes a whole quill can become flat.

If you can see a lot of new quills its not likely to be mites, if she isnt scratching a lot or at all then it wont be mites. If you really want you can put her on something black and rub her and see if any the white flakes move its not a fool proof test, but it has work for a lot of people.

You can carry mites on your clothes. I change mine before washing my hands to to prevent Holly getting mites as much as possible.
Shes a year and half and not had mites at all so far