New owner worried about quill loss

[maryandkitty]

I'm a brand new hedgehog owner. I did a lot of research and reading before joining the club and I thought I was very prepared. Now I have a cute little girl and I'm worried about everything (isn't that what good moms do?). But here's my biggest concern: my hedgie is 6 months old. I've had her for about three weeks now. She has recently started itching a lot and I'm finding more than just a couple lost quills in her cage. They also sometimes fall out when I'm holding her. Now I've read about quilling and what I've mostly found is that it's over before they are 6 months. Now the quills that she is losing do have a bulb on the end and I read that usually means its not a sign of mites, but I'm scared. What else could be causing this? She doesn't have any bald patches, but it sure seems to be above average quill loss. Is a vet visit in order? I live in the nevada desert so it's hot and I use evaporative cooling instead of ac. Could heat cause this? Or stress from moving?

[nikki]

If she's scratching a lot then yes she could have mites. The bulb still being on the end of the quills doesn't mean she doesn't have mites, they can have mites and still have the bulb on the end. If you do take her to the vet to be treated for mites make sure they use Revolution, not Ivermectin or Ivermec.