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Lots of red bumps

4K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  Askeptosaurus 
#1 ·
So I got Penny a less than a week ago and her skin was fine. She’s always in a ball and was always upset which is understandable In a new environment so I didn’t look too much into it. Well when I was spending time with her yesterday I noticed redbumps that I thought were ingrown hairs. Well I gave her a bath to ease it and find red bumps EVERYWHERE. I treated it with neosporin and put some oil on her to keep the mites off but the breeder can’t even tell if it’s mites. I’ve cleaned all of her stuff and her just wondering if anyone knows what it is and for advice! I’m extremely concerned but she eats, she was active and drinks some. So I was going to treat it myself first if I can. She’s 8 weeks.
 

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#2 ·
The ones in the third photo look really sore and possibly infected.

It is best to take her to the vet for a proper diagnosis asap, it could be a staph infection.
Also I'm not sure if it's just the photo, but is her anus ok? It doesn't look right to me, or is that just her tail/the angle making it also look not so good? ><

I wouldn't put any oil on her, if it is an infection this will irritate the skin further (since it does not allow the skin to breathe) and can cause or make an infection worse. Not sure about the neosporin, if it was me, I would only bath her in room temp water and take her to the vet asap. Don't use any soaps or shampoos, until her skin has returned to normal.

If she has gotten the spots since coming home, what kind of bedding are you using and if fleece how are you washing it / what kind of detergent ~ regular or scent free? Perhaps it is causing an allergic reaction?
 
#3 ·
So I am using fleece for her cage and I attempted to litter train her for a couple of days to realize that shes probably too young to understand. (Ive litter trained several other animals). I was wondering if she was allergic to the litter because she likes to roll in it, Ive taken it out. Its cat litter. I had to change her diet since I can't find where the breeder got her food. It is also dry cat food. I will check on her when I get off work. This morning I noticed she didnt poop anywhere unless it's in her little cubby ( didnt have time to check). She didn't eat much or drink much but i'm thinking she was just really tired from me treating her. Will update.
Those were spots on her privates, spot on nose and ear, around the quills and a couple in the quills. Breeder suggested Dial soap for baths and having her walk in Betadine.
 
#6 ·
Ok that's good your taking her to the vet, it looks really sore and is probably effecting her appetite and activity level. What kind of cat litter were you using? Could well have been a reaction to it if she liked to roll in it. If you'd like to try litter training, I use Yesterday's News which is safe to use. For now I would let her recover and just use paper towels in her litter tray. So are you using a non-scented detergent to wash the fleece? General detergents can also cause skin and URI issues, their sensitive little creatures ><. Best to also use White distilled vinegar in rinse water to get rid of any residue detergent as when it's new it sits on the fabric (my boy used to sneeze a lot when I first had him on fleece, even though i was using a non scented detergent ~ was still leaving a residue on the fabric!)

I wouldn't use anymore treatments on her until you've been to the vet and discussed with them, they could be making it worse.

Please keep us posted, hoping she recovers soon ♡
 
#7 ·
Shes eating Meow Mix, her litter was Special Kitty fragrance free, I don't know what detergent it was my mom washed it. She is eating and pooping (dark moist poop) and drinking a small amount I can tell now that its in a bowl ( was trying to use a dispenser but could never see evidence. Besides being grouchy all the time which is understandable she seems to be ok appetite wise but obviously not physically. Will update after vet visit.
 
#8 ·
Vet couldn’t tell what caused it since ther were so many changes. Just told me it was an infection.They prescribed her with Enrofloxacin, RD feline cat food. Pet Bac Oral Gel and Revolution Application. Will be back in 2 weeks.
 
#9 ·
I'm glad you got some medication from the vets, hoping they help clean up the infection.

Yes it is recommended when first bringing a hedgie home to keep changes to a minimum. Using the same food is the most important. I could be mistaken but I think Meow mix is a low quality food?. If you're going to feed cat food, it is best to feed a premium quality one (one bag last 3-6months so it's not too expensive). Their is a recommended food list on here if you do want to slowly change her food (I'd wait until she is better before doig so). Or do you know what food the breeder/ store was feeding, since you've only had her a week, it would probably make sense to feed the same food and see if her issues settle down. See if the medicine helps first.

I'd also check with your mum what the detergent is. It could be irritating her skin. If you can't change the detergent then I recommend switching to paper bedding.
 
#10 ·
I’ll check on the detergent but the food the breeder offered was like some dollar general food I couldn’t find. I’ll prob just stick with what the vet gave since it’s such a huge bag it will last months so not too worried about the price. Just hope she gets better. Everything she was prescribed is oral so it makes it kind of harder so he said just try my best if it gets on her fur she might lick it up. I honestly think it was the litter because I got it about 1 1/2 days before the infection showed but who knows.
 
#12 ·
I'll check on the detergent but the food the breeder offered was like some dollar general food I couldn't find. I'll prob just stick with what the vet gave since it's such a huge bag it will last months so not too worried about the price. Just hope she gets better. Everything she was prescribed is oral so it makes it kind of harder so he said just try my best if it gets on her fur she might lick it up. I honestly think it was the litter because I got it about 1 1/2 days before the infection showed but who knows.
Here check this link, it is a tutorial and guidance notes for syringe feeding.
https://www.hedgehogcentral.com/for...yringing-tutorial-syringe-feeding-sticky.html

Oh sorry I did mean to comment on the litter too. I'm not familiar with the brand but could also be the cause, was it a clumping type? Just use paper towels in the tray for now until her skin heals. Later on if you want to try a litter, yesterday news is safe to use. I use it and have not had any priblems with it. Also don't bathe her in anything but water (unless the vet has given you something to use). When she is better only use baby washes like Aveeno oatmeal baby wash, it is very gentle and safe for hedgies. Hoping she gets better soon, keep us posted.
 
#13 ·
Ok thank y’all so much for all the iadvice. I’ve had a couple of exotic animals but they never got sick like this! I definently will watch the video. The vet gave me a lot of crap about handling her like I never touched her when I’ve only had her for a week and 3 of those days she was in so much pain. I let her out all the time and I’m using gloves since she’s so agitated but he repeated it at least 7 times!
I’ll litter train her once this is so over with and use that newspaper brand.
And yea I will use just water, she seems to calm down in a warm bath I think I helps soothe it
 
#16 ·
Can confirm, Meowmix is crap. Hopefully she takes to the Hills r/d without much issue but as you get towards the end of it you should gradually switch it to something where, at minimum the first ingredient is a meat and not a form of corn. There's a list elsewhere on this site but I recommend a mix of small breed dog food(I use Nutro Ultra) and indoor cat food(I use Chicken Soup for the Soul).
 
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