Suspicious Skin Thing

[snufflesbaby]

My hedgehog, Snuffles, is almost 3 years old. She has always had dry skin (it’s just very dry where I live) and so I’ve been giving her an oatmeal bath about once every week or so. Her skin has been getting a little bit better but today I noticed what looks like a patch of skin with clear fluid coming out of it. I don’t know what it is and my closest guess would be a blister that popped, but I don’t know how she could have gotten one. I’m keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get infected, but I just wanted to know if anybody had any other ideas as to what it could be?

[Yukidama's mama]

A bath once a week is too much even if you are using oatmeal. Generally once a month is the maximum, with shallow footbaths inbetween. Water drys out the skin and can strip the naturals oils on the skin which act as a protective barrier. If you live in a dry climate, then I'd recommend getting a humidifier for the room or an air purifier with a built in humidifier, you'll both benefit from it. Or if your water is hard, this can also potentially cause skin problems (a filter and softener will help with this).

Also what food do you feed her, I noticed a big difference in my boy's skin when I transitioned him to premium quality cat food.

Keep that blistered area dry, no more baths as if it keeps getting wet it can't heal over and there's a risk of infection. If you notice an infection starting then you'll need to take her to the vet to get treatment/medication. To avoid infection, keep her cage very clean.

In terms of what caused it, have you changed any products, like detergent you wash her fleece in (or changed bedding) or cleaning products you use for her stuff? Or if you've given her quite a few baths once a week for some time and she had severe dry skin in is area perhaps it caused the skin to have a reaction.

[snufflesbaby]

Thank you so much! I feed her the Sunseed Hedgehog Formula food. I switched her over about a year ago because the cat food we were feeding her previously had been too high in fat. Do you have any recommendations on what food we could try?