Help please! 7 week old baby has only been home for a week & has crusty zits on face?

[Lerobot]

Hey unfortunately even though our baby has ony been home for one week we already have a health concern. The day after I brought our baby home he had a very small scab under his eye on the side of his face. I made sure to inspect every inch of the home to make sure nothing could have injured him and his housing is to perfect spec even with a Carolina storm wheel. I noticed today instead of one side the scabs have spread to both sides of his face under his eyes, they are crusty and have bumps around them also. I have replaced his fleece liners with aspen hoping to have it be more like home since the breeder had used shavings. I have also treated everything from the start with allergies in mind. Do you know what could be causing this? I'm starting to get worried. I've emailed the breeder and will contact a vet ASAP. In the mean time though, this forum has helped since before and during my new hedgehog mom life and I'm hoping I can get some help. Thanks !

[Lerobot]

here are some photos i wanted to add. also i changed his bedding almost 4 days ago, and it has still gotten worse. is this perhaps stress related? in research i can't find the answer. also the only things in his cage are water, and food dish, hut, wheel and litter pan and tray, fleece scraps and toilet paper tubes (cut down the center with rounded edges). and i gave him his first bath today. i haven't noticed any scratching, he doesn't seem super uncomfortable and the scabs aren't visible anywhere else.

hoping someone can help! thanks in advance. xo

[Nancy]

Get rid of the aspen and go back to liners. Aspen can cause allergies. Once the aspen is gone give him another bath to get rid of any aspen residue.

It could be a staph infection which is fairly common with babies. If it shows up anywhere else, and doesn't start to improve after the aspen is gone, he will need to see the vet.

He'es a cutie.

[Lerobot]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Get rid of the aspen and go back to liners. Aspen can cause allergies. Once the aspen is gone give him another bath to get rid of any aspen residue.

It could be a staph infection which is fairly common with babies. If it shows up anywhere else, and doesn't start to improve after the aspen is gone, he will need to see the vet.

He'es a cutie.

The only thing is we recently (4 days ago) changed his bedding but he came home 3 days prior to that and had fleece only and the scabs had started to appear on day 2. i thought maybe it was stress from the change in environment and being in a new home, but since it's spread i'm def thinking there's an underlying issue. looks like i'll be making a trip to the vet soon. & thank you for your reply! he IS a cutie

[Lerobot]

UPDATE***!

It must have been the stress from a new environment because he woke up last night & his face is totally clear! We had bonded over bath time the day before, and I think it relieved his stress and he is not only scab free but he's also hardly balling up now and exploring right away when we take him to play. I'm so very happy. Thank you SO much for your help you guys~

[SiouxzieKinz]

Glad to read that your little one is doing better. That is quite the quick turn around in behaviour - most posts I read on here the change is gradual. Maybe you have a very adaptable hedgie!

This forum has been a tremendous joy and a wonderful source of information so I am completely grateful. Happy to read you've had the same experience.