[SnufflePuff]

I'm a new owner, it's been about two weeks since I got Puff and she's settling in nicely Now that we've got the house, the food and the bonding more or less on its way, I'm thinking it's time for a vet check-up.

She's been losing 4-5 quills a day, no apparent bald spots, but then again I don't really have a lot of experience with what hedgehogs quills normally look like. The quills all have the little round thing on the end which apparently means they were lost naturally but doesn't guarentee it's not mites. The problem is I think she's a little older than the quilling age (5-6 months most likely) but I've heard it can last for months and she is grumpy so maybe it's that?

My question is what should I know before I take her to the vet? I've heard ivermectin is not safe, and that revolution is the better alternative for mites, but is there any other important info I need to know before I let the vet prescribe a treatment (if it is mites) ?

Also how safe is sedation for hedgehogs? She is getting friendlier...but I don't imagine she'll be too cooperative at the vet so will she have to be sedated? She also needs her nails trimmed badly, since it seems she's never had them done but I don't think she'll let me near her feet so is it OK to get that done at the vet too or will that be too much stress for one visit?

Sorry for the long post! I just wanna make sure I'm prepared! Thanks

 

[Lilysmommy]

All I have to say is, you could probably just go ahead and treat for mites without doing a test. Testing for mites is usually a skin scrape and can give false negatives, since if you don't scrape where the mite are, you don't see any. Plus, a skin scrape would probably make for a huffy, uncooperative hedgie. I only had to pay $12 for Revolution for Lily when we treated for mites, so it was easier for her and for me to just treat her without putting her through the stress of a skin scrape.
I would just make sure your vet is patient with her. She shouldn't needed any sedation for a check up, so if that's his first option, I'd find a different vet. The vet I took Lily to was wonderful. He handled her with just thin latex gloves and was obviously used to handling hedgies. Then again, she was also pretty cooperative and didn't ball up at all.
For nail clipping, I'd try to do them yourself first. She knows you better right now, so I would think she'd be more comfortable with you doing them than the vet, unless he sedated her. I would try playing with her feet a bit when you get her out for cuddles. Just run your fingers over them lightly and get her used to you touching them. Maybe have the clippers near by and try clipping just one nail if she lets you get close with them. If she is really reluctant to let you do it dry, you can try doing it in a bath, where they can't ball up.

 

[SnufflePuff]

All I have to say is, you could probably just go ahead and treat for mites without doing a test. Testing for mites is usually a skin scrape and can give false negatives, since if you don't scrape where the mite are, you don't see any. Plus, a skin scrape would probably make for a huffy, uncooperative hedgie. I only had to pay $12 for Revolution for Lily when we treated for mites, so it was easier for her and for me to just treat her without putting her through the stress of a skin scrape.
I would just make sure your vet is patient with her. She shouldn't needed any sedation for a check up, so if that's his first option, I'd find a different vet. The vet I took Lily to was wonderful. He handled her with just thin latex gloves and was obviously used to handling hedgies. Then again, she was also pretty cooperative and didn't ball up at all.
For nail clipping, I'd try to do them yourself first. She knows you better right now, so I would think she'd be more comfortable with you doing them than the vet, unless he sedated her. I would try playing with her feet a bit when you get her out for cuddles. Just run your fingers over them lightly and get her used to you touching them. Maybe have the clippers near by and try clipping just one nail if she lets you get close with them. If she is really reluctant to let you do it dry, you can try doing it in a bath, where they can't ball up.

Thanks for the advice! What dosage of Revolution did your vet have you use or did you just folllow the dosage per weight instructions? I work a vet clinic (which only sees cats and dogs unfortuntely) but I should be able to order revolution if I can get a presciption for the hedgehog vet sent over. Do you use it as a preventitive treatment as well and if so how often do you give it? Oh and the bath idea for nail clipping is really smart! Puff is much friendlier in the water

 

[Mcliu]

lucky! my hedgehog hates water =(

 

[Lilysmommy]

That's good that he's friendlier, Lily also hates her bathtimes. :lol:
I don't usually use it as a preventative measure, we suspected Lily had mites, so just used it that once to clear it up. I recently had a rescue hedgie in my room, so I've been thinking I might see if I can get another couple of doses from my vet, since we're pretty sure the rescue could've had mites. I'd hate for Lily to have them and me not notice until they get really bad.
The dosage my vet gave me was weight-based, I believe. We gave her .04 mL, I think, and she weights 340 grams.

 

[SnufflePuff]

That's good that he's friendlier, Lily also hates her bathtimes. :lol:
I don't usually use it as a preventative measure, we suspected Lily had mites, so just used it that once to clear it up. I recently had a rescue hedgie in my room, so I've been thinking I might see if I can get another couple of doses from my vet, since we're pretty sure the rescue could've had mites. I'd hate for Lily to have them and me not notice until they get really bad.
The dosage my vet gave me was weight-based, I believe. We gave her .04 mL, I think, and she weights 340 grams.

haha well maybe "friendlier" wasn't the right term, more along the lines of she can't curl up and she lets me hold her and pick her up because she knows the faster she lets me do that the faster she gets out of the bath :lol: but thanks for the advice, I'm thinking I will probably go with a dose of the revolution just because I am a little worried she might have mites and it'll make me feel better. I'll have to find a time I can take her to the vet first tho, all the clinics that see hedgehogs here have very odd hours lol.