[andi725]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new hedgie mama - I just got my baby Audrey last weekend! She's 8 weeks old and extremely friendly. Reading these posts I was nervous about socializing her and getting her to like me, but now she just crawls into my hand and falls asleep! I wish I could figure out how to post pictures on here! (it always says the pic is too big :| )

When I brought her home I noticed that she was pretty sneezy and sniffly so I took her to the vet. They gave her baytril for her runny nose (I'm giving her it 2x a day at home) and they also noticed some dry, flaky skin on her leg and chin. The vet gave her the Ivermectin treatment for mites that day and I'll be back there next Monday for the next. I've read a lot of negative comments about the Ivermectin injections and was planning to ask the vet about switching to the topical treatment even though Audrey seemed to be doing great. The whole time I've had her I've never seen Audrey really scratch much, even though the vet found those patches, but last night I found her scratching a lot. Is there anything I can do for her until she gets her next mite treatment?

I have her in a sterilite tub, complete with wheel, igloo, homemade hedgiebag and a separate playpen. I have aspen bedding and was worried that the dustiness might have caused her URI/is making it worse. I'm in the process of making my own cage liner out of fleece in the hopes of reducing dust and chances of mites, but she loooooves to dig and burrow! What should I do?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm so glad I found this forum - it's perfect for the paranoid new mama!

 

[nessariel]

I'm a new hedgiemamma too, and being paranoid definitely comes with the territory!

I don't really know much about mite treatments, but I do know that, to help relieve itchiness, you can give a little oatmeal bath. Just fill a sock with oatmeal and let it soak in the warm water (not too deep or too hot!) then let your hedgie wade around and pour a bit of water over her. That should help with the itchiness.

As for digging and burrowing, a lot of people cut up a bunch of fleece strips and put them in a box or such for burrowing purposes. My hedgie seems to love his little fleece pile!

I hope this helps with some of your questions! Hopefully someone else will know more about safety of various mite treatments.

 

[mel2626]

first off~ Congrats on your new baby and welcome to HHC!! lol On the "paranoid mama" thing~ I've been there too!!!! :lol: :lol:

That being said:
I'll just copy a link to a discussion regarding Invermectin. As I told someone earlier, it's ultimately your choice as to what you use, just please be aware of the possible side affects which include death. I also responded to the post "Penelope's First Vet Visit" regarding a similar questions if you want to take a look there as well. As you said yourself, there are other options, not only less-invasive but also safer (such as Revolution which is highly recommended). People have had problems with full-gown hedgies getting the treatments, let alone with an 8 week old baby hedgehog, I'd never take the risk myself. But again, that's your choice~ I just want to make sure you're aware of the possibility of something going wrong.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6

For posting pix:
I use Photobucket and just re-size them on there before posting here. You can use any sort of online picture hosting site as well.

For the bedding:
When I got my girl from the breeder, they kept her on shavings. I thought it was so messy and it made me crazy.! :lol: I use home-made liners and LOVE them! I think it also helps her to understand the difference between her litter box and her regular play area, so makes litter training a little easier (if you are attempting ). I think you and Audrey will love the liners too! I not only put fleece strips in her cage but also big pieces (remnants) of fleece leftover from making her liners. She hasn't used her igloo in so long because she prefers to sleep in her hedgie bag or under one of these pieces of fabric, so I took her igloo out long ago. The cage is probably not as organized having pieces of fleece thrown in as opposed to an igloo, but it gives her a chance to burrow under something which she loves to do.

Again welcome and we can't wait to see pix of your new baby! I don't know what I would have done without this website either. It helped so much and the people on here absolutely know their hedgies!

~Melissa

 

[SnufflePuff]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new hedgie mama - I just got my baby Audrey last weekend! She's 8 weeks old and extremely friendly. Reading these posts I was nervous about socializing her and getting her to like me, but now she just crawls into my hand and falls asleep! I wish I could figure out how to post pictures on here! (it always says the pic is too big :| )

When I brought her home I noticed that she was pretty sneezy and sniffly so I took her to the vet. They gave her baytril for her runny nose (I'm giving her it 2x a day at home) and they also noticed some dry, flaky skin on her leg and chin. The vet gave her the Ivermectin treatment for mites that day and I'll be back there next Monday for the next. I've read a lot of negative comments about the Ivermectin injections and was planning to ask the vet about switching to the topical treatment even though Audrey seemed to be doing great. The whole time I've had her I've never seen Audrey really scratch much, even though the vet found those patches, but last night I found her scratching a lot. Is there anything I can do for her until she gets her next mite treatment?

I have her in a sterilite tub, complete with wheel, igloo, homemade hedgiebag and a separate playpen. I have aspen bedding and was worried that the dustiness might have caused her URI/is making it worse. I'm in the process of making my own cage liner out of fleece in the hopes of reducing dust and chances of mites, but she loooooves to dig and burrow! What should I do?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm so glad I found this forum - it's perfect for the paranoid new mama!

Congrats on your new baby!!

As for your post, I wouldn't get the ivermectin again. Even though your hedgie was okay with it once (thank goodness - that could have ended VERY badly!) it's not worth the risk the second time. Feel free to print off the ivermectin posts and show your vet. A lot of vets just don't know the risks so it's a good idea to let your vet know so they don't give it to any more hedgies!

Tell your vet you want revolution. You only need a small kitten strength tube (it'll cost you way less than the ivermectin too). Here is the dosing in case your vet doesn't know: http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2628

Your set-up sounds good, but the only thing you didn't mention was heating or lighting. Do you have heating system set up and what temperature is your hedgies cage at? Do you have a thermometer to check? Hedgies need around 76F (some higher, some lower) to prevent hibernation, as well as 12-14 hours of light per day. If it's not warm enough or light enough that could have caused the URI, but so could have the stress of moving to a new home.

Here's an awesome post all about how to heat your cage: http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579

That being said, the liners will definitely help cut back on the dust, so it's a good thing you're making one. Shavings can also harbour mites. If your hedgie is itching, it could be the mites or it could be dry skin.

Flax seed oil is reccommended for dry skin. Buy in capsule (not liquid) form and you can poke the capsule with a needle and empty it onto their food (i think one capsule once a week on the food is usually good). You can also empty the capsule directly onto their skin to help with the dryness is well.

Baths in aveeno unscented oatmeal bath work well too for alleviating dry skin and helping with pain from quilling. The oatmeal in the sock works too, just make sure it's regular oatmeal, not the instant kind (I'm actually not sure why this is... I just know that you're not suppose to use instant oatmeal). Stick to the oatmeal based shampoos... other baby shampoo actually dries out the skin worse, and whatever you do make sure whatever you use does NOT have tea tree oil in it. As this will kill your hedgie. http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5

You don't want to give too many baths though, as this will dry out the skin even worse. I think once every 2-3 weeks is okay while they are quilling, and then once they're not quilling people usually recommend no more than once every 1-2 months. That being said, you can definitely give foot baths (just washing poop of their feet) as needed as long as your aren't getting their skin wet.

I would be careful giving a bath while she has the URI though. If you do, you gotta be extra careful that the water is warm enough (but not hot - test with your wrist, not your hand) and that you dry her off extra well, as you don't want her to catch a chill afterwards and get sicker.

I've had a few people tell me that baytril is hard on hedgie's tummies. You may want to ask your vet about a different antibiotic if you notice green/muscousy/runny stools or if your hedgie stops eating. You will want to count her kibble and watch her closely to make sure she's eating while she's on the antibiotics, cause if she stops you will need to start syringe feeding her right away - as fatty liver disease can set in and kill her in a few days of not eating.

In case it comes to syringe feeding...here's some things you can read to help:
http://hedgehogcentral.com/oralmed.shtml
http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579

Also if you do notice the antibiotics are giving her green/mucousy stools you can try sprinkle a few pinches of acidophilus (it's a probiotic you can buy in capsule form or tablet form and crush - at your local drugstore) - it helps restore the natural good bacteria in the intestine.

I know that seems like a lot of information! Im not trying to bombard or freak you out about things that can go wrong with hedgies! I just know from my experience when I was a new mom, it's sometimes nice to know what to do BEFORE something bad happens, that way you're always prepared

Hope this helped and good luck with your new girl

 

[andi725]

Here's my baby! (hopefully this works)
[attachment=0:1gp7i2d4]hedgie.jpg[/attachment:1gp7i2d4]

Thanks, Melissa, for advice on the picture posting & the bedding - Audrey loves the fleece strips!

Snufflepuff: Don't worry about bombarding me! All of the information was really helpful. I never thought I'd be such a worried mom but now I'm frantically reading all of these forums! I'll definitely bring info about Revolution to my next vet visit. As for heating, the room is constantly set at 75F already and the vet said that would probably be okay since Audrey's been active and eating well. I might go get a heating lamp just to avoid small fluctuations. I'm going to look into the flax seed oil and the oatmeal bath, but it sounds like a good idea to wait until she's completely over her sickness. Audrey's been doing really well on the Baytril - eating like crazy and as explorative as ever. Which is another question - how much should she be eating? She's been eating more and more and I'm giving her about 3 teaspoons of dry mix + 2-3 mealies a night - is that okay? Thanks so much for all of the advice - your post was so comprehensive!

One more thing that's really bothering me is that she's made a weird coughing noises a couple times today. It sounds like a mix between wheezing and a coughing fit. What is this and should I be as worried as I am? Here's a link to a video I recorded of it:

Thanks again for all of the information!

 

[Nancy]

It sounds to me like she's having a sneezing fit.

Giver her as much food as she will eat. Babies need lots of food for their growing bodies. I'm glad she is eating well. Baytril is really hard on their tummies and often they go off their food when on it.

She is such a cutie.

 

[SnufflePuff]

She's super cute!
Glad to hear she's doing well, and that she's wanting to eat more not less on the baytril!
Sounds like you got her on antibiotics at a good time if she's having sneezing fits. Hopefully those will be cleared up soon!

It sounds to me like you're doing an awesome job at the new mom thing otherwise. Hope your little girl feels better soon!

 

[Sela]

Oh. My. God. Audrey is just too cute for words. I love the pose in that picture, she looks like she's having a nap. Her little nose is all long, isn't it? I love the longer noses on the piggies. <3 Give her a kiss for me!

 

[nationofamanda]

what vet are you using? just curious because we live near each other. your baby is so cute!

 

[andi725]

thanks! I go to the Broadway Oaks Animal Hospital, the doctors and staff are so nice there. And they're pretty good at dealing with my new owner paranoia!