[emeko]

I'm still waiting for my lab results for Beck's skin swab (taken on Friday), and if I don't get them to day I just may die. He is most definitely looking sparse now, no new quills coming in, and he doesn't seem himself. He's sleeping a LOT, only really wakes up when I wake him up to feed him. He's a bit grouchy, and more jumpy/grouchy (maybe he's sore from the quill loss?).

I treated him with Revolution last week just in case it was mites still, but so far he has shown no improvement.

He's doing a funny thing with his bum too. When I get him out, he wiggles his bum around. I can't explain it, but it's like he's clenching all the muscles around his tail/hindquarters and kind of wiggling his whole back end around, and sometimes curling his tail under his body, and then going back to normal. Sometimes he kind of gyrates and curls his tail under and leans his head down (almost like he was going to do some self lovin'), but then stopping and going back to normal on all fours. Could these signs be indicative of something?

How long can they go on just losing quills like this? He's going to literally go bald if it doesn't stop. I'm getting scared for him. He's only two and a little bit.

 

[Nancy]

If he did have mites, it could take weeks and possibly months to see much improvement. Right now you should notice that he'es stopped scratching. Quill loss can continue for some time as the mites will have damaged the quill bed and the damaged ones will continue to fall for a while. You might start to see new quill growth in as little as a few days to a week but it depends on the severity of the infestation. Sometimes quills don't grow back.

This may also be a bacterial or fungal infection which you will find out soon.

The bum thing just sounds like he'es being a boy. I have a boy that does the same thing when he first gets up. :lol: