[K9_girl1994]

My hedgehog is about 8 weeks old and I found a few quills lying around the bed after I put him away. Then I took him out again that night and I found a few more. Is he quilling? Also, if he is quilling is there something I can do to make him feel better (I heard that it hurt them).

 

[LizardGirl]

It is very likely your hedgie is quilling. Also, there is the possibility of mites. Either way, it is quite uncomfortable and can be helped bythe occasional (not too often!) oatmeal bath. Just fill the sink/tub with 1 or 2 inches of warm, not hot, water, and mix in the oatmeal powder, or if you are using Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment (highly recommended) you can apply it directly to his back, or mix it in the water as well.

 

[K9_girl1994]

Also, there is the possibility of mites.

He does have flaky dry skin and someone told me if it was flaky he has mites and I did get him from a pet store. So what do I do if he has mites? and why would he be losing quills? This morning when I took him out I found 7 quills. Will he get very sick with mites? He is still getting used to me, but I will buy Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment.

 

[LizardGirl]

Just because he has flaky skin, does not mean he has mites. They can have just dry skin, without them. Some telltale signs of mites are orange-ish crusties at the base of the quills, excessive scratching, etc. If you can hold your hedgie on his back, on a black cloth and get some of the flakes onto it, then look at it under a bright light, you may be able to see some of the flakes moving. That would be a mite. However, they might not move even if they are there. The only certain way to tell is to have your vet do a skin scraping. If it turns out he does have mites, then he should be treated with Revolution (not Ivermectin! This can be dangerous). One drop between the shoulderblades of the kitten formula should get rid of them. Even if he doesn't have mites, it won't hurt.

 

[r_k_chic47]

Can hedgehogs lose lots of quills just from dry skin? And can dry skin make them scratch a lot?

 

[LizardGirl]

They will scratch with just dry skin as well, but I think moreso with mites. I don't think they will lose many quills from simply dry skin without any other cause. If there are hormonal issues, they can lose quills from that, or it could just be regular quilling. Some hedgies quill again at a year old.

 

[r_k_chic47]

Okay. Well I don't know how old my hedgie is, but he's been scratching a lot lately and has had flaky skin, and has been losing 5-15 quills per day. I got aveeno baby shampoo and have given him a bath with it, along with putting flax seed oil on his food twice this week. He is losing less quills now, but his skin is still a slightly reddish-white color. I did a skin scraping with a butterknife onto a black piece of paper like 5 days ago(he lost 3 quills in the process, and lots of flakes came off) but I didnt see any of the flakes moving. This was before I used the aveeno baby shampoo and flax seed oil, though. Should I do another one to see if his dry skin got any better?

 

[LizardGirl]

Are you looking for mites? They can still be there, even if they don't show up when you look for them. 5-15 is quite a bit for just dry skin. If you think he's not quilling, it'd be best to let a vet do a skin scraping, so they can determine what action to take.

 

[r_k_chic47]

Yes, I was looking for mites. And I know they could still be there, even if I didnt see them. But I figured since the aveeno baby shampoo and flax seed oil dramatically decreased the quill loss problem, that it probably was just dry skin and not mites. If I notice that he is still scratching a lot and losing quills, then I will take him to the vet. I just want to be sure before I spend a ton of money on the vet visit.

 

[K9_girl1994]

Yeah so i doubt he has mites cause he isn't scratching and his flaky skin isn't moving, so I will buy that Aveeno stuff and I will buy flax seed oil.

 

[r_k_chic47]

Okay. You can find flax seed oil in pretty much any store that has a pharmacy section. Remember that they come in liquid capsules (if you didn't know already), so all you have to do is poke a hole in the capsule with a needle and squeeze out the liquid onto your hedgehog's food once or twice a week.

 

[K9_girl1994]

ok thanx. i put the flax seed oil in his food yesterday. And I will put it again wednesday. And I am going to give him a bath on wednesday as well, so I think I am good.