[lmsoft]

I took Sophie to the vet last week to check out her dry skin, iritated skin (and to just generally see how she was doing), and I'm a bit iffy about our vet, so I thought I'd report here and see what you experienced owners and breeders have to say.

Her skin is very dry, and her quills are falling out more than usual for just quilling. We did a few skin scrapes for mites, and weren't able to find any, but he has be giving her antibiotic shots just to make sure. This made me a little nervous at first, but he assured me I couldn't her, and showed me how to give the shots. And, my dad used to work in labs dealing with blood work, so he's very knowledgeable in giving shots, and has been helping me.

What actually has be worried is that he recommended I feed her Pretty Pet, which I read here is not actually good food for African Pygmie Hedgehogs. This has be slightly concerned, because if he made that mistake, what other stuff could be be wrong about? He seemed very knowledgable about hedgehogs, how to handle them, etc, and had obviously seen a number of them, but I'm just not sure...should I get a second opinion from another doctor? There are a few places in the area that take hedgehogs, so that's not a concern.

On another note, Sophie seemed to perk up even the night of the first shot, and her skin seems less red now about 5 days later, so it seems to be helping...

 

[Gnarly]

What is the name of the antibiotic you are injecting?

If it's Ivermectin, for mites, I would personally suggest stopping the injections. Although not always the case, it has caused overdoses in some hedgehogs.

And, yes, I would also be concerned, and skeptical about a vet's experience with hedgehogs if they suggested you feed Pretty Pets. Do you know if this vet has ever seen hedgehogs?
If possible, I would start shopping around for a more hedgehog savvy vet, or at least a vet that is willing to put the work in and learn about hedgehogs.

Sometimes mites may exist even if you can't find them on the initial scraping.

In the meantime, you might want to try an Aveeno bath, or a bath with a few drops of oil oil to sooth your hedgehog's skin.

 

[lmsoft]

I checked, it is Ivermectin. We're giving her the very lowest injection on the syringe, though, but having heard this I think I'll definately make an appointment with another vet.

Aside from the Pretty Pet recommendation, everything else he said seemed alright. I could tell by how he held her that he'd handled a lot of hedgehogs. He also had a med student with him, and he was telling her all about the species and testing her on info about them, so I think experience is not so much the problem.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Glad she's looking better

Though I do agree with what Gnarly's concern about the Invermectin Pretty Pets. I'd stop with the injections and get your little one a different food. Check out Reaper's list in the Diet and Nutrition section for suggestions on high quality cat kibbles.

 

[lmsoft]

I bought her some new food today, all weight control or lite. One is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, another is Purina One, and I don't remember the other, but I think it was all natural.

I'm wondering, I've already given Sophie three shots (over the last week, including the one the doctor gave her), and she hasn't had any averse reactions...and even seems more lively, with far less skin irritation, and she's getting her quills back. Do you guys think its ok to continue since she doesn't seem to be having any problem with it?

 

[Nancy]

What shots are you giving her? If it is Ivermectin, she should not have 3 in one week. They should be spaced 2 or 3 weeks apart. I can't remember because I WOULD NOT EVER use ivermectin on one of my hedgehogs. I sincerely hope a vet would not prescribe Ivermectin that frequently.

Can you give us the name off the label?

 

[Hedgiepets]

If she had mites, Revolution is the best for her. We have not heard of any adverse reactions. It can be used on babies and nursing moms.

 

[lmsoft]

Here's what the label says:

Ivermectin 10mg/ml (3 ml)

"Inject 0.01 mis under the skin every 3 days for 2 weeks then every 7 days (8 weeks total)"

Our visit was on monday the 8th, when she received the first shot. I gave her one on thursday, then again this monday.

My vet talked really fast so I had trouble keeping track of all the details, but I remember him saying that since we didn't find mites in the skin scrapings, it could also be a few other things, one of which I believe was ringworm, and the other I think was something fungal? He said none were fatal. Is it possible Ivermectin can serve as some sort of catch-all if its not mites? I do remember he gave it specifically for mites, though.

He said the irritation was also possibly due to the drops of olive oil I was putting on her back...which confused me, because I thought that was what I was supposed to do for dry skin (its possible I was putting too much on, too)

Thanks for your help so far! I'm very glad I decided to check on here, and I'm now even more concerned about my little one (and my vet...). I just peaked at her, and she's her usual huffy self, and I still think she's doing better than the weeks before I took her in. I'm very glad she hasn't had any problem with this dubious medication yet.

 

[lmsoft]

Updates: We haven't had another visit yet, but I called both my vet and my breeder's vet, and both assured me that Ivermectin is safe when prescribed correctly and according to weight. I remember my vet went lower than his first calculation when he prescribed it for her.

I certainly don't want to harm her, but I'm also hesitant to stop something that's working. Here skin looks much better and she's much more lively now. Also, it seems to me like if she was going to have a bad reaction, it would have happened by now. But again, I want to do what's best for my baby. I'm just trying to figure out what that would be.

I also got to talk to the other vet at our clenic, who I think i like much better. She did say they also prescribe Revolution, and that both are the same branch of medication. I know in the future I'll insist on Revolution, and I'm glad to hear its a recognized option there.

I've tried looking up medical articles on this, but I can only find it referred to treating animals for various similar deceases, nothing specifically about hedgehogs or risks...I'd like to keep researching this, can anyone point me in the direction of likely articles?

One source I found was discussing being used on dogs, and said that its mostly safe except for a few breeds which have a natural genetic problem with it. Could some, thing like this explain why some hedgehogs react badly, but many don't?