VERY Dry skin, losing quills and some fur

[brinkman83]

My hedgehog has been losing a few quills a day, nothing serious... yet. I know she went through quilling already so I am wondering if it could be a result of the severe dry skin? I am going to get her some Aveeno oatmeal bath and see if that helps out. I know that airconditioning is very drying of the air and I suspect that to be the reason she is so dry. I have tried giving her a bath with a little canola oil and this does help for about a week or two, but anyways I know it is not mites but the problem is that I do not have a vet within 100 miles that would even see a hedgehog or for that matter know what is wrong. Perhaps bloane has some suggestions. She isnt acting any differently, she drinks and eats plenty (although she has always been very thin compared to the babies she had earlier this year, thinking of adding in something with more fat) and otherwise seems unaffected. I have never seen her scratching because of it, and the other hedgehog (her son) we have here in my appartment has had little problem with dry skin and is otherwise ok. I guess for a synopsys I had noticed the last few times I handled her that she was losing a few quills but was not showing any sign of blading in any area as far as that goes, but she is losing some fur and has a patch of it missing on the side she usually lays on. The skin under her fur is not dry at all, and a healthy pink, she doesnt seem to be tender or anything like that, but there are some sizeable (and somewhat gross) skin flakes around her quills.

Any suggestions, or needing further clarification would be gladly be met with further info. Trying to be as specific as possible. Thanks!

[brinkman83]

I knew I would forget something, she is on aspen bedding and has never shown signs of allergy, breathing is fine, her eyes are clear, nose is wet as usual, but I suppose it is entirely possible that she has a skin allergy to the aspen for some reason. I had hamsters years back and remember something similar happening when they were on cedar. Anyways if you have anything plz let me know, I dont be able to make it to a vet that far away because of college / work, but I dont want her miserable.

Thanks again

[reddevil]

Hi,

I'll give you some advice Becca gave me a long time ago....to test for mites....use a black t-shirt or any black material....place her on the material, wrap her up....unwrap her and check if you can see some whitish dots moving...if so you have to take her to the vet and get Revloution...its used for dogs and cats but a lot of the top breeder also use it..Tig, Becca....i've also used it and it does work well......oh, if she has mites you will have to bleach her cage and everything in it...anything wood you will have to dispose off it....mite are not fun...they can come in pine or aspen...I suggest you switch to liners...more work but better for your hogs health.


red

[reddevil]

Hi,

Another test for mite.....clear tape and a microscope.....take the tape and put it on the hogs back ...remove the tape and look under the microscope.....if you see creepy crawly dots then the hog does have mite.....that's how my vet checks for mites..it pretty simple andyou could do this at home if you have a microscope...as for dry skin...I use this Almond oil that contains vit E...its made in Quebec, Canada... I buy the stuff at Wal-Mart in the baby section....my friend from the USA can't find the product..so I have to ship it to her soon.....I guess you can get stuff made in Canada....good luck and let us know what happens....


your hedgie Pal,

Red

[vortle]

i have a 6 y.o. male who's been losing lots of quills and also has dry skin. he is beginning to have a bit of near-baldness in one area ( most of his body is still fine), and i've put vitamin e on it to help encourage new quill growth. new quills are growing in. i've checked in several different ways including using a microscope to look at a skin scraping, and found no evidence of mites. his diet is royal canin 38, performance (a brand in ny with 40% protein), chicken soup lite, a bit of spike's delight, plus treats of ground turkey, chicken gizzards, bugs, eggs, etc.

is he just having a strange quilling pattern? what else should i check for? hair is intact and the area of concern is on his back. all the quills he has are healthy, shiny, soft and thick...

-e. fay and puck

[Lauren]

I would take your hedgie to the vet and have them find out what's wrong with your little guy. I've heard also that skin scrappings dont always work to show you if there are mites or not. See if your vet can perscribe you some Revolution and see how that works. It might be old age since you said he is six years old, but Im not sure at all, I haven't had a hedgie that lived that long. But I would really reccomend you taking him to the vet as soon as you can since you said its been on for a while.

[brinkman83]

Has anyone ever encountered a hedgehog being allergic to aspen chips? It seems like its only one one side that she is losing fur on mostly. The odd thing is when I have her on a towel or something even after 5 min there is hair all over it, but her one side is pretty furry where as her other side is missing a maybe quarter sized spot. This does also seem to be the very same side I usually find her laying on when i life the igloo.

[Sarah+Sonic]

Ill echo the vet advice. Even if it isn't mites, it could be fungal, etc.

Sarah

[hedgewood]

my little hedgewood has dry ears that peal......it comes and goes. i usually rub vasiline on them to replenish the moisture. my vet recommended feeding her flax, as it is very oily and will help with her dry skin/ears......i haven't tried it yet though.........

[bloane]

With it being primarily on a single area of the body, my guess would be something fungal or bacterial. Needs treated by a vet. Mites usually are equally spread over the whole body, as far as quill loss goes. Ditto on what reddevil said for the mite checks, though you need to realize that just because you don't see any doesn't guarantee that there aren't any. If your vet says that there is no sign of mites, fungal, or bacterial issues, then I would work on increasing the humidity around your hedgehogs' cage. A small humidifier ran for a coupleof hours per day is great, or if all else fails, a bowl of water sitting in a warm area near your hedgehog's cag will boost the humidity a little. The Aveeno bath is good, a light edible oil (I personally like olive oil) rinse is good, or a bit of vitamin e oil on the skin all will also help to moisturize the skin.
Becca