Hedgie's bath too hot!

[sakish]

We have a young hedgehog, and my daughter wanted to bathe him. She is 9, and the main caregiver of the hedgie. However, when I checked on her, I found that the water was too hot, and unfortunately she didnt realize it. I took the hedgie out, and he was quite warm to the touch and seemed overheated. His skin was redder than usual. He seemed overly relaxed at first, then jumpy and hissy and aggitated. I handled him a bit, and made sure his temp stablized before I put him back in his cage. He has pooped normally and taken water, etc since this happened, but I admit I am a bit worried. He is young (only 2 months old) and I dont know how this may affect him. Any suggestions from knowledgable hedgehog owners/breeders?

[Janine]

Careful letting your daughter bathe the hedgie, mine gets so mad that she bites HARD.

[paris26]

How warm do you think the water was? I would be concerned about burns :( Watch his skin for blisters. It's not necessary to bathe a hedige often unless they get really dirty. I would recommend daily foot baths to wash poopy feet. I usually use a wash cloth to scrub dirty toes.
Please don't be offended, but 9 seems to be pretty young to be expected to be the primary caregiver!
I'm also going to move this thread to the appropriate area so it can be seen by the "hedgie" people.

[sakish]

I would say it was too warm for a human baby to lay in, but not hot enough to burn my daughters hands. I watched him closely afterward, and his skin seemed to be less red. More of a light pink color.
I am not offended. 9 is young, and we realize this. We all help out, and she has been doing an awesome job researching, reading hedgie care books cover to cover, and giving him and his environment lots of good care since we've had him. She is a die-hard animal lover, and this is her first pet experience. She would never do anything to intentionally hurt him. Her heart is broken at the thought that she may have.
Thanks for responding.

[paris26]

I would still watch for blisters though. Watch him to make sure he's walking around okay. Is he eating and drinking normally? I think he should probably be okay, but when in doubt, call an exotic vet.

[sakish]

I have been, and will continue to watch him closely. He is drinking, but generally eats in the middle of the night - so that I dont know yet. I just hope that I am making too big a deal of all this, and he will be fine in the morning. Thanks again for your reply.

[Ododad]

I'm thinking he will most likely be ok this time around. If the water was hot enough to hurt him, he would probely have been fighting and biting and even a nine year old would have know something was wrong. Your daughter seems to be a bit more mature than most at that age, she would have known something was wrong. JMO but I would think that he would be ok, but keep an eye on him.

[Nancy]

The problem with using hands as a judge for water temp is your hands are tougher and are used to hot and cold temps far more than other body parts. What feels fine on hands can actually be way to hot. I always dunk wrist to elbow in the water to see how it is and although hedgies need warm, I would rather it be a tad cooler than too warm.

The other problem is that most hedgies want out of the water regardless of the temp so a young person might not realize that wanting to get out was more than just normal hedgie not likeing the bath.

I agree with Tawana, watch for blisters. I rarely give ours baths. Except for feet they really don't get dirty very quickly. Most of ours don't even need foot baths although with the two babies I am giving alot more than normal. :laugh: Even Momma Kei has decided to wear poop boots these days.

[sakish]

Well, he seems to have made it though okay. I have tried to hold him a few times since the bath, and he seemed quite touchy and more aggitated than usual. I guess I would be too :( I've just continued checking on him throughout the night and day today. There doesnt appear to be any blistering, and the skin seems to be a normal color once again. While I was gone this morning, my husband reported that he had him out, and he was very actively playing for a while. He thinks he will be just fine. I agree with you, Nancy, that water temps can be deceiving when tested by hands only! Baths will be more closely supervised here now! I have noticed on several of the threads that many owners rarely bathe their hedgies. Ours is still getting used to litter training, and we find that he makes a bit of a poopy mess of himself at times! I wonder with bathing, how often is TOO often, or what alternatives there would be to keep him clean in between baths?
Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments.

[Hedge_girl]

Mine is very grouchy after I have bathed her or cut her toenails. She finds these things rather...upsetting. It is possible, I think, that the touchyness is due more to a small trust issue than actual harm, especially if you haven't found evidence of a burn. Alina usually forgives me after a few days with more playing and a few mealworms.

I think I've seen that most owners give theirs a bath once a week at most or as needed. Frequent baths can dry out hedgie's skin. (Mine has had only a few full baths and that was because she was being treated for mites. Oohhh, she was mad!) Some hedgies have shown interest in dustbaths. ?