Got a baby Hedgehog in at work....not looking to good...

[Riddick]

Hey guys,

Well Ed was bought, so my boss ordered another hedgehog and she came in today...

She is much smaller than Ed was, so I am guessing she was just recently weaned. She has a great personality...I am pick her up and hold her without a towel, she rarely ever sticks her quills out, and loves to hang out in my arms.

I am very concerned about her legs, they are a mess...full of scabs and sores...and she has very deformed, toes/paws. They don't seem to bother her, but that is no reason to ignore it.

Currenlty she is:

on Innova light adult cat food

In her cage she has:

a solid 12 inch wheel
a igloo
a towel to sleep under
a bunch of different size cardboard tubes

her cage DOESNOT have a wire floor she is on newspaper.

I would like to help her as best I can, I am limited on some things, but not very many things, because I am animal care manager

If you would like to read Ed's story here is the thread...

http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81541

Any help will be apprecitated, I plan to take pics tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Nancy]

Awww, the poor little thing.

I think I would leave the wheel out until her sores heal up just so they don't get poop all over them from her running on the wheel. I would also give her feet and legs a bath to ensure they are clean and then you can put a very slight bit of neosporin on the scabs. I usually put a bit of vasaline over the neosporin just to keep them from licking it off as quickly.

Can you also put her on paper towels instead of newspaper? Paper towel would keep her cleaner than the ink from the newspaper.

Keep us posted on her. She is lucky to have such a caring person working there. :)

[Riddick]

I did give her legs a good bath today...at first sight I thought she just had poop all over her legs...and I thought it was caked on real good so I peeled the suspected poop off and she started to bleed, I felt soo bad... so I put bactine on the bleeding area because it was the only thing in reach.

I will take out her wheel tomorrow and put paper towles in her cage...I will also put neosporin on the scabs and sores...

Do you have any idea why her toes and paws are so deformed? Could it have been her mom? Or neglect? her poor little toes stick out every which way...

[bear]

Lyssa, please keep in mind that anybody selling a hedgehog MUST be USDA licensed. :)

[Nancy]

Are her nails really long? If their nails get long it will make their toes go in different directions.

[AlisaD]

I was under the impression that the law changed. I was told that now that you didn't have to have a license if you had less than 3 breeding females??? :dunno: Is this wrong??? I have never bred.. I can't all I have for the moment is a male, and he's my first... LOL

[Riddick]

Lyssa, please keep in mind that anybody selling a hedgehog MUST be USDA licensed. :)

This store has been family owned and been in business for more then 18 years...I'm more than sure they are aware of any and all animal laws :)

Nancy, I too thought her nails were long...but upon further inspection, it is not her nails, her toes literally stick out in every direction...I am gonna try and get a pic of it today...

[Nancy]

Nancy, I too thought her nails were long...but upon further inspection, it is not her nails, her toes literally stick out in every direction...I am gonna try and get a pic of it today...

A picture would be great.

[Steph]

I was under the impression that the law changed. I was told that now that you didn't have to have a license if you had less than 3 breeding females??? :dunno: Is this wrong??? I have never bred.. I can't all I have for the moment is a male, and he's my first... LOL

Pet stores ALWAYS have to be licensed to sell exotics like hedgehogs. They are also required to post their licensure and program of veterinary care in plain site and have customers fill out the required transfer forms for the USDA. They're supposed to get a driver's license for any customer as well in case a customer moves and there's a zoonotic outbreak... These are standard USDA regulations... That being said 95% of pet stores don't do ANY of that and if they're licensed it's a miracle. (Not saying this one isn't just saying pet stores in general).

You have to have more than 3 females to require a license to breed. BUT one thing people overlook in that rule is if you have 4 breeding age females you must be licensed. Even if you never breed the 4th the ability is still there to do so and you require a license.


As for this baby, it could be she was deformed in utero. If that's the case she shouldn't have been sold to a pet store in the first place and I as a breeder wouldn't have sold her at all. I would never let a baby leave here injured or deformed, even if it's a little scab it's just wrong. Poor girl.

There's probably nothing you can do for her deformity but you can keep the wounds clean, change that cage at least once a day and make sure NO poop is on her feet so she doesn't get Staph or Yeast. Limit her wheel time until her sores heal...

Personally my vet suggests pine shavings when treating an injury, they're just so much more sanitary than paper towels or newspapers. I asked him if they could cause a problem and he said they usually don't.

If you can find out what breeder is supplying your store you might want to call the USDA and report the fact s/he sold an injured, possibly deformed baby. They probably won't do anything but at least the report is on file...

Hope this helps. If you can get pictures of her feet we can probably give you a better idea of what you're dealing with.

One other thing, if it is a birth defect or something along those lines, she could develop some arthritis or joint problems so her new owner will want to watch for signs of discomfort. Exercise will actually help to alleviate some of that but she shouldn't be allowed to over do it.

[AlisaD]

I agree with janshyne. Further actions do need to be taken. All these pet shops selling these poor animals in these conditions is horrible. Nothing may be done except a complaint filed but you never know, there may have been other complaints made and yours could push it over for someone to actually take a look. Or maybe they'll get tired of the complaints and investigate. For all we know this could be a first time problem like this the pet store has ever made, but in any case they should at least do a little more research before taking on the animals.

The reason I was asking about the more than three rule is b/c for some reason I was thinking she said that it was purchased through a person not a pet store. :dunno: why I thought this???

Does the hedgie seem to be in pain from the problems? How is she doing?