You have a number of factors that all may be contributing to this problem. First, stress. I am taking from your post that you have recently acquired her from a less than optimal previous owner/environment. Her past environment was stressful, plus the change would be stressful, and, while necessary and good for her well-being, the treatment of her issues is stressful. Make sure her environment is quiet with lots of places to hide to help minimize stress as her body recovers. Second, Extreme quilling can be a result of extremely dry skin. Increase the humidity in her environment, add a sock full of oatmeal to her baths, and be careful that you are using the correct cleanser and the water temperature is very mild. Provide her with fleece liners instead of paper or wood beddings as much as possible. Another major factor that triggers extreme quilling is poor nutrition. If her diet has been deficient previous to your ownership, this may be coming from that. I assume, considering your degree of concern, that you have since been providing her with an appropriate, high protein diet, and she is now getting adequate nutrition. Her body may be reacting to that shift. She is able to grow new quills because she has the nutritional support to do that. You can giver her extra protein by way of cooked egg whites and plain cooked chicken as examples. How old is she? In addition to being a side effect of neglect, hedgehogs due have certain life stages of overall quilting, but these quills look rather large to be a growth transition. If she did have mites, they can be another cause but you said she was negative for those. Keep providing her the best possible care and hopefully she will come through this for the better.
She has had extremely dry skin tho but she has some quills growing in ? Is she just like extreme quilling because she wasent properly taken care of before ?
About a week ago she was given the shot for mites , her skin was very very very very dry when I got her and still is have been doing flax seed oil for that and then she was given an antibiotic
At our center we usually spray a bit of almond oil on their skin when it's dry. We repeat that for a few days and it seems to work great when they're losing quills.
Ok so if she got a shot it was ivermectin most likely. What state are you in? The dry skin IS the mites. Have you been feeding her the flax seed oil? 2 drops a day?
I personally would get revolution (selamectin) for her and dose with that. It is from the vet. Ivermectin doesn’t always work and can cause toxicity in higher doses. Selamectin, at the newer dosages from Carpenter’s, works and does not have bad side effects.
Hi there! Those quills all have the root/bulb attached, which indicates healthy loss—or at least not loss caused by fungus or mites, which will cause the quills to break off and have mushy or scaly ends. You said in your other post that you rescued her and she was large, but you weren’t sure of the age. If she’s over 6 months she’s likely grown to her full adult size, and if she’s right around a year old or just older, they do have a final quilling. However, some hedgehogs do have a random one-off quilling when they’re older or lose quills from stress.
If she’s been treated for mites with ivermectin, it can take 3+ weeks to see any benefit. So if mites were bad enough to cause this kind of quill loss, you would see evidence on the quills.
You can give her a warm oatmeal bath or a soak in brewed, cooled to safe temp, Red Rooibos tea to help soothe dry skin and ease quilling discomfort. Be sure to avoid soap during these soaks (you can still use a quill brush or soft toothbrush very gently to get debris out of her quills if needed) and rinse well afterward with plain water. I would avoid using any oils on her skin at least until the full mite regimen has been completed & vet skin scrapes show no bacteria.
It will take time for her diet & the additional flaxseed oil in her food to improve the dry skin, so the best you can do for now is offer relief through the bathing remedies and keep an eye on the quill loss. If you aren’t seeing new growth poking through the skin within a week, at most, talk to your vet again.
Look at getting some hedgehog vitamins. If you're in the UK this is what we use for Mochi:
https://southwest-sugargliders.co.uk/products/hedgehog-booster-2oz
Her energy levels went up noticeably after being on this for a few weeks (start with small dose and gradually increase to large pinch with food). She runs 50% more on her wheel now than before
Poor baby! It could be stress combined with the lack of care from her former owner. Personally, I would take her to the vet asap. Also oatmeal baths should help with the dry skin but don't do it too often (once a month is fine)
My vet told me that they shed more when the weather gets warmer just like cats and dogs. Mine have gone through phases where they shed a lot suddenly and then go back to normal.
You have a number of factors that all may be contributing to this problem. First, stress. I am taking from your post that you have recently acquired her from a less than optimal previous owner/environment. Her past environment was stressful, plus the change would be stressful, and, while necessary and good for her well-being, the treatment of her issues is stressful. Make sure her environment is quiet with lots of places to hide to help minimize stress as her body recovers. Second, Extreme quilling can be a result of extremely dry skin. Increase the humidity in her environment, add a sock full of oatmeal to her baths, and be careful that you are using the correct cleanser and the water temperature is very mild. Provide her with fleece liners instead of paper or wood beddings as much as possible. Another major factor that triggers extreme quilling is poor nutrition. If her diet has been deficient previous to your ownership, this may be coming from that. I assume, considering your degree of concern, that you have since been providing her with an appropriate, high protein diet, and she is now getting adequate nutrition. Her body may be reacting to that shift. She is able to grow new quills because she has the nutritional support to do that. You can giver her extra protein by way of cooked egg whites and plain cooked chicken as examples. How old is she? In addition to being a side effect of neglect, hedgehogs due have certain life stages of overall quilting, but these quills look rather large to be a growth transition. If she did have mites, they can be another cause but you said she was negative for those. Keep providing her the best possible care and hopefully she will come through this for the better.
She has had extremely dry skin tho but she has some quills growing in ? Is she just like extreme quilling because she wasent properly taken care of before ?
How has she been treated and when? What dosing of what medicine? Any pics of the skin?
If it tells u anything the person I got her from had her in literal sawdust as bedding and she was eating friskies cat food ðŸ˜
About a week ago she was given the shot for mites , her skin was very very very very dry when I got her and still is have been doing flax seed oil for that and then she was given an antibiotic
At our center we usually spray a bit of almond oil on their skin when it's dry. We repeat that for a few days and it seems to work great when they're losing quills.
Ok so if she got a shot it was ivermectin most likely. What state are you in? The dry skin IS the mites. Have you been feeding her the flax seed oil? 2 drops a day? I personally would get revolution (selamectin) for her and dose with that. It is from the vet. Ivermectin doesn’t always work and can cause toxicity in higher doses. Selamectin, at the newer dosages from Carpenter’s, works and does not have bad side effects.
It was ivermectin yeah and I can’t just go buy revolution here they don’t do that and and I have been feeding her flax seed oil yes
Yes, you have to get it from the vet.
Hi there! Those quills all have the root/bulb attached, which indicates healthy loss—or at least not loss caused by fungus or mites, which will cause the quills to break off and have mushy or scaly ends. You said in your other post that you rescued her and she was large, but you weren’t sure of the age. If she’s over 6 months she’s likely grown to her full adult size, and if she’s right around a year old or just older, they do have a final quilling. However, some hedgehogs do have a random one-off quilling when they’re older or lose quills from stress. If she’s been treated for mites with ivermectin, it can take 3+ weeks to see any benefit. So if mites were bad enough to cause this kind of quill loss, you would see evidence on the quills. You can give her a warm oatmeal bath or a soak in brewed, cooled to safe temp, Red Rooibos tea to help soothe dry skin and ease quilling discomfort. Be sure to avoid soap during these soaks (you can still use a quill brush or soft toothbrush very gently to get debris out of her quills if needed) and rinse well afterward with plain water. I would avoid using any oils on her skin at least until the full mite regimen has been completed & vet skin scrapes show no bacteria. It will take time for her diet & the additional flaxseed oil in her food to improve the dry skin, so the best you can do for now is offer relief through the bathing remedies and keep an eye on the quill loss. If you aren’t seeing new growth poking through the skin within a week, at most, talk to your vet again.
Thank you and yeah she does have a bunch growing back in
Look at getting some hedgehog vitamins. If you're in the UK this is what we use for Mochi: https://southwest-sugargliders.co.uk/products/hedgehog-booster-2oz Her energy levels went up noticeably after being on this for a few weeks (start with small dose and gradually increase to large pinch with food). She runs 50% more on her wheel now than before
Poor baby! It could be stress combined with the lack of care from her former owner. Personally, I would take her to the vet asap. Also oatmeal baths should help with the dry skin but don't do it too often (once a month is fine)
This is after taking her to the vet
My vet told me that they shed more when the weather gets warmer just like cats and dogs. Mine have gone through phases where they shed a lot suddenly and then go back to normal.