Help!

Hello. Last night I went to pick up a new 10 week old female hedgehog from a guy and when we got there he had another, obese (so obese that he cannot even roll into a protective ball) older male hedgehog sitting in a box that was only a bit bigger than the hedgehog himself that was covered in elimination and other nastiness. He was dyed green and has clumps of quills missing. His fur on his belly is matted with "something" and his eyes are semi-watery. When I asked the man about him he said "Oh that's my son's, we don't have much time for him, you could probably have him for free." And seeing what rough shape he was in I took him home with me too. I have no idea where I should even start with him. I have never had a hedgehog, let alone one that needs so much work before, but I figured I can give him a better life then a feces covered box that's only a bit bigger than him. (I have attached some photos of him that I took this morning showing his bad spots on his sides and what not.) Any advice or instructions would be much appreciated!

[as for the 10 week old female, she seems to be in good health so far!]

I posted a response to this on HHC, but I'm going to respond here too. The more I look at those image the more I'm wondering if the fur loss is from feces or if he has a really bad case of mites.

Take a black shirt/cloth and see if you can get any flakes of skin off of him. Watch them under a bright light. If those flakes move, he has mites... and from the looks of him, he has them BAD. If they don't move, he may still have mites, but none fell off.

Schedule a vet visit. Have doc look him over, ask him about mites, or if all that matting, damage is from living is squalor.

The poor boy. I agree, it looks like he might have mites. If you haven't already, I suggest a vet visit before a bath or better yet, if you can, scrape some of the crusty dirt off him and put it in a baggy for the vet to look at. Sometimes baths wash off things that can give a vet an idea of what is wrong.

I personally hpoe you reported the guy. I don't know if he was a "breeder" or otherwise but that is cruelty. Thank goodness you have rescued him. A vet visit will defintely help. Keep him separated from the female (not just to prevent babies but any spread of mites if that is indeed what it is). If he was cramped in a small area, that could have lead to a great deal of stress as well. In terms of mite treatments, revolution is best and asap. Hopefully your little guy is eating and drinking okay.

The poor baby! Im so glad you took him in. Looking at these pictures just broke my heart.

If you do treat for mites you will most likely be treating for a long time. Please keep us updated with this little one.

I wonder.. Does anyone think this could be a food allergy as well? Maybe a combination of things? Feces, mites etc?

I'm no hedgie expert but it seems to me that this little guy was so neglected it could be any number of things, or any combination thereof. A vet visit seems like the best next step to me.

This broke my heart, so many people are so cruel to animals, your a very good person for taking him, and you should 100% report that guy, he is probably just breeding trying to get money, and you should definately bring him to a vet do not put him in with the female until you are sure he isn't sick or anything , and obviously if you don't want babies don't put them together.

I am not a hedgehog person, but I would have taken him in a second. Poor sweetness Thanks for taking him in.

Oh my God, that poor guy!
I wonder if whatever they dyed him with caused the skin irritation too!

My girl, Zoe, was mostly bald and had flaky/cracking skin when I took her in.
The vet eliminated mites & other parasites as the cause.
I got rid of anything potentially irritating from her cage (which I very thoroughly washed with hypo-allergenic soap), replaced her wood chips with plain cotton cloth (washed in water only, no detergent....), got wheat based litter for her, and even switched her food to a healthier, organic one.
This helped a bit, but I eventually had to start pouring olive oil on her skin instead of the moisturizer the vet gave me! I switched to vitamin E oil as soon as I could, and that has helped get her back to normal.

Bring him to the vet ASAP, and try to keep anything that might irritate his skin away from him! Just remember, NOTHING with TEA TREE OIL!!! It's super toxic to hedgehogs!

PS I agree that this guy should be reported for cruelty....