Mites? Or something else?

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is an emergency or not, but there is something up with my hedgie.

To start off, she is about 6 months old. I have had her for four. She is on pine bedding and has gone through her quilling already. She is getting Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers soul lite. With no treats recently as I was making sure she would be okay with the new food. (She switched about a month and a half ago. I did it gradually). Her room temp is 73-78.

She has been scratching for a while now, at first I assumed it was just quilling, but that has long since been over. Her skin does look dry, but I was told this was okay as long as it wasn't too bad. It looks worse at the base of her quills.

On Saturday when I cleaned her cage, I noticed that the fleece blanket that is under her house was full of her fur. There was no sign of quills, but since she is on bedding in the rest of the cage, it is possible I just didn't see them.

She doesn't seem to be as active at night anymore, but it is possible that I have been sleeping through it.

The beginning of last week, I noticed when I was cleaning her wheel that there was a really mucasy poop on it. I picked it up in a klenex and it was very green. I have been watching her poops since and they have all been fine. Solid and fully formed. This one was only small.

Now last night she didn't eat a lot of food at all. I have called the vets around here, but none have a lot of experience with Hedgehogs. The one I can take her to will have three vets present to check her out since they aren't familar with the species. The also have been checking into hedgehog care.

So, does this sound like mite? If it does, can I treat this without going to the vet, since I know there is a good chance the skin scraping would show up negative.

What is the harm of using revolution if she doesn't have mites? Will this harm her?

What else could it be? And if I take her to the vet, what tests/exams should be done? What should they check for?

Thank you!
Ashley

Could be mites - which are best to treat with Revolution. You'll need to get that from a vet. So far, I haven't heard of harm coming from a drop or two of Revolution. In contrast, there have been reports of harm (illness/death) from another mite treatment: Ivomec - particularly the injectable version. So I'd hesitate to give that one.

Also could be a reaction to the pine. My understanding is that plain pine is bad for hedgies; kiln dried pine works for some; yet others just don't do well with pine in any form. I'd take her off the pine and put her on fleece (scent free detergent, no fabric softener). That will serve two purposes: (1) if it's the pine that's doing bad things, then you you've fixed the problem and (2) even if it isn't the pine, you'll still be able to more carefully monitor what's going on because you'll see the problems much more quickly and accurately - like how you spotted the fur on the fleece under her house. You'll be able to more quickly figure out if there's any quill loss and at what rate.

You mentioned her room is 73-78F... how is it being heated? I'm thinking if, at night, the temp is at the lower end of that range (or even goes below), she may be getting too chilly - hence the lesser activity recently.

smhufflepuff said:

Could be mites - which are best to treat with Revolution. You'll need to get that from a vet. So far, I haven't heard of harm coming from a drop or two of Revolution. In contrast, there have been reports of harm (illness/death) from another mite treatment: Ivomec - particularly the injectable version. So I'd hesitate to give that one.

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I'll definatly make sure to get Revolution. It's good to know that she is okay to have it as a precaution. I think i'll get it just to make sure.

Also could be a reaction to the pine. My understanding is that plain pine is bad for hedgies; kiln dried pine works for some; yet others just don't do well with pine in any form. I'd take her off the pine and put her on fleece (scent free detergent, no fabric softener). That will serve two purposes: (1) if it's the pine that's doing bad things, then you you've fixed the problem and (2) even if it isn't the pine, you'll still be able to more carefully monitor what's going on because you'll see the problems much more quickly and accurately - like how you spotted the fur on the fleece under her house. You'll be able to more quickly figure out if there's any quill loss and at what rate.

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Never heard of plain pine being bad. Thanks for the heads up! I just checked the bag and it doesn't say kiln dried. I have a fleece blanket I can cut up until I can get to the store to get more. How often should I change it out to make sure the mites are taken care of?

You mentioned her room is 73-78F... how is it being heated? I'm thinking if, at night, the temp is at the lower end of that range (or even goes below), she may be getting too chilly - hence the lesser activity recently.

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It is being heated by electric heat. I have a thermometre that shows the high and low temp since the last time I reset it. It says that it isn't going below 73F at night.

I'm going to go ahead and book a vet appointment for Wednesday. Is there anything I should make sure they check for/do? I'm going to get them to do a skin scraping, although even if it doesn't show I will probably end up treating her for mites.


Thanks for the help!

Just to update:

My mom took Hailie to the vet today while I was in school. They are not familiar with hedgies, but had researched ahead of time. I had wrote down all the information I could think of. (food, shavings, symptomes, etc)

They examined her and found that she weighed 1.5 pounds, they did say how many grams but my mom doesn't remember exactly. They also said that the fur on her stomach looks greasy. Any idea what this could be from?

They did a skin sample and scraping and the results were negative for mites and infections. They prescribed Revolution anyways, since it is possible the mites were missed in the scraping. Is the correct dosage for Revolution 2-3 drops in between her shoulder blades?

They also mentioned that it could be that she is depressed because of the winter months? Haha, guess I need a therapist for her! They also mentioned she might not be getting enough UV rays.


Thank you!

Greasy belly fur... hmmm... not sure. I know Satin (girl) sometimes gets yellow fur from urine around her girly parts and other colors from when she anoints with veggies. And Tex (boy) often gets sticky, then hardened, fur from his activities. But neither are greasy per se. I'm not so sure about that one.

Glad they prescribed Revolution even if the skin scraping is negative. It seems it's pretty easy to get a false negative on those tests. Usually, it's one or two drops between the shoulder blades - depending on the size of the hedgie. If you haven't done it yet, don't worry if your hedgie acts all surprised and confused when it hits her skin. They tend to get an interesting expression. We're guessing it has something to do with the alcohol base feeling all sorts of weird. And, of course, it has that alcohol/medicine odor.

Glad you have some fleece too! I'd change that out every day or two while she's being treated so help ensure that the mites aren't just hiding somewhere and ready to spring back into action.

Depressed due to winter months... erm... not exactly depressed... but something that mimics a symptom of depression: lower activity associated with hibernation/hibernation attempts. Light is important for hedgies all year round and it could be that she's not getting enough light. Usually, though, failure to get enough light results in hibernation attempts rather than fur or quill loss. I'm a fan of covering all bases... so improving lighting could help. Make sure she's getting at least 12 hours of good light every day... Seems that 12-14 is what a lot of folks aim for. And you can ensure that it's consistent by setting up a lamp just for her and put it on a timer if you haven't already. If you're really concerned, you can get a full spectrum light bulb - should be able to find them wherever you usually get light bulbs. And I've seen them at pet stores too - reptile section.

Also, to cover all bases, I'd try bumping the 73F up to 74F to see if that helps - especially with the night time activity. I know it's written in a lot of places that 72F is an acceptable low, but not all hedgies are okay with that. For example, my Satin needs 76F as the low temp, else she gets chilly and attempts hibernation. Fortunately, I've caught it before it went very far - just noticed she didn't eat or wheel as much overnight and her belly felt a touch cool when I picked her up.

Greasy belly fur... hmmm... not sure. I know Satin (girl) sometimes gets yellow fur from urine around her girly parts and other colors from when she anoints with veggies. And Tex (boy) often gets sticky, then hardened, fur from his activities. But neither are greasy per se. I'm not so sure about that one.

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I was confused by that too. I’m planning on giving her a foot bath tomorrow and cutting her nails. So I will check for myself then and maybe wipe her stomach with a wet facecloth.

Glad they prescribed Revolution even if the skin scraping is negative. It seems it's pretty easy to get a false negative on those tests. Usually, it's one or two drops between the shoulder blades - depending on the size of the hedgie. If you haven't done it yet, don't worry if your hedgie acts all surprised and confused when it hits her skin. They tend to get an interesting expression. We're guessing it has something to do with the alcohol base feeling all sorts of weird. And, of course, it has that alcohol/medicine odor.

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I haven’t done it yet. She isn’t having anything to do with me right now, she didn’t like the skin scraping and huffs as soon as I come into the room. I’m going to put it on tomorrow now that I know the proper dosage and how. Its good to know what her reaction might be before hand, that way I should be prepared.

Depressed due to winter months... erm... not exactly depressed... but something that mimics a symptom of depression: lower activity associated with hibernation/hibernation attempts. Light is important for hedgies all year round and it could be that she's not getting enough light. Usually, though, failure to get enough light results in hibernation attempts rather than fur or quill loss. I'm a fan of covering all bases... so improving lighting could help. Make sure she's getting at least 12 hours of good light every day... Seems that 12-14 is what a lot of folks aim for. And you can ensure that it's consistent by setting up a lamp just for her and put it on a timer if you haven't already. If you're really concerned, you can get a full spectrum light bulb - should be able to find them wherever you usually get light bulbs. And I've seen them at pet stores too - reptile section.

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We did have a hibernation scare about a month ago, but I am pretty sure it was because I had moved her closed to the heater, which was under the window. There appears to have been a draft which made it cool when the heater shut off at the max temp. She didn’t fully hibernate, just started to slow down, I noticed quickly and moved her cage back. Since then I have been making sure the light in my room is left on for about 12 hours, although it usually ends up being less, but I’ll start leaving it on for a full 14 to make sure she is getting enough. The vet also mentioned that hedgies need UV rays, like humans. Although I can’t seem to find this information anywhere’s online…

Also, to cover all bases, I'd try bumping the 73F up to 74F to see if that helps - especially with the night time activity. I know it's written in a lot of places that 72F is an acceptable low, but not all hedgies are okay with that. For example, my Satin needs 76F as the low temp, else she gets chilly and attempts hibernation. Fortunately, I've caught it before it went very far - just noticed she didn't eat or wheel as much overnight and her belly felt a touch cool when I picked her up.

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Sounds like a good idea. I will turn it up and see how she makes out.

I started counting her kibble last night, so of course she decide to eat all of it, and woke me up by running on her wheel. I think she knew that she was going to the vet the next day and was determined to change my mind!



Thank you so much for all the help! I have been researching like crazy lately, but it is hard when I know that so much information out there isn’t right or hasn't been updated.

I don't think this has been mentioned yet.... what is the humidity in her room? Low humidity can cause dry skin. If her skin is itchy it may be distracting her and cause her to act a little "off."

You are unlikely to find a definitive answer on if full spectrum lighting is required. Some will say yes, others say they just need 12-14 hrs of light daily. Full spectrum light bulbs are not too expensive anymore, so if you feel like you want to try it to see if you notice improvement, give it a shot.

My thoughts on the full spectrum lighting is this.

If they are in a room that gets a good amount of daylight and extra lighting is only needed during short winter months and on rainy dull days, then an ordinary light will be sufficient.

If there is none, or minimal natural light in the room, then yes, the supplemental lighting needs to be full or broad spectrum.