red rash- spreading fast

[chins1222]

my friend has an albino hedgehog and noticed Wednesday he has a dark red rash near his butt and a small spot on his head. she gave him a bath with oatmeal shampoo(the stuff she normally uses). she got a vet appointment on Thursday and the vet said it looked like an allergic reaction and told them to give him 1/4 tsp 2x a day of children's benadryl.

she started that yesterday and has given him 2 doses so far and it has only gotten worse. it has spread to most of his body and is still a very dark red.

she had him on carefresh bedding and fleece but now has him just on fleece, temps are around 75, and she has been feeding a mix of wellness(purple bag) and royal canin(light blue bag), mealworms, and fruits and veggies every once in a while. she says he is acting normal, eating and drinking. he does seen to be shivering some.

i have a few pictures to show you (the rash looks darker in person)

if you have any idea what it could be or if you have any more questions please let us know, the vet didn't seem like he knew a whole lot about hedgehog illnesses and she wants to present some ideas when she goes back, but she is looking for a better vet in the meantime.

thanks

 

[Nancy]

Could it be ringworm? I have no experience at all with it but pictures I've seen look fairly similar. Otherwise I have no idea but did the vet do a skin scraping?

There is a similar issue going on on HHC right now with an albino female. Are these two hedgehogs related by chance? http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16011

 

[chins1222]

thanks for replying but it is not ringworm

and we have seen that post, the hedgies are not related, we have been waiting for her to respond to see what may be up with hers.

and no the vet did not do the scraping.

 

[Nancy]

Was the Carefresh he was on from a new bag by any chance? It's odd because the other hedgie was on Carefresh too. Probably coincidence but who knows.

Are the bags of food new? What about laundry detergent or anything new right before this started?

Poor little guy.

 

[chins1222]

asked her that too. she said the carefresh was not a new bag of carefresh or food.

the laudry detergent is hypo allergenic, fragrance free, dye free, organic(not sure on the brand) but it doesnt seem like that would be it either.

as far as she can remember she hadnt changed anything before this started she just woke up on wed. and went to check on him and noticed it was red.

she is looking for a better vet she took down a number to call one in columbus and see if they seem knowlegable and she is going to try and call them tomorrow.

thanks

 

[racheldrown]

Chins1222- This post is the closest I've found to what I've desperately been trying to treat my Minnie for... She's got dark red spots (especially around quills that are starting to grow in) and the onset of the rash happens VERY rapidly. Did you ever figure out what the issue was for your hedgehog? I am desperate to figure out what is triggering her.

 

[smhufflepuff]

racheldrown, I'd suggest getting your hedgie into the vet and asking for the vet to do a culture.

Bella had some ****oos that turned out to be staph. She was treated and is okay now, but it's not something you want to let go on its own. The culture and sensitivity test turned out to be the key to unraveling what was going on for her - without it, we were left to guess at mites, allergies, bacterial/viral/fungal infections.