# APH Dandruff help



## secuner (Feb 2, 2008)

shaya has had dandruff since iv had her, it cleared up for a short time but now its back & bad. she's currently suffering from bad dandruff over her back, she loses quils but not excessively (natural?) with no bald areas or bad itching/scratching. 
she lives in a large rabbit cage with chippings & hay & eats dry cat food, mixed veg, morios, crickets & the odd treat/variety food.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

Pygmy Hogs UK - African Pygmy Hedgehog Forum

If you post here you will get a wider variety of answers from hoggie owners : victory:

In the meantime, It could possibly be dry skin, in order to help sooth hogs with dry skin you can get Flaxseed oil from Holland & Barrets in which you can put some into their food which helps, and you can also use a cotton bud to put it onto really dry looking areas of skin, i find it helps a bit with one of my hogs who has dry skin. You can also give them a shallow bath containing Aveeno Oil which is also good and is Safe to use with hogs. You can find this at Boots. 

Have you thought it about treating for mites as a precaution? One of mine had mites at one point and when i seen them, they looked like dandruff, hence why they are sometimes referred to as "walking dandruff". I treated mine with Xeno 50 Mini pipettes every 2 weeks for 4 treatments on both of my hogs as a precautionary measure. 

Also, should point out that apparently hay is not really good for hoggies, cant remember exact reasons why, but you are much better off with a nesting box full of bedding, also, make sure your chips are dust free as that could also be an irritative to your hogs skin :2thumb:


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## paulajo (Oct 13, 2010)

One of the reasons that hayisnt advised is they can get tangled in it. I witnessed a friends hog who had a piece of hay around its leg that was like i tornique. The leg was incredibly swollen too about 3 times the size and as you can imagine trying to uncurl a frightened hedgehog to cut a piece of hay that was SO tight around its leg was incredibly hard. It was awful to witness.

I would never advise hay a good piece of fleece blanket is much better and safer.


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## secuner (Feb 2, 2008)

thanks, thats great advise

i tried joining the aph forum but it wouldn't let me subscribe.
ill get some flaxseed oil asap & would aveeno cream be ok? cause i get that on prescription for myself.

i checked for mites with a magnifying glass & there was nothing moving but i treated with a bit of frontline as a precaution. im being extra weary of mites cause during winter alot of wild mice come into the house, so iv got fine mesh to go round her cage so the mice carn't get in & infect her.


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## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

Dry skin can also be caused by feeding commercial foods. I always preferred to feed a diet heavy in insects and whole prey items such as pinky mice and cooked mince or egg. These days we rely too heavily on cheap, carb heavy commercial food stuffs.......hence the obesity crisis that affects humans cats and dogs. also I put a (uncooked) Porridge filled sock in the bath water for my hedges, as my daughter does now, and I found it helped tremendously for quilling and dry skin.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

secuner said:


> thanks, thats great advise
> 
> i tried joining the aph forum but it wouldn't let me subscribe.
> ill get some flaxseed oil asap & would aveeno cream be ok? cause i get that on prescription for myself.
> ...



Not sure if aveeno Cream would be ok as i wouldn't imagine that would work with water and it needs to go all over (Minus head obv) Lol. Here is the one most people use and add a few drops to the bath water - Buy Aveeno Bath & Shower Oil, £5.65, Body & Bath Products, Online Pharmacy

How did you treat with frontline and know how much to apply? Is it hog safe? Xeno 50 mini has weight guidelines on the back so you know how much to apply so its not under effective or over effective. Beaphar Small Animal For Rabbits and Guinea Pigs does also, that is also cheaper than Beaphar and can be applied less often.

I have heard a few people saying that they wouldn't really recommend feeding pinkies as they resemble newborn hoglets to much and it could be a bit risky if feeding to a girl you potentially might breed? I agree with feeding supplemental foods etc, such as cooked mince, chicken, turkey & egg, both of my hogs love those.


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## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

It's down to personal choice I guess but I find it insulting to the species to think that because they eat pinkys they will eat their own babies. the person that started that rumour should be shot :lol2: that's a bit like saying don't feed a dog a whole chicken or it will be tempted to eat a puppy or baby.These animals are much cleverer than people allow for, for me it's a matter of Not over caring for them. it's all to easy to focus on them as cut pets instead of the intelligent animals that they are. I make a point of trying not too anthropomorphise any of my animals . Even my raccoon, cute as he is, he is a wild animal and needs to be treated as such. He is fed whole prey items, just as my dogs are.

also, I have only had one mum hog ever kill her babies. it was a surprise litter, my very first one three weeks after buying my first female hog.....I didn't know the babies were in the nestso I disturbed them while cleaning out. Mum killed all four within a few hours. other than that between me and my sister we had 11 litters and not a single baby killed or eaten. But as I say, it's all down to personal chocie and methods that work for each individual and their hogs.


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## the dogs (Jul 15, 2009)

you can get aveeno bath oil that mixes in the water, does mine the world of good. my hoge love scrambled egg and boiled chicken.


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