Health Issues
Generally hedgehogs are hardy little things, only suffering if it is too hot or too cold and their husbandry is not up to scratch, the main problem being that they will hibernate if the temperature drops and if this is not noticed, they may well die. They are unlike the wild ones in the fact that they are too small to survive hibernation, being about a third of the size of a wild one.
Hedgehogs are prone to some common health issues such as mites, fleas, ticks, worms and fungal infections such as ringworm, and these can sometimes be frustrating for the owner, as they are more difficult to examine and notice until the problem is advanced and also some vets are loathed to treat them due to lack of knowledge.
It is much easier to prevent rather than cure.
This involves cleaning their houses regularly, including all feeding and water utensils and all accessories in the cage and to which the hedgehog has had access to. If you have any other animals around, it may be worth treating them with an product such as frontline or stronghold (you will need a prescription for stronghold). Xeno 50-mini is something that will treat both internal and external parasites, but you should know that the main ingredient is Ivermectin and some hogs have been known to have fatal reactions to this so please be careful when
using this product.
Washing your hands before and after handling your hoggie will help to eliminate any cross contamination between you and the hog, and will also prevent unwanted licking/biting. Keeping an eye on the temperature is a must, most hedgehogs do well at 20oc but some may need higher, and keeping the humidity down will decrease the spread and chance of fungal infections establishing, especially respiratory problems.
Always check you hog each time you handle it for any signs of illness, lumps, scratches, quill loss, sores and dry flaky skin as all these can indicate a problem. Don't get confused between quilling and mites, quilling can occur at 8-12 weeks and 16-20 weeks (this is very variable between hogs, Igel started quilling at 12wks and had just about finished at 16weeks), some hogs are fine where others struggle and seem huffy and upset, a bath in oatmeal (place some oatmeal in a sock and place in the water) seems to help will quilling a great amount, I have done this and it worked a treat.
Stress will increase a hedgehogs chances of getting ill, it may reactivate any latent infections or problems and may induce cannabilism in mothers, so it is advised to keep hedgehogs in as stress free environment as possible, however not a completely silent environment as this will cause stress when you take them out of the silence into a noisy room, I keep mine in my bedroom, the tele is on most of the time when I'm home, and there is general noises which they don't seem bothered about!