Hedgehog Mites Home Remedy

Looking for a hedgehog mites home remedy will most likely lead you Revolution® drops as the only resolution. Revolution® is actually a treatment formulated for cats to rid of fleas, mange, ticks, hook worm, and round worm. It is also meant to prevent heart worm disease, but not mites in hedgehogs.

Revolution® is not what we consider the least harmful hedgehog mites home remedy. Actually, it's not really a home remedy at all since it requires veterinarian's prescription. However, we will share homeopathic home remedies that are readily available and, in our opinion, much safer for your hedgie.

Hopefully this article doesn't give you a case of formication**, because we feel pretty itchy ourselves as we write it. But we can't imagine how you and your hedgehog must feel if infested.

Medical Disclaimer: Our intention isn't to dissuade you from following what your veterinarian says – it is to provide second options to the traditional methods. Sometimes harsh chemicals do not work or you may feel they could be too toxic. If you are planning to use these methods alongside your Revolution® prescription, please check with your vet first to make sure the oils we mention will not interfere with the medication. If you opt to try homeopathic remedies, then watch your hedgehog closely over the course of the next four or five days and seek the help of medical intervention if no improvement is seen.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Heavenly Hedgies is an Amazon Associate. We have partnered with them and other reputable merchants when they sell something that we feel will benefit our readers. By purchasing through our links, we may earn a small commission on sales, that helps us continue to provide informative and educational information for hedgie lovers. And the best part is that there is no additional cost to you. Thank you for being a loyal and supportive reader here at Heavenly Hedgies.

First, check their skin and see if there is any quill loss or damaged and flaky areas. Mites will cause quills to have a mushy crust substance at the base of them. If you want to confirm mites on your own while you wait for your vet appointment, collect the dander off their skin. You can usually rub a black piece of cloth across their skin and quills then lay it down flat. Watch for the white specks to start moving. Also, you can see them run across the hedgehog's face and in the ears with the human eye.

If you want to see them up close and personal, use a 10x – 30x microscope. Another good place to look for mite evidence is inside their bedding. If you must seek veterinary care, expect to be visiting the vet routinely now to make sure the mites are under control and to receive second and third doses of Revolution® if your hedgie needs it. You may want to learn how to sign up and receive 25% discounts off all future vet visits by clicking here.

Sometimes the hedgie is put under anesthesia for the skin scrape or quill examination. If the vet is comfortable with the hedgehog being awake during this, then an anesthetic should not be necessary. Once you get a diagnosis from a vet who has skin scraped or analyzed a quill, that's when this article gets really handy. In most cases, your hedgie will be prescribed Revolution®. Alternately, we have some hedgehog mites home remedy suggestions too.

If you are lucky enough to live where wild hedgies roam in your garden at night, sadly, they often carry mites and other parasites. In fact, all creatures that roam your grass and surrounding bush areas can drop their mite crew onto the land your hedgie will potentially be roaming. Mites may also be found in the bedding you use as a cage liner, or even be found in some brands of litter.

Thankfully, mites cannot survive the freezing process, so freezing their litter and bedding before use is a good idea! Just freeze it for 24-48 hours before use! Usually, most mites can survive without their host for about three weeks. Because of this, be careful when bringing your hedgehog outside where another animal may have been. Also be cautious where mites (like chiggers) usually live, such as in bushed areas or tall grass. Mites may also be caused by dust in the home and hedgehogs can be extra sensitive to dust mites.

This is important because different species of mites have different rules and tolerances. The types of mites that transfer to humans are defined as zoonotic infestations. So, we'll let you know which ones are capable of spreading onto your skin or to another animal. Some mites are immune to the traditional methods of treatment. In turn this creates months of unresolved vet visits and massive quill loss accompanied by skin damage. Each mite has its own different characteristics: some don't bite, some lay eggs faster, but all like pet dander. The following pests have been reported to have been found on domesticated hedgehogs.

• Chorioptes Bovis
• Caparinia Tripilis
• Notoedres Cati
• Dust Mites
• Tropical Rat Mites

Chorioptes Bovis

Chorioptes should not infect your cat, your dog, or yourself. Sometimes they can be mistaken for caparinia mites because they look similar. The infected skin will appear scaly, the quills will fall, and there may be a crusty formation on their ears. Hair and quill loss occurs from the mites eating from the base of hair follicles. They do not have the ability to pierce through skin, but they do cause your hedgie to scratch creating tiny lesions in the hedgie's skin. Then they lay their eggs in the open wounds. It takes 6 days for the eggs to hatch new ones. This results in your hedgie's skin thickening and becoming scaly, especially around their noses and their ears. If not treated immediately it will turn into a mange infection or other skin diseases. Adult Chorioptes can live without a host for three weeks on your floor.

Control your hedgehogs mites now with this natural remedy

Caparinia Tripilis

The eggs are firmly attached to the hedgehog's skin, and the life cycle of these mites is three weeks. Poor hedgie's skin will develop widespread scabs and will quickly lose hair and quills. They may be seen with the eye as tiny white speckles usually on the face, legs, near the hips, and ears. They like to group together and burrow into your hedgehog's skin usually on the nose area where there is less hair. It can get so bad that the hedgehog can even mimic lethal hibernation symptoms, become blind, or never regrow quills.

Click here to discover an all natural hedgehog mites home remedy NOW

Notoedres Cati

This is one to watch out for when it comes to your other animals and yourself. It can infect cats and humans alike. Ears and skin will become thick and scaly as the infestation grows. This type of mite is extremely annoying to the hedgie with a maddening itch that they scratch like crazy. This often results in the skin folding, and cracking, and bleeding. The life cycle of these parasites is also three weeks. Sometimes, the infestation can become so bad that hedgies need to be quarantined until healed because a severe notoedres infection can cause death. The nasty mites burrow deep into the hedgie’s skin and the females lay about 11 new eggs. This nasty infection will cause itchy irritation that can lead to second and third skin diseases like mange. They constantly dig the host’s skin. This is something that can cause your hedgie to self-mutilate, understandably.

Get The Natural Remedy For Notoedres Mites Now

Dust Mites

These mites hang out in upholstered furniture, pillows, and anything material. Their fecal matter is found in the air and is one of the most common causes or allergies. Allergies can be so bad from the airborne residuals of the dust mites that your hedgehog can experience quill loss, sneezing, itching, watery eyes and nose, and crusty ears. They feed on your hedgie's dander, so there may be some mites crawling on your hedgehog or around their cage until you clean it. Dust mites do not like to crawl around on humans. But, the airborne excretions of mites could lead to heavy asthma attacks in your animals, so it is important to stay on top of cleaning.

Remove Dust Mites From Your Hedgehog Now

TROPICAL RAT MITES

This type of mite is rare but not impossible. These pests cause flaky skin and quill loss as they leave tiny red bumps from their bites. Their bodies are black and 1 -2 mm long. Selemectin (Revolution®) will not be of any help in this case, and a dosage of fipronil (Frontline®) has done the trick in the past to remove these sneaky intruders. They run quickly, and thrive off rats mainly, but can be transmitted to other mammals. They can bite humans and do draw blood. Their life cycle is one week, meaning they hatch more eggs more often than any of the above mentioned mites, making tropical rat mites the worst for cultivation. Not only do they live in carpets and walls, but also attics, and interior walls.

Get the homeopathic solution for tropical rat mites now

Let's start with mite control. These pesky mites are on your hedgehog, everywhere your hedgehog has been, living in the carpet, on the grass, in their bedding, crawling on their cage walls. So, we want to tell you about Diatomaceous Earth, or DE for short. It is an organic and pure product derived from phytoplankten silica eating deep sea creatures that are prehistoric. It is actually tiny microscopic razor sharp molecules that pierces the mites skin and dehydrates them from the inside out upon contact within 10 hours. To mammals and humans though, it feels very soft and is not dangerous.

We recommend using only as a hedgehog mite home remedy and only until the hedgehog is free of mites. As much as possible, we want to make sure the hedgehog does not breath it in too much. Many hedgehog owners have used this product to eliminate itchy mites. And DE is your first step for an immediate hedgehog mites home remedy because:

• Direct contact with mites, fleas, and ants will eliminate them
• Sprinkle the powder on your carpet after vacuuming to remove lingering mites
• Dust it all over the grass or beach area where your hedgie is about to stroll around to prevent mites
• Using DE as a temporary treatment improves healthy skin and hair/quill growth

Before you lay down the diatomaceous earth, you need to remove all contents of the cage. Preferably use a washing station that is not where you eat or bath yourself. Probably outside of the house or in the laundry sink are the best locations to clean cage items. Once everything is clean and dry, put a layer of the diatomaceous earth food grade powder on the bottom of the cage. Place your items back and sprinkle them with it also.

Give your hedgie a sand bath box inside their cage or offer it when they are out. Place child's play sand or reptile sand and sprinkle with diatomaceous earth inside a litter pan or recycled bin. Then, let your hedgehog enjoy this bath as they playfully clean themselves. Do not be worried about your hedgehog digesting this natural food grade diatomaceous earth product. The idea is to get the mites on your hedgie to come into contact with the diatomaceous earth, so don't be afraid to even dump some on your hedgie then rub it in. The sand will eventually make its way down to their skin naturally as the hedgie moves about. The diatomaceous earth will also combat the effects of mite bites and infestation by immediately beginning to regrow and improve skin and quills.

Put it on everything and even in the litter box. But, a word of caution, this is a dust and so it may cause respiratory irritations in your hedgie with prolonged use. Try not to create a dust cloud when pouring it and make sure the dust settles before putting your hedgehog near it. The short term irritation is a lesser risk than the long term effect of poisonous chemicals of the prescribed mite treatment. Since their wheel would kick up quite a cloud if you were to put DE on it, we recommend you freeze the wheel for 24-48 hours, instead.

The above video is of fleas, but the results are the same for mites. DE has many uses and is actually consumed by humans. The organic pest control eliminates bed bugs, aphids, cockroaches, ticks, scabies mites, and every pest out there it comes into contact with. The DE must be carefully sprinkled directly where there may be mites, try not to make a big dust cloud that can be inhaled. Wait a few minutes for the dust to settle before placing your hedgie back in his cage.

Don't be alarmed now, but DE eliminates bugs by using microscopic razor sharp edges. It cuts through the insects waxy skin. The sharp edges are only experienced at a microscopic level, so to humans and animals, it feels soft. But to tiny pests, once inside their bodies, it begins to dehydrate them until their demise. You may be thinking, “Why would I give my hedgehog tiny shards of glass to eat?” You wouldn't. It is not harmful to mammals or humans, and in fact, it is commonly used in farmers fields for food production, pest reduction, and humans drink it regularly to experience many health benefits.

We recommend consistency and thoroughness. The toys, bedding, and equipment inside the cage needs to be removed and sanitized or replaced daily. Temporarily during the treatment, we need to use paper towel sprinkled with DE as the cage liner so you can easily take it out and replace it daily. All hedgehogs who live in the home need to be treated for mites too because mites will travel. If the mite is a certain kind it may also hop onto your other animals. Keep a dusting of the diatomaceous earth over and under the cage lining.

Check every 8-10 hours for mite carcasses and vacuum them out as needed. For a cleaning solution, we highly recommend mixing equal parts cleaning vinegar with water. Soak and spray everything down with this mixture, and you should not have to bleach. Wash everything that is material at 130°F in your washing machine or below 32°F in your freezer or outside during the winter months . After you are done cleaning the cage, finish off with this natural cage cleaner to eliminate any strong smell left behind from the vinegar, or simply just go over it again with hot water and a dish cloth.

Revolution® is actually not a mite-specific treatment for hedgehogs, but is the go-to for vets in an itchy situation. It does treat an array of mites and has been working for many years. But, it can cause side-effects that create worse skin ailments and quill loss because of its chemical properties. Sometimes one or two doses are not enough depending on what type of mite infestation is present.

The chemical composition of Revolution® which is selamectin is (5Z,25S)-25-cyclohexyl-4′-O-de(2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methyl-α-L-arabino-hexopyranosyl)-5-demethoxy-25-de(1-methylpropyl)-22,23-dihydro-5-hydroxyiminoavermectin A1a [dailymed]. But the good news is, that this stuff is here when you really need it, and you will only need to use it maybe three times. Some vets give monthly revolution drops to hedgehogs as a routine precaution, so it is up to you how often you want to expose your hedgie to these chemicals. We encourage you to attempt to prevent mites first before committing to a monthly dosage schedule.

According to Dailymed's Revolution® safety fact sheet, they mention Revolution® has caused seizures, muscle spasms, and death within clinical trials. Meaning this is now a substantiated fact. So while it may work on many hedgehogs, sometimes it does more harm than good. And rightfully so since everything that touches the skin enters the bloodstream, which flows to vital organs to be processed, and then spreads throughout the entire system. If there was a natural hedgehog mites home remedy, wouldn't you want to try that first? We believe most hedgehog parents would say yes.

Apple cider vinegar is truly a miracle item, proclaimed by many throughout the ages to have multiple uses and provide comfort and healing for popular infections and colds such as staph infections and yes – mites! Another few items we want to mention are vitamin E oil drops, olive oil, turmeric tea, red rubios tea, neem oil, clove oil, and holistic products made for animals with mites.

We don't usually recommend coconut oil to be used directly on your hedgie's skin, but in this case, we have some creepy crawlies we need to suffocate. We understand that coconut can cause pores to become blocked if not rinsed off well, but we also understand that revolution will cause skin irritation and quill loss beyond presence of mites. It is up to you to weigh the pros and cons. Fractionated coconut oil is much different than other types of coconut oil and is the type we recommend to use for this. This method does not encourage repeat overexposure of coconut oil which normally leads to the clogging of your hedgehogs pores. This method is done over four days and the amount of coconut oil used is continually reduced, giving you the opportunity to wash out the coconut oil by the end of it. What the coconut oil is actually doing is suffocating the mites. This takes four days to complete. For all those days, we need to fill the bath tub up with an inch of water up to their shoulders.

Mix and pour this healing concoction over your hedgehog and really rub it into their feet, the ear skin, their faces, and their heads. Get it all over! We are not going to rinse it off these days.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (Fractionated Coconut Oil Would Be Best)
• 2 drops vitamin E oil
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp oatmeal in a sock

On the fourth day, repeat the bath in an inch of water. This time provide:

• 1 tbsp of oatmeal in a sock
• 1 tsp fractionated coconut oil
• 2 drops of vitamin E
• Rinse with water!!

This should clear up the mites! Make sure to rinse off the fractionated coconut oil really well using your regular wash solution after. If they become pimply just keep rinsing until you are satisfied the oil has been rinsed off. The pimples should clear within the next day or two. This is a far better possible but unlikely outcome than loss of quills and irritated skin in our opinion. For more information on why we recommend fractionated coconut oil over any other kind, please read this. That article, and many others you may find yourself states that the lauric acid from the coconut oil which is the cause of concern which MAY clog the pores of your hedgie's skin is removed entirely. Meaning, the coconut oil should not cause an ill effect. Each hedgehog is different and skin composition may vary however, so do a small skin test first to be sure.

After the bath, clean the cage with equal parts vinegar and water every night and vacuum the area. Wash every item in the cage with mild dish-soap that doesn't have a fragrance or use cleaning vinegar and water again. Replace the cage lining every night, replace the litter lining every night, and consider freezing any wooden shavings or litter for 24-48 hours before using it. Most wood shavings and some litters come with mites inside of them! Keep cleaning the hedgies cage daily and check for mites again on your hedgie in a weeks time from the day you started this natural hedgehog mites home remedy. This remedy has worked for several readers so far and would love to hear from you too if it works for your hedgehog!

Mites are annoying, mites are itchy, and mites are invasive. That doesn't mean you did anything wrong that caused them or that any one is dirty. Your vet will help you confirm the mites, the mite type, and offer a medical solution to you. Ultimately it is up to you to weigh the risk against the results. Mites take a lot of work to be rid of though, and you will feel like you are constantly cleaning and sanitizing things. Know that there is an end to it.

If you take anything away from this article, it is that apple cider vinegar rinses are a great option for mites, and that diatomaceous earth will rid the mites fastest. Get some of the DE in the bottom of their cage, in their dig box, in their sand bath. Let your hedgehog roll around and be merry in it. Every mite touched by DE is one less mite to multiply.

Homeopathic options have been around since the beginning of man kind, before pharmaceuticals arrived. Natural remedies including red rubios tea, turmeric tea, and apple cider vinegar have been used in human mite infections like scabies for a long time with success, so using it on your hedgehog isn't too far fetched. Hopefully, you'll consider using our other hedgehog mites home remedies too, like the dust mite and mange homeopathic formulas. All at home remedies mentioned here contain natural ingredients that won't harm your hedgehog and only remove the mites while healing the damage they have caused.

Do you have any questions about mites we haven't answered or have you used any of the homeopathic remedies we mentioned? Let us know in the comments below! If you are dealing with a mite infestation, we hope it is solved very soon. With these hedgehog mite home remedies, we're confident you and your hedgie will come through it healthier and happier.

Is it quilling and not mites? Check out our hedgehog quilling article here.

Bath time hog blues? We have an article that should make bath time easier!

Have a question about hedgies we haven't answered yet? We'd love for you to meet Quilly and ask him something today!