Hedgehog Scratching Itself

Question
Please help!!

My hedgehog has been with me for a few months now, and her behavior has been pretty normal, but recently I noticed that she has been scratching her chest area to the point that she has a horrible wound and is constantly bleeding. She won't stop scratching, and I'm constantly cleaning off her wound and try to make sure that she doesn't scratch herself anymore.

I don't know what to do, and I want to know why she might be doing it.

Answer
Hi, Lesly:

I'm sorry your little one is having problems with itching/scratching herself.

By far the most obvious cause for this would be mites.  You need to take her to a vet.  If she has mites, some Revolution should get rid of them.  

If she doesn't have mites, the vet will have to consider other factors to find out what is wrong.

In any case, you might want to think about giving her a warm bath and using some baby shampoo (and an old or soft toothbrush on spots that aren't scratched up) with a few drops of Vit E afterwards to soothe her skin.

Good Luck & Hedgie Blessings,

Laurel