Prevention and Treatment of Mange in Hedgehog Farming
1) Causes: This disease is an external parasitic disease caused by mange mites and acarids parasitizing within the skin. In humid environments, especially during the rainy seasons of autumn and early winter, acarids reproduce vigorously and spread rapidly. In addition, poor management, unclean burrows and sheds, and unclean skin can trigger this disease.
2) Symptoms: It usually starts from the base of the claws and gradually spreads to the nose, lips, eyelids, face and front and hind legs, and occasionally also affects the inside of the ear shells. The acarids burrow deep into the skin, biting out tunnels and stimulating nerve endings, causing intense itching. The affected areas become congested, swollen, thickened, wounded and hairless, and serous and purulent matter seeps from the wounds, forming white-yellow scabs. Because the hedgehog scratches the damaged skin, bacterial infection is often induced. Due to the intense itching, the sick hedgehog becomes restless, its appetite drops sharply, and it becomes markedly emaciated; because the disease cannot be cured for a long time, it dies of emaciation.
3) Prevention and treatment: Hedgehog burrows and sheds should always be kept dry, and moisture must be strictly guarded against. Inspect frequently, and when sick hedgehogs are found, handle them promptly and isolate them for treatment. The bedding in the burrows of affected hedgehogs should be promptly removed and burned, and the burrows and sheds should be disinfected in good time.
The following methods can be chosen for treatment:
(1) 1% trichlorfon and baiganjiu solution, applied by partition and in separate sessions to the affected areas.
(2) 2% trichlorfon aqueous solution, applied to the affected areas.
(3) 1.5 parts tobacco leaves and 60 parts edible oil, soaked for 30 days, then applied to the affected areas.
(4) Amitraz (chlorphenamidine), prepared as a 0.15% solution, applied to the affected areas for 3-5 consecutive days.
(5) 20 grams of sulfur and 10 grams of lime, add 100 milliliters of water, mix and boil for 15 minutes, then apply to the affected areas after cooling.
(6) Chinaberry bark burned to ash and ground into powder, mixed into lard, sesame oil or petroleum jelly and other greases, and applied to the affected areas.
(7) Stemona tincture: 60-90 grams of Stemona japonica, chopped, soaked in 100 milliliters of 75% alcohol or liquor for 7 days, with the residue removed, then applied to the affected areas.
(8) Miechong tincture 0.2 milliliters (0.2 milligrams)/kg body weight, intramuscular injection, with another injection after 7 days.
(9) 1 milliliter of 20% fenvalerate plus 1000 milliliters of vegetable oil, applied to the affected areas.
(10) Xuanteling (Jiangxi Shangrao Xinxing Pharmaceutical Factory), applied to the affected areas, once in the morning and once in the evening, for 3-4 consecutive days. 11. Zugang powder medicinal liquid, applied to the affected areas twice a day for 3 consecutive days. 12. Chongkexing, used at 0.07 milliliters/kg body weight by intramuscular injection, has preventive and therapeutic effects.