Editing Hedgehog (section)

==Diseases==
Hedgehogs suffer many diseases common to mammals,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildlifeinformation.org/Preview_WildPro/List_Vols/Complete_Hedgehog/List_UKHedgehog_Disease.htm |title=List of Hedgehog diseases |publisher=Wildlifeinformation.org |access-date=2009-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726153202/http://www.wildlifeinformation.org/Preview_WildPro/List_Vols/Complete_Hedgehog/List_UKHedgehog_Disease.htm |archive-date=26 July 2010 }}</ref> including cancer, [[fatty liver|fatty liver disease]], and [[cardiovascular disease]].

Cancer is very common in hedgehogs. The most common is [[squamous cell carcinoma]], which spreads quickly from bone to the organs, unlike in humans. Surgery to remove the bone tumors is impractical.

Fatty liver and heart disease are believed to be caused by an unhealthy diet and obesity. Hedgehogs will eagerly eat foods high in fat and sugar, despite a metabolism adapted for low-fat, protein-rich insects.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Hedgehogs are also highly susceptible to pneumonia, with difficulty breathing and nasal discharge,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hedgehogs - Diseases |url=http://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/hedgehogs-diseases |access-date=2020-11-02 |website=vca_corporate |language=en |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124165556/https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/hedgehogs-diseases |url-status=live }}</ref> caused by the bacterium ''Bordetella bronchiseptica''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Diseases Of Hedgehogs |url=https://www.bowmanvilleveterinaryclinic.com/common-diseases-of-hedgehogs |access-date=2020-11-02 |website=Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic |language=en-US |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106193202/https://www.bowmanvilleveterinaryclinic.com/common-diseases-of-hedgehogs |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hedgehogs uncommonly transmit a fungal [[ringworm]] or [[dermatophytosis]] skin infection to human handlers and other hedgehogs, caused by ''[[Trichophyton]] erinacei'', a distinct mating group among the ''[[Arthroderma]] benhamiae'' fungi.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Yoko |last=Takahashi |author2=Ayako Sano |author3=Kayoko Takizawa |author4=Kazutaka Fukushima |author5=Makoto Miyaji |author6=Kazuko Nishimura |title=The epidemiology and mating behavior of ''Arthroderma benhamiae'' var. ''erinacei'' in household four-toed hedgehogs (''Atelerix albiventris'') in Japan |journal=Japanese Journal of Medical Mycology |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=31–8 |year=2003 |pmid=12590257 |doi= 10.3314/jjmm.44.31 |url=http://www.jsmm.org/common/jjmm44-1_031.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031101220005/http://www.jsmm.org/common/jjmm44-1_031.pdf |archive-date=2003-11-01 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Hedgehog suffering from balloon syndrome before deflating 2.jpg|thumb|alt= caption | Hedgehog suffering from balloon syndrome before deflating]]
Hedgehogs can suffer from [[balloon syndrome]], a rare condition in which gas is trapped under the skin from injury or infection, causing the animal to inflate. The condition is unique to hedgehogs because their skin is baggy enough to curl up.<ref name="BBC 12 June 2017" /> In 2017, the [[BBC]] reported a case of a male hedgehog "almost twice its natural size, literally blown up like a beach ball with incredibly taut skin".<ref name="BBC News 11 June 2017">{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-40239831 |title= Hedgehog 'blown up like beach ball' has balloon syndrome |author= |date= 11 June 2017 |website= [[BBC News Online]] |publisher= BBC | access-date= 11 June 2017 }}</ref><ref name="BBC News 22 May 2013">{{cite web |author=Staff writer(s) |date=22 May 2013 |title=Inflated 'balloon' hedgehog saved from 'rupturing' by vet |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-22631197 |access-date=11 June 2017 |website=[[BBC News Online]] |publisher=BBC}}</ref> At [[Stapeley]]'s Wildlife Hospital, vet Bev Panto, said, "I have seen three or four of these cases and they are very strange every time and quite shocking ... When you first see them they appear to be very big hedgehogs but when you pick them up they feel so light because they are mostly air".<ref name="BBC 12 June 2017">{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-40252983|title= Balloon syndrome hedgehog is 'popped'|author= Staff writer(s) |date= 12 June 2017|website= [[BBC News Online]] |publisher= BBC | access-date= 12 June 2017 }}</ref> The British Hedgehog Preservation Society advises:
<blockquote>There is no single cause for this condition. The air can be removed by incising or aspirating through the skin over the back. Antibiotic cover should be given. This may be associated with lung/chest wall damage or a small external wound acting like a valve or a clostridium type infection.<ref name="British Hedgehog Preservation Society">{{cite web |url= http://britishhedgehogs.org.uk/leaflets/L8-Care-and-Treatment.pdf#page=14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412082914/http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/leaflets/L8-Care-and-Treatment.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-12 |url-status=live|title= ' Care and Treatment of Sick and Injured Hedgehogs |last= Forshaw| first= Hugh|website= britishhedgehogs.org.uk |publisher= British Hedgehog Preservation Society | access-date= 11 June 2017 }}</ref></blockquote>