Possible Skin/Scratching Concern

[Lillady]

Iva had my ‘quirrel, Echo, for about 6 weeks. She should be around 11-12 weeks now. Fully furred, playing, makes various sounds, jumps well, etc. but I have noticed that when she gets excited in her cage (when I get home, put away during cleaning, etc) she grooms or scratches herself a fair amount. When she is out of the cage she doesn’t really do this.
When I received her I did a physical assessment and did not note any fleas, worms, maggots, etc. And my vet cleared her of any issues.
I want to make sure this isn’t a developing issue or anything because I want her to be comfortable and healthy.
She did just finish a 5-6 day round of antibiotics to ensure the diarrhea she had was not caused by a virus or parasite. This was recommended by my vet, it cleared up almost overnight and has not returned.
Echo eats like a champ and it’s weening at all which I assume for any ailments is a good sign.

[stepnstone]

Iva had my ‘quirrel, Echo, for about 6 weeks. She should be around 11-12 weeks now. Fully furred, playing, makes various sounds, jumps well, etc. but I have noticed that when she gets excited in her cage (when I get home, put away during cleaning, etc) she grooms or scratches herself a fair amount. When she is out of the cage she doesn’t really do this.
When I received her I did a physical assessment and did not note any fleas, worms, maggots, etc. And my vet cleared her of any issues.
I want to make sure this isn’t a developing issue or anything because I want her to be comfortable and healthy.
She did just finish a 5-6 day round of antibiotics to ensure the diarrhea she had was not caused by a virus or parasite. This was recommended by my vet, it cleared up almost overnight and has not returned.
Echo eats like a champ and it’s weening at all which I assume for any ailments is a good sign.

This could either be her "excitement" ritual or... something in her cage irritates her.
My first suspect would possibly be your laundry detergent, scented detergents, those
with add ins should not be used for their laundry. Dryer sheets should not be used.
I personally use orignal Dawn (unscented} dish liquid for all my babies laundry.

[Lillady]

This could either be her "excitement" ritual or... something in her cage irritates her.
My first suspect would possibly be your laundry detergent, scented detergents, those
with add ins should not be used for their laundry. Dryer sheets should not be used.
I personally use orignal Dawn (unscented} dish liquid for all my babies laundry.

That would make sense!

I was using puppy pads in her cage but then read a thread on the attractant being toxic so I solely use white sheets cut into sections to track the cleanliness of her cage. So maybe it’s the detergent. I don’t use dryer sheets at all because my other laundry typically includes cat and dog blankets.

I will order hypoallergenic fragrant free detergent today! I only use plant-based cleaners and detergents but if Dawn is the safest option for her, I can order some.

The only other thing that accompanied this behavior was that she became super lethargic and wouldn’t stay awake for more than 5 minutes at a time, lasting almost 2 days. I took her to my vet immediately (again) and he prescribed her antibiotics for infections vs viral/parasite just in case, though she seemed fine to him. Now this was 2 weeks ago, she’s perfectly fine now and I’ve been using the same detergent.

Maybe this has something to do with it? Within a day she was more active then ever and eating more so I’m not sure.