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Hamster lost a lot of hair |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Manchester
Posts: 8,470
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Hamster lost a lot of hair
My hamsters lost ALOT of hair recently. He is approximately 1 year and 7 months old. At first I thought mites as he was biting himself so I bought him a completely new cage. Then I popped him into pets at home (not vets, just to talk to the staff as they didn't have a vets at that one) but I told them although he's biting himself, I can't see any mites on him at all. I was expecting them to give me some of them flea drops for hamsters but they said it wouldn't be suitable if he might not have them and mentioned he could have a skin condition due to his old age and mentioned something about skin scraping which he would need to go under anaesthetic for but that's not good as he's small and may not possibly come out of it. So I'm going to be registering him and making an appointment at the vets today and see what they say.
I'm really worried we both love him so much. I've attached some pics of him for people to see if there hamsters have had similar things or what they think it might be. Thanks. http://i65.tinypic.com/2jbwcwh.jpg http://i64.tinypic.com/sl5gg4.jpg |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Manchester
Posts: 8,470
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Also he's lost most of his hair underneath too, he's still eating normally and climbing around the cage normally.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,040
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Poor little mite. There could be a number of causes - sometimes diet or age related. This site has useful information on hamster care and ailments.
http://www.hammysworld.com/index.php?p=furloss However, I would definitely recommend to talk to a vet, just to be safe. The vet may prescribe soothing cream or recommend a change in diet. Forgot to add, regarding the skin scraping, they may be able to apply a topical anaesthetic to numb a patch of skin, rather then a general anaesthetic. Try not to worry. It's good that your hamster is eating normally and climbing. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Manchester
Posts: 8,470
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Quote:
Poor little mite. There could be a number of causes - sometimes diet or age related. This site has useful information on hamster care and ailments.
http://www.hammysworld.com/index.php?p=furloss However, I would definitely recommend to talk to a vet, just to be safe. The vet may prescribe soothing cream or recommend a change in diet. Forgot to add, regarding the skin scraping, they may be able to apply a topical anaesthetic to numb a patch of skin, rather then a general anaesthetic. Try not to worry. It's good that your hamster is eating normally and climbing. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 13,433
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Quote:
Thanks for the reply. I live in city centre and there's no vets in the city centre at all. I rung up the nearest one out and they said they're booked solid for a week but I shouldn't leave my hamster that much longer to be seen so was told to ring round other places. I don't drive so I would have to walk or catch public transport with him which I don't mind as I have a travel case for him but it's weather they would allow him on buses etc. So difficult.
Good luck with your hamster.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 1,884
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My hamster had a skin condition like that and vet said it was mites and gave him an injection to kill them off.
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Another time, another place..
Posts: 24,629
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First thought was either demodectic mange caused by tiny, almost invisible mites, which can be confirmed by a skin scraping from the vet, who would most likely give you Xeno 50 Mini to treat them with (like a spot on for hamsters and other small animals), or an over balance of the microscopic mites that everything has on them constantly. Normally these ones don't cause a problem as your own body system keeps them in check, but if your feeling a bit run down or your immune system takes a knock, they run amok and start causing a problem.
On looking at your photos though, and seeing your hamster is long haired, I am inclined to think that what you are seeing is an unfortunate but fairly common sign of an ageing long haired male Syrian hamster. At 17 months he is actually quite elderly as the average lifespan for a Syrian is 24-26 months, and for reasons that's aren't fully known, long haired males tend to go 'patchy' and the skin flakey when they age, especially on their underneath but they can lose hair anywhere. It doesn't affect the hamster in any way and they can still eat/play as normal, it's just it makes them look a mess. If it is due to age and not a medical problem, unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it and the hair won't grow back, you might get the odd pieces but you won't get the full fluffy coat again. Something you can try is to gently brush him with a soft toothbrush, that will help with their appearance and removing dead skin flakes, and what I used to give mine when he went like this was Yumega Cat omega oil: http://vetuk.co.uk/dog-supplements-c...il-50ml-p-2645 which is a salmon oil supplement. It comes in a very small bottle and will last you a long time as you only need a drop or two added on his food once a day. The Yumega won't harm him if you want to try him on it regardless, but don't put the spot on on him without him seeing the vet, Xeno is strong and you don't want to be using it on an elderly hamster unless there really is a problem. |
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