Fur loss

[Obie's Mum]

Hi all,

I've not posted for a while, as I've had no questions about Obie However, last night I got a cuddle from him and I noticed a bald patch on his right flank. I know this can happen with age, but Obie's only 11 months old. I'm going to make him a vet's appointment tomorrow but meanwhile, does anyone have any advice?

 

[Socks' Mum]

I'm sorry to hear little Obie is losing fur. I have heard that this is common in Robos, but as you say, he is not that old. My Syrian, Socks, had hair thinning and I increased the protein in his diet and gave him more fresh food. The vet prescribed Ivermectin, but I think it can be dangerous unless you get the dose exact and that might need tricky on small hammies. I think linseeds are also a good source of natural oils which could help. I hope his coat improves soon. It's lovely that he lets you cuddle him

 

[Obie's Mum]

Thank you, @Socks' Mum . It's lovely now that I can cuddle him He's so tiny and lightweight! His whisker kisses are so gentle!

I'm not sure his hair loss is down to lack of protein, as he gets one pinch of dried mealworms every other day, which I thought was quite a lot. He gets fresh veg on the days in-between, but mainly cucumber, because he's fussy and won't eat other veg! I could definitely get him some linseed though. That's high in Omega-3, so maybe that's what he needs. I'll discuss diet with the vet.

Don't know if it could be due not cleaning his cage enough? I put off replacing the bedding where he burrows as I don't like to destroy his burrows, and he's never that happy about it either

 

[Maz]

That is so lovely you can cuddle him I don't think it's anything you've done or his cage. Hopefully the vet will sort it - it could be mites. Vet probably won't know much about linseeds, but I would definitely give a pinch of those daily as they are really good for fur and skin condition


What food mix is he on? It's unlikely to be that though or he'd have fur loss all over probably.

 

[Obie's Mum]

That is so lovely you can cuddle him I don't think it's anything you've done or his cage. Hopefully the vet will sort it - it could be mites. Vet probably won't know much about linseeds, but I would definitely give a pinch of those daily as they are really good for fur and skin condition


What food mix is he on? It's unlikely to be that though or he'd have fur loss all over probably.

Hi Maz,

Obie eats Bunny Nature Dreams Dwarf Hamster mix, supplemented with a pinch of dried mealworms every other day, and with a small piece of cucumber on the days in-between. I'll get him some linseed though. Thank you for your advice.

 

[Maz]

That sounds fine for him I would book a vet check - they can do a skin scraping and look under a microscope. It doesn't hurt them and is quite quick.

 

[Obie's Mum]

That sounds fine for him I would book a vet check - they can do a skin scraping and look under a microscope. It doesn't hurt them and is quite quick.

My chinchilla has had one of those.

 

[Socks' Mum]

His diet sounds OK. Will he eat bell pepper and lettuce? They are a bit like cucumber. I hope the vet can find the cause of Obie's fur loss. Yes, perhaps his burrows cold be cleaned out more. But only if necessary. If they aren't smelly he should be OK

 

[Maz]

I wouldn't worry about his burrows to be honest. Robos pee such teeny tiny amounts it usually just evaporates! My experience of robos also is they are incredibly tidy underground and keep a small pee area well away from sleeping and hoarding areas and that is usually dry! Because it evaporates. Both mine actually used a toilet as well! I suppose they may vary but it won't be anything to do with cage cleaning or limited cleaning. It's just quite common for them to get mites sometimes for no reason in particular. One of mine had suspected mites as he got older.

 

[Maz]

Just to add - demodex mites on hamsters are not visible to the naked eye. They actually live there normally - so a hamster doesn't acquire mites, it already has them! But sometimes the mites can proliferate causing the fur loss or itching sore skin. This can be if the hamster's immune system is low whether caused by illness, stress or diet - but it can just happen without any known cause as well so I wouldn't see it as diet, stress or anything else. Like us, we can feel run down for a day or two and catch a cold but doesn't mean we have anything else really wrong with us to cause catching a cold

 

[Obie's Mum]

I wouldn't worry about his burrows to be honest. Robos pee such teeny tiny amounts it usually just evaporates! My experience of robos also is they are incredibly tidy underground and keep a small pee area well away from sleeping and hoarding areas and that is usually dry! Because it evaporates. Both mine actually used a toilet as well! I suppose they may vary but it won't be anything to do with cage cleaning or limited cleaning. It's just quite common for them to get mites sometimes for no reason in particular. One of mine had suspected mites as he got older.

Hi,

Thanks @Maz and @Socks' Mum for your replies. I managed to get Obie an appointment for this evening. The vet is treating him with Ivermectin 0.1% spot-on, once a week for 3 weeks, because the most likely cause is mites. Alternative suggestions she had were a reaction to a change in his substrate (ie. Carefresh changing their manufacturing process or raw ingredients) or an endocrine problem such as Cushing's disease, which she thought was unlikely as he's showing no other clinical signs of ill-health. His ivermectin is on order. Obie was very wriggly but didn't bite. He weighs 22g and might be female! I need to look at his underneath again and get a better look! In other news, I initially couldn't find Obie this evening, as s/he had moved house into his/her big cage! Sneaky little thing did this when I wasn't looking

 

[Maz]

That's good news Hopefully the Invermectin will sort it out. Have you recently changed to Carefresh? It has been known to cause allergy issues with some hamsters. I think it's not common for robos to get Cushings - that is mainly Syrians and not that common for them.

Obie is probably hiding away a bit after the vet visit!

 

[Socks' Mum]

I hope the medication helps. Good little Obie to be nice and not bite. Perhaps Obietta