Hair loss

[mealwormdevourer]

My hamster Stig is just over a year old (got him last May/June and he was pretty much full size already). He has always had very prominent bald areas over the scent glands on his sides.

He has now developed an area of thinning hair, almost completely bald now, on the front of his right hind leg. It doesn’t appear to be irritating him, and I can’t feel any lump (though health checking a hamster is seemingly easier said than done!). Should I be getting him to the vet right away, or seeing if this settles down?

It’s hard to say whether there have been any behavioural changes as I deep cleaned his enclosure a few weeks ago and had to remove his stash because it was very dusty, smelly and there were moths in it. So he has been attempting to chew his way out of the bottom of the enclosure.

I am cautious to take him to the vet as he hates handling and gets very upset after just a minute or two, so I worry how he would react to a car journey and then examination. Though I have access to a brilliant exotics vet who I would fully trust to treat him when necessary.

I have included the best pictures I could get, but he is very fast!

 

[Maz]

Hello. There are so many reasons for hair loss. In hot weather they can even have a moult and the fur regrows. Is it the same on both hips or just one side? Another reason is mites but that does need a vet check to check it actually is mites - they take a scraping and look under the microscope, as it's not good to treat for mites if there aren't any as that would be unnecessary use of invermectin which can be a bit toxic. At the right dose it's safe but it's not something to use if it's not needed. The demodex mites on hamsters aren't visible with the naked eye hence the microscope needed.

However, stress can cause an imbalance and then they can get an overgrowth of mites. The demodex mites naturally live on hamsters and it's only if their immune system gets knocked re health or stress, that they can start to proliferate.

So you have a couple of options. You can keep an eye on it (and I'd give a pinch of linseeds daily as well as that helps fur regrow and be in good condition, although it can take 2 to 3 weeks to see any difference). Or you could take him for a vet check and see if it is mites or not.

I'm sorry about the moths. They will have hatched out from the food so I would freeze the remaining food again for at least a week. It's the hot weathr makes the moth eggs hatch out. Did you completely clean out the cage and disinfect all the contents afterwards? Because the eggs are invisible and could be on other cage items. The moths won't do him any harm but you don't want them all over the house if they start hatching out. If they were only in the hoard in the cage then you probably caught it in time, but if you see any on the wall near the tank, squish em. I also spray vinegar on the wall if there have been any! Kills any eggs.

 

[mealwormdevourer]

Hello. There are so many reasons for hair loss. In hot weather they can even have a moult and the fur regrows. Is it the same on both hips or just one side? Another reason is mites but that does need a vet check to check it actually is mites - they take a scraping and look under the microscope, as it's not good to treat for mites if there aren't any as that would be unnecessary use of invermectin which can be a bit toxic. At the right dose it's safe but it's not something to use if it's not needed. The demodex mites on hamsters aren't visible with the naked eye hence the microscope needed.

However, stress can cause an imbalance and then they can get an overgrowth of mites. The demodex mites naturally live on hamsters and it's only if their immune system gets knocked re health or stress, that they can start to proliferate.

So you have a couple of options. You can keep an eye on it (and I'd give a pinch of linseeds daily as well as that helps fur regrow and be in good condition, although it can take 2 to 3 weeks to see any difference). Or you could take him for a vet check and see if it is mites or not.

I'm sorry about the moths. They will have hatched out from the food so I would freeze the remaining food again for at least a week. It's the hot weathr makes the moth eggs hatch out. Did you completely clean out the cage and disinfect all the contents afterwards? Because the eggs are invisible and could be on other cage items. The moths won't do him any harm but you don't want them all over the house if they start hatching out. If they were only in the hoard in the cage then you probably caught it in time, but if you see any on the wall near the tank, squish em. I also spray vinegar on the wall if there have been any! Kills any eggs.

Thank you for your response.
I will keep an eye on him then, it has been very hot here so that could be it. But if it doesn't improve in the next 1-2 weeks then it's definitely a vet trip. I just wish I knew more accurately how old he is.

The moths are unfortunately most likely to have come from somewhere else and just gravitated towards his enclosure. I share the room with Stig and the rest of my (small) animals including guinea pigs, and the moths come in the window (must be open at night/closed during the while day hot weather lasts as guinea pigs are ridiculously prone to heat stroke) or in the guinea pig hay. All I can really do is try to keep on top of them by killing the adults. I can't use anything to deter or kill them because my other pets are invertebrates so they would also be harmed.