Hamster losing fur on rear and neck :(

Oh, I think that's just part of her food bowl, it has red strawberries on it! This was from a few weeks ago too, sadly she is very red all over and in general just not looking good
 
Great, thank you so much for your help, I should be able to get both the food and bedding. Also would you reccomend the Veterycin spray? My friend said it's safe if ingested but didn't know if you've heard of it. Figured it might help her feel better if I can get it on her safely
 
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I haven't come across it before. It looks fairly inoccuous but I would maybe ask the vet what you could put on it. Some people make Thyme tea and dab that on, which is antiseptic, but I didn't suggest that in case it interacts with the treatment she's on - as herbs can do.
 
The vita garden food is only available through shipping and will take at least 10 days. Is there another food you'd reccomend or should I wait for it to be delivered?
 
Biscuit_7 said:
The vita garden food is only available through shipping and will take at least 10 days. Is there another food you'd reccomend or should I wait for it to be delivered?
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Also, would it be better to get pellets rather than fiesta mix? i'm worried she's only eating what she likes and not getting a full nutritional balance
 
That's annoying. I think it's the only reasonably good hamster mix available in the US - there isn't a lot of choice and some people actually order German mixes from Etsy, shipped from Germany! But that gets expensive and I don't think it's necessary. The muesli is better than pellets. Don't worry if she doesn't eat everything. Mine leave loads and are perfectly healthy. They mainly eat from their hoards so we don't actually see what they eat but it would be very boring for them to just have pellets. They like to forage. She is probably taking more than you think as sometimes their hoards can end up enormous! Supplementing the protein will help ensure she gets enough protein and most ingredients contain some protein. They sometimes ignore small seeds or fibre based things but that's not crucial. Pellets are good for when they are old or sick and have difficulty eating, as they can be softened - very helpful for a hamster with tooth problems or an arthritic jaw - but even then it's still recommended to put their regular hamster mix out as well as they still like pouching and hoarding it even if they can't eat it - it allows normal behaviours.

She might prefer the Vita Garden anyway :-)
 
Makes sense, I ordered it so hopefully it gets here before too long. She already seems to be enjoying the kaytee bedding more, and i'm going to try some flaxseeds and some more fresh/healthy treats every so often (veggies or nuts). I'll see what the vet says but it's probably a good idea to see how she responds to these changes first since she already had a parasite treatment
 
I'm also starting to wonder if the treatment was effective, since it was topical and applied at the back of her neck - but afterwards she rolled in bedding and could have rubbed it off. I'm not sure how quickly it's absorbed into her system but it could have interfered with it
 
It's hard to know if there are 60 days between doses - maybe it's only after the second dose you see any results.

By the way, you could start a personal/diary thread for her if you want :-) It's a thread where you can post updates and photos and videos of your hamster and others can follow and share in the antics :-) It would be in the Syrian section here

www.thehamsterforum.com

Syrian Hamsters

www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
I had a long haired hamster called Woodstock and he was given mite treatments but was eventually diagnosed with cushings. He wasnt in any distress and lived a good long life.

Hopefully the mite treatment will work soon.
 
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Poor guy, I'm glad he wasn't in pain though! The vet prescribed an antibiotic incase there's a secondary infection. It's a liquid oral dose though that needs to be given every 12 hours and I know for a fact it will be near impossible to give it to her. Does anyone have reccomendations for other ways besides the syringe?

My friend said I could hollow out a carrot, fill it, and give it to her since she'll stuff it in her mouth lol. Not sure if it would work, but I need a backup plan if I can't get the syringe in her mouth.
 
It's probably Baytril (enroflaxin) and tastes nasty and bitter. There isn't much food that disguises the taste. If she was willing to take it from a syringe then what some people do is suck up a small bit of runny honey into the syringe, after drawing up the meds, and they're more likely to take it from the syringe then. The only real food I know that they will eat with the meds in is something very meaty or beefy. You could try corned beef or a bit of meaty cat food. But it needs to be something mushy as you only need a tiny pea sized amount of food to make sure she gets all the meds.

I put half the pea sized amount on a dish, drop the meds on top (carefully to make sure it stays in the middle) and put the other half of the pea sized amount on top. It could just work like that or if a bit does start to run down the sides of the first half, you could use a small cocktail stick to mix the meat and meds up a bit.
 
It's actually TMPS but I don't know much about it. My dog has wet chicken food I could try - not sure if it's safe for her to eat though.
 
Biscuit_7 said:
It's actually TMPS but I don't know much about it. My dog has wet chicken food I could try - not sure if it's safe for her to eat though.
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I can also try a little bit of mashed banana. I have a feeling she'll eat it but I'll try something else if not
 
Sorry for the spam, but tonight I've noticed large patches of her scabs are falling off and there's a few tiny open sores. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing?
 
I'm wondering if your vet is actually an experienced hamster vet as both medications prescribed are usually for dogs and hamsters are usually prescribed different ones. But TMS is ok as well and sometimes prescribed for hamsters, and it should help prevent infection now she has sores. I don't know if that one tastes bad, you could try it in a bit of mashed banana :-) Dog food is usually fine if it's just a tiny amount for the short time of the antibiotic course.

So sorry her skin is bad. Maybe ask the vet first if you can put anything on it. It sounds like you just need something soothing to put on it if she's on antibiotics anyway.

They can get sores etc with mites - but also with Cushings. If it was Cushings though the fur loss is usually in other areas around the hips and patchy areas and other symptoms - sometimes a pot belly or darker skin colour.

Don't worry, you're not spamming :-) Is your current vet an exotic vet?
 
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