Mites?

[Veer]

Hi everyone,

Droppie has a somewhat bald spot on her back between her shoulders and behind her ears.

I also see her scratching regularly. Could it be mites? Her fur is a bit thinner there, and you can see her skin.

I have ivermectin drops at home that I can use to treat her—I think she needs them on days 1, 8, and 15? One drop on the back of her neck.

Do I also need to clean her entire enclosure and replace all the bedding, or is that not necessary?
If it is necessary, when is the best time to do a thorough cleaning?

 

[Maz]

I wouldn't use invermectin just yet. If it is back of the head/shoulders area, could it be fur rub if she is squeezing under something? She is still very young. You could try giving her a pinch of linseeds a day for a couple of weeks on a separate dish - they just lick them up - and see if there is any sign of improvement. If it's just the same I'd take her for a vet check and they can do a skin scraping to check if it's mites or not. I always think it's good to be cautious about using Invermectin unless it is definitively mites.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Oh, I hope your sweet girlie gets better quickly

 

[Maz]

I meant to add also check to see if there is enough in her enclosure she could be squeezing under, to cause fur rub.

I know you've mentioned diet before and I'm sure it's fine, but lack of protein can cause fur loss as well. Is she eating the science selective pellets yet?

 

[Veer]

I don't are anything that can cause this, will take a better look later.
It is not completely bald, it is just thinner fur.
I don't think she is eating from the science selective. Maybe 1 piece per day, if any at all

 

[Veer]

 

[Maz]

It does look a different colour. Could be just changing colour maybe? It doesn't look bald exactly. With it being in 3 distinct locations - behind the ears and separately on the back, it doesn't look like fur rub. Scratching a lot is normal for hamsters also. Could she have rolled in something even?!

 

[Amy]

I do hope your sweet girl gets better soon

 

[Veer]

It does look a different colour. Could be just changing colour maybe? It doesn't look bald exactly. With it being in 3 distinct locations - behind the ears and separately on the back, it doesn't look like fur rub. Scratching a lot is normal for hamsters also. Could she have rolled in something even?!

Not anything i can think of really.
Maybe...i used a different brands of bathing sand.
I always use Beaphar sand, but last week i changed to science selective sand. Is there a difference in composition?
The science selective sand seems to be a bit finer maybe?
She is on this bedding since she came here, at the breeder she was on shavings. Don't think this can be caused by the bedding?

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[Socks' Mum]

I would take her to a good exotic vet for a check up. Socks suffered from thinning fur which got quite alarming at one stage. He did have ivermectine, but I believe it is controversial. Luckily his fur grew back and he lived a normal lifespan. It is something which is very worrying and difficult to know why it happens. Does the breeder have any advice? He might want to know that this has happened. I hope it heals soon

 

[Veer]

What caused Sock's bald spots? Did you ever figure that out?

Droppie's spots aren't discoloration; they're areas with less hair, so you can see the skin through them.

 

[Socks' Mum]

I never found out the cause unfortunately. He got ivermectine from the vet and I gave him further doses but I don't know if it is a good medication for hamsters or not. I increased the fresh food and veggies in his diet and added more protein rich food. His fur grew back but it was a different colour. Eventually it was back to a good normal coverage but for a couple of months I was quite worried.

 

[Maz]

Invermectin treats mites and parasites. It tends to work well for that but dosage is pretty important as it can be toxic to hamsters. It is better to get a diagnosis from a vet if mites are suspected so they can at least be ruled out and other causes looked into. There are so many causes for fur loss - diet, hormones, moults, age, various diseases like Cushings. But most of those are in older age. Fur loss in a younger hamster is unusual.

But yes it's probably best to get a vet check if you can see her skin through her fur. Alternatively you could wait a bit and see if it improves or gets worse as that might help with diagnosis.

There was unfortunately, someone who was given invermectin by the vets for two robos and misread the dosage and both hamsters died on the trip back from the vets. The hamster's weight needs to be known to work out how many drops and a vet determine how often,

The other thing is, if it is proven to be mites via a skin scraping, there is an option for the vet to give a one off injection instead of topical treatment. Or there used to be. I don't hear much about that these days.

To determine the diagnosis they need to either do a skin scraping or at the least, use a bit of sticky tape on the skin, and look at the skin scraping under a microscope.

 

[Veer]

I will try to get her to eat more science selective for protein and vitamins.
Maybe i should just leave a bowl of ss in her tank, and only feed a very small amount of het Mixerama, scattered on the bedding?
I will also go back to the Beaphar sand and will check on any sharp edges in het houses.
I do not think there are any, all her houses are made from Ceramic or polyresin, looks and feels smooth.
She does have some wooden platforms and a grapevine, will check this out.
For nesting material i use toilet paper.
I cannot think of anything that could cause the thinking fur besides food deficiencies or the sand, or parasites.
I rather not take her to the vet bacuse of the stress it would give her, so i will try these things first to see if there is any improvement.

 

[Maz]

I think maybe the most likely things are a) sand b) hormones c) nutrition d) possibly mites but rule the others out first perhaps.

It could possibly be hormonal and just right itself. How old is she now? I wouldn't change too much - just keep observing. I used to just put 2 or science selective pellets out daily, separate from the rest of the food. One is probably much more than a dwarf hamster needs daily - they eat very little. So if she has nibbled at one of them, or one is gone, you'll know she's had some If she doesn't eat those then you had some other protein supplements didn't you? Like the tofu.

The other thing is too much protein can be just as bad as not enough so don't go overboard on that.

What I would do is - put out a pinch of linseeds on a separate little dish every day for two weeks. And observe and see if anything has improved during that time. It takes about two weeks for them to improve the coat and then it is noticeably thicker and shinier. Might take 3 weeks. I really am a big fan of linseeds for fur condition


As regards diet, I can't remember which mix she is on, but you probably won't need to supplement the protein very much - the main thing is that she is eating the supplements like the tofu.

It could be worth removing sand for a couple of weeks as well but then if it improves you won't know if it's the sand or the linseeds that did the trick! Some dwarf hamsters have had fur issues from sand.

So diet - I would give the normal amount of mixerama, 2 or 3 science selective pellets on a dish, a pinch of linseeds on another dish and any regular protein supplement you're giving like the tofu pieces. Pine nuts or half a walnut are also good protein supplements.

Which mixerama mix is it?

 

[Veer]

She is on Mixerema. I started with the Myps Zwergen Zauber and added Dwarf Hamster Basic Menu because the first one has a lot of flowers that she doesn't eat. This is mixed 50/50. It has about 15% protein, and i give her a piece of the tofu and a mealworm everyday. She also gets fresh veggies daily.

She does have linseed sprays, but i think she already ate them, so i can put in some new and see if this improves her coat.
I will use the beaphar sand for now, instead of the Supreme sand.