My little companion, Hammy

[Eric65]

Been a while since I been on, been quite busy.

 

[Maz]

Been a while since I been on, been quite busy.

I thought you hadn't been on for a while Hope all is fine.

 

[Eric65]

Yeah. Everythings fine. Been busy with my volunteering work, and preparing for my retirement in just over a week. Hammy is also ok, she has these two little bald patches where her scent glands are. Vet said it's nothing to worry about, she's just over scenting her territory. She used to have such lovely fur as well

 

[Eric65]

Just took this one of her. First time I've seen her today.

 

[Maz]

She looks happy

 

[Eric65]

Would you believe it took me an hour to shred 5 toilet rolls. When I changed her bedding on Wednesday, I used 3 bags of paper bedding as well

 

[Maz]

I can imagine! DP you have a shredder? That can speed things up

 

[Eric65]

Since I put it all in, she's loving it.

 

[Vanessa1]

She's really lovely Ness

 

[Eric65]

She's very well behaved, except when she's being a little mischievous. But otherwise, her antics keep amused. This photo was taken during the recent heatwave we had.

 

[Vanessa1]

She's obviously cared for very much! Ness

 

[Eric65]

I've had her nearly a year now. She's recently got 2 bald spots in the area of her scent glands on both sides, but the vet said it's nothing to worry about, as she's just rubbing against wherever she's marking her scent a little too hard. It's not affecting her in any way.

 

[Maz]

Do you have a photo of the area and scent glands? It might be normal. Is she handleable at all? If so when handling next time you can do a brief health check, which is just seeing if everything feels normal! No unusual lumps anywhere. You don't have to hold her long or poke and prod just normal handling and you'd soon notice if there was anything different like a lump. No lumps means all is good.

 

[Eric65]

Plenty of photos. I check on each day. No weight loss. No redness, sores, flaky skin. She's not scratching the area. Her food and water intake is normal.

 

[Maz]

It looks a bit higher than her scent glands is it? Or maybe just the angle she's standing. It's good you've had a vet check and he thinks all is fine. What I would suggest is giving a pinch of brown linseeds daily on a separate little dish. Hamsters like them and just lick them up. It works wonders for the fur condition and I find helps fur regrow. It can take 2 to 3 weeks to show any difference

A bag of brown linseeds isn't very expensive and would last for years! I tend to get the organic ones and get them from Amazon.

Organic brown linseeds - Amazon

 

[Eric65]

Yeah, it's the angle. Whenever I try to take a photo of her I need to be quick. She can be quite crafty if she thinks I'm going to take a photo. I'll give the linseeds a go. Thank you

 

[Maz]

I find they work wonders - it is really worth it. One of my Syrians started to look like a mangy camel at about a year old. I was told it might be a moult but he had a lot of bald patches. I tried the linseeds and not only did the fur grow back within two or three weeks, his coat was beautiful and thick and glossy! I think it's the vitamin E in them but other things as well.

Here was my mangy camel (Newt). This was only one side - the other side was worse. All grew back beautifully.

Is it quite recent the patches, as it could also be a bit of a moult in the heat.

 

[Eric65]

Yes it has been quite recently. Hammy is the same. The other side is worst. When I first got her, she had such beautiful brown fur all over.

 

[Maz]

Definitely try the linseeds A pinch a day - in 2 to 3 weeks you should notice a difference. Newt's fur all grew back.

 

[Eric65]

Managed to get some linseeds this morning