Help! My Hamster Is Getting Bald. What To Do!

[MunkieBiznizz]

i've already contacted a pet store, a small creatures pet clinic and an exotic pet clinic. Do any of you know what could be wrong?

[TiaMaria]

Well we need more information than this to help you out, we need to know it's breed, how old it is, what kind of beeding you use, etc.

[dwankrista]

also, when you say you have contacted clinics have they actually seen the animal? vets cannot diagnose over the phone and if you are concerned as to what could be going wrong your best bet is to make an appointment with a vet immediately.

[MunkieBiznizz]

interesting enough, that makes sense. It's a 2 year old, black and white Syrian hamster. the process has been slow. First the top of his head fur began thinning, then disappearing, and its been going down his neck and back. No, the clinics haven't seen him. It's way too expensive and they would need to take his blood and send it away to the lab to see exactly what's wrong.

[dwankrista]

if that is what it takes to diagnose him that is what he needs. an animal needs veterinary care no matter how expensive it may be.

[TiaMaria]

Well the balding sounds very serious to me and he should see a vet. It could also be the nesting material or bedding you are using, carefresh, yesterdays news or aspen should be used with hamsters. Also if he is sleeping where he goes to the bathroom the urine could cause the baldness. He is also very old for a hamster and it could just be his time to pass away. I'd still recommend seeing a vet immediately for a proper diagnoses.

[pixibubbles]

two is quite old for a hamster, it could be age... and most vets will not do blood and lab tests on a hamster... there just isnt enough blood... whats the skin like? could well be mites... especially if you use wooddust beddings.

i agree with not doing labs on hamsters in some cases... a lot of things that need testing for cant be treated in hammies anyway... and the test can frequently kill the hammie and be reallly stressful :( it depends what vet suspects...

How is your hamster apart from the baldness?

More info. needed x

BTW both my dark coloured syrians lost some fur as they got older... apparently most hamsters do...but u notice it more with dark ones.

[Sparky2006]

My hamser didnt and he lived to 3, 2 isnt really that old 3 is i recon. But you need the vet ASAP, no matter the costs, work that out later.

If you can afford the vet.
You can't afford the pet.

[MunkieBiznizz]

yeah that makes sense. his skin is like...crusty kind of. like this white crust is building up on it. :o

It's just that normal vets are expensive enough, but the exotic pet vet, and the small animal vet are like double the price. I'll see what I can do. Anything else to add?

[Sparky2006]

"his skin is like...crusty kind of"

EEK! that dont sound to good, is there any chance of that being a sigh of dehydration? Anyone? But i recon a vet is needed here...

[MunkieBiznizz]

that's true. But what can the vets do for him? I mean honestly. If they diagnose him, that's great! But then the treatment could be expensive too. You're right though. Anything I should do in the mean time?

[TiaMaria]

HAIR LOSS (ALOPECIA)

Hair loss can occur for a number of reasons in hamsters and can be due to both disease and nondisease conditions. Continual rubbing on feeders or sides of the cage and barbering (hair chewing by cage mates) are examples of non-disease causes of alopecia. Infestation with demodectic mites is one of the most common infectious causes of patch alopecia and crusty skin in hamsters. Other conditions that lead to hair loss include adrenal tumors, thyroid deficiency, and chronic kidney disease. Some of these conditions may be manageable while others are not.

[MunkieBiznizz]

okay that helps. yeah, i cant find the hair, and he lives alone in his cage. he doesnt have any hamsters or any "cage mates" in his cage. yeah i tried looking for the hair, but again, i cant find it. Maybe he's eating it? Could that be unhealthy?

[TiaMaria]

If you read my post, chances are he has mites, now go get the treatment from the vet for him.

[MunkieBiznizz]

i have more questions TiaMaria. You're being a huge help, but could he die from mites????

[MunkieBiznizz]

this is my first hammie. yes, i did research on him, but hey, what's a girl to do?

[TiaMaria]

Yes he can die from mites, it's best to get it treated promptly.

[MunkieBiznizz]

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. I'm freaking out now. I feel quite scared. Okie dokie. When my mom and dad get home, I will talk to them, and then make an appointment. Wow. Mites? Oh no!!

[TiaMaria]

Mites: These common skin parasites often produce no symptoms unless the hamster is weakened from other disease. The microscopic mites burrow deep into the skin; when numeroud, they cause intense itching, flaking and hair loss. A hamster with a severe case may develop large scabs or sores because of the intense scratching and biting at the skin. Mites are hard to kill, but they do respond to treatment with ivermectin (oral or injectable), given daily for 6-8 weeks. Lyme sulfur dip may help when applied twice weekly for 6-8 weeks, but it's more labor-intensive and must be applied thoroughly. Cleaning the cage weekly when treating mites may help reduce re-infestation, but long-term environmental treatment is unnecissary, since the parasites die if they are off their host for long. These parasites are species-specific but highgly contagious between hamsters;use caution when introducing a new hamster to an existing group.

[MunkieBiznizz]

okay. so that means i basically have to give my hamster a shot once i visit the vet, given once a day for 1 1/2 or 2 months. yeah, i think i can do that,i will just have to make a lovely little visit to the vets office. thats going to be soo much fun! i hate going to the vet. it scares the living bageezes out of me. are u sure there isnt anything else i can do?

[TiaMaria]

No I'm sorry. Only a vet can fix this problem.

[MunkieBiznizz]

i feel so..helpless now. okay thank you very much! i really appreciate it. im going to deal with this problem now. gonna call my dad, see whats going on..thanks! u rock! im loggin out. bye bye.

[TiaMaria]

I hope everything works out for you and your pet. Good Luck!

[MunkieBiznizz]

so..thought you might want to know. i contacted my daddy. he said to find out what the cost of the vets visit will be. i did, and most likely my little oreo cookie will be having a vet's visit on saturday! how exciting. thanks to everyone who helped me!!!!

p.s. my daddy knew how serious mites were.

[MunkieBiznizz]

i really appreciate your help TiaMaria. You helped me the most. i really appreciate your time, sympathy and empathy. thank you so much! ciao.

[TiaMaria]

Not a problem at all. I'm here to help, as well as everyone else. I really hope everything works out great for you and your ham!

[MunkieBiznizz]

yeah i really appreciate the help. oreo will be on his wonderfil visit to the wonderful vet on my wonderful day of saturday.

[bubblz]

Munkiebiznizz could you possibly post pictures of this?

[MunkieBiznizz]

umm...probably. i'll try tomorrow.

[pixibubbles]

Hey little munkie... dunno where you are, but i'm guesing from oreo's name your state side. I've just finished a round of treatments for mites with my syrian and it wasnt so bad as you would think... just 1 injection every 2 weeks for three doses.... cost about £15 in total.

Petshops here also sell a lot of home treatments... theres a small animal spray that you use on the cage when you clean it and another which you spray directly onto the hamster... less fun as you have to brush all the fur backwards, hold hammie still and cover face and spray... then stop them cleaning until u;ve toweldried them.... it's alright for rocky coz shes really tame... together they cost me about £8... but i went to expensive place as i needed it fast.

they does work... and stops them comign back... just check with vet that they wont interact with whatever he will give em.

PS... if you havent been to the VET yet... take treats... you will need em.... oddly hamsters dont take kindly to needles being shoved in em lol

PPS.. dunno if anyone has told you (i've only scanned hte posts) but hamsters can get mites from sawdust bedding.... this would be coz rats tend to hang round the saw mills... switch to paper based bedding (yesterdays news or carefresh) if you can / havent already. especially as sawdust can make irriatated skin really sore.

poor little oreo... good luck!

[MunkieBiznizz]

hey..NUHUH!!! IM CANADIAN! im guessing ur European cuz u did 15 Euros. See..im smart. Lol. im afraid to ask, where does the injection go? that doesn't sound too bad either. will he grow his hair back? yeah...i've changed to this paper based pink stuff. its non-toxic colour, it doesn't run so its perfect..yeah. what kind of treats should i bring? Raisins? your post has helped me! thank you.

[MunkieBiznizz]

the only pictures i have of oreo..is my avatar..its not a very good one..but thats the only one of his baldness..:)

[MunkieBiznizz]

the pink areas...thats where hes bald. HAMSTERS ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE PINK..UNLESS THEY ARE NATURALLY.

[MunkieBiznizz]

top of his head, that black spot..thats bald.

[TiaMaria]

Like I said only a vet can determine what he has, so there is really no point doing anything other than waiting for your appointment Saturday.

[MunkieBiznizz]

okay. thats basically what i thought. thank you very much.

[TiaMaria]

Munkie, tell us..what did the vet say and do?

[ilovepink]

:)Heya my advice is go to the vet asap the same thing happened to my lil hammie that i lost in june.It could be mites but go to a good vet as i dont trust vets much.:(

[TiaMaria]

He did go to the vet on saturday, waiting to hear what happened...