Hair loss advice?

[hamjam]

Male 1 year old syrian has been losing patches of his fur, it's been getting progressively worse over several months up until recently where his fur is starting to grow back in patches. Should I take him to the vets at this point? Is this normal?

He's currently underweight, which I'm currently in the process of fixing.
When he's at a healthy weight again, will this likely fix itself? Or is this unrelated?

The pics were taken today, couldn't get any good pics of his head, but there's hair loss there aswell. Pics aim to show hair loss on his back.

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome He's a gorgeous looking boy. It does look like quite a bit of fur loss and it could be a number of things. It could actually be a moult. This happened with one of my Syrians at about a year old during hot summer weather. How much does he actually weigh and how much weight has he lost? Dietary issues can also cause fur loss, if there's been low protein during their first year of life - I'm sure you're giving him a good mix anyway, but what does he have for a hamster mix? Other things that can cause fur loss are mites but he'd probably have scratched himself sore if he had mites. The only way to tell though, is to have a vet do a skin scraping and look at the scraping under a microscope.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear your hamster has some fur loss and has lost weight. Could you describe his diet?

 

[Maz]

As for whether fur can grow back again - yes it can. Giving a pinch of linseeds on a separate dish every day helps with that - it keeps their skin and fur in amazing condition. He doesn't really look underweight.

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.
He does look a lovely boy but that is quite a lot of fur loss.
I think Maz covered most things, mites most often start around the ears & head though so it’s less likely to be that.
It may well grow back but if it doesn’t & he doesn’t regain some weight then it would probably be a good idea to have your vet look at him.
As well as linseeds you can give one drop of evening primrose oil a day which has real benefits in skin & fur issues.

 

[Member ID2]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Do you know why he is underweight? Are his teeth ok?

Personally, i tend to err on the side of caution and would have taken him to a hamster knowledgable vet by now.

 

[hamjam]

Hello and welcome He's a gorgeous looking boy. It does look like quite a bit of fur loss and it could be a number of things. It could actually be a moult. This happened with one of my Syrians at about a year old during hot summer weather. How much does he actually weigh and how much weight has he lost? Dietary issues can also cause fur loss, if there's been low protein during their first year of life - I'm sure you're giving him a good mix anyway, but what does he have for a hamster mix? Other things that can cause fur loss are mites but he'd probably have scratched himself sore if he had mites. The only way to tell though, is to have a vet do a skin scraping and look at the scraping under a microscope.

Hello! He's currently at 125g, he's been underfed his whole life up until now. The mix I feed him is 19.6% protein, 9.4% fat, 10.9% fibre. He used to only get a spoonful of this every 3-5 days, now he's getting fed a spoonful daily. The mix is from BearsHamsters on Etsy, "Premium Syrian Hamster Food".

 

[RainbowBrite]

Did you just rescue him? Looks like he is in need of some love and care which I am sure he will get now he is with you.

 

[Frida]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[Maz]

Aw that's so sad he was underfed his whole life. Have you only recently got him?

 

[Maz]

125g is not a bad weight. Syrians can vary between 100g and 250g. Does he feel particularly bony? A tablespoonful a day is about right.

 

[elusive]

It does sound as though it is most probably due to nutritional deficiencies then.
If he’s been having so little food I would give a bit more than a tablespoon for a while, he will need extra for some time & also enough to make a good hoard.
I would suggest also givng him a vitamin supplement for a little while to oto give him a boost & make sure he’s getting all he needs.
The doctor squiggles tiny animal essentials is very good, you don’t need much just a tiny pinch.

 

[Maz]

It's possible the mix isn't right for him as well. Are you in the Uk? The Bunny dream mix and Little One commercial mixes are good (Bunny Dream available online only though). It's also a bit lower in protein at 15% but you can supplement that.

 

[Maz]

With his history and the current fur loss, I think it would be safer to use a commercial mix with him. A commercial mix contains fortified vitamins and minerals and most of these natural mixes don't. Although they are supposedly balanced out with the calculations, most of them have a disclaimer to say they don't contain the fortified vitamins etc.

 

[elusive]

A commercial mix might be better, that would cover his ongoing needs but as he’s been deficient for a while now I think he may need more of a boost than that.

 

[hamjam]

Giving a pinch of linseeds on a separate dish every day helps with that - it keeps their skin and fur in amazing condition.

Thanks! Are "organic golden linseeds" the same as the linseeds you're talking about?

 

[Maz]

Agree - the Dr S as well would be good - plus the linseeds and maybe the evening primrose oil. For an older hamster that needed building up I also used to give a pinch of hemp seeds daily - they apparently contain all the vitamins and minerals and hamsters seem to like them and lick them up. Also fresh food supplements for protein and enrichment - a bit of hard boiled egg twice a week maybe, half a walnut a couple of times a week would go down well as well.

 

[Maz]

Thanks! Are "organic golden linseeds" the same as the linseeds you're talking about?

They can be golden or brown ones. There is some debate as to which ones are best but I think the consensus is the brown ones Those are the ones I use (same thing as flax seeds).

 

[elusive]

There really is little difference between the brown & gold linseeds so it doesn’t matter.

Linseeds work better in conjunction with evening primrose oil than they do on their own.

 

[hamjam]

125g is not a bad weight. Syrians can vary between 100g and 250g. Does he feel particularly bony? A tablespoonful a day is about right.

Yes, he is rather boney