Help! My Hamster is Losing Fur

[GVla]

He’s name is Habo!!
Thank you all for the help

 

[Doodleham]

Little Habo is so cute. I have a soft spot for Roborovski hamsters. Well done for taking him on and hope he's feeling better soon.

 

[Maz]

Hi , what a cute hamster. The fur loss looks quite serious so I would take him to vets asap. My Holly has fur loss on her chest , and took her to vets , they gave mite treatment , which didn't seems to make a difference but was worth trying. I figured the recent change of bedding might be the cause as I put chipsie in with her paper bedding. So I changed it out completely and now only use kaytee paper bedding for her. Her fur has now grown back , tho it did take quite a while to do so.

That’s a point - what type of bedding does he have? Hamsters can have an allergy to any type of wood bedding. Although an allergy is more likely to cause itching and sneezing than that amount of fur loss.

 

[GVla]

SOS
Today I put him in his ball to clean his house and I noticed something strange like a little ball near in his back left feet..

 

[Socks' Mum]

Your vet should see it. I hope you can find a good vet.

 

[Maz]

It might be an infected foot - definitely needs a vet visit

Hamster balls are actually really bad - especially for dwarf species and robos who can feel more stressed and get toes caught in the slots. That can lead to ripped out toenails or foot injuries as well.

Is there something else you can pop him into in future? A large plastic box/tote maybe with some bedding and toys in and a bit of food so he can enjoy a bit of out of cage time while you’re sorting his cage.

Another tip - it’s best not to clean everything at the same time as that can really stress them. So if you spot clean the substrate or change it, try to put some of the old clean substrate back on top so it still has his scent. And do the wheel a different week. No need for disinfectant u less there has been illness or disease.

I think once he’s in a bigger home with more bedding and enrichment, he will have better immunity and less stress

 

[Rescued One]

Aw he's incredibly cute I'm sure paper bedding will be an improvement. But it might stress him a bit for a couple of days if all his scent is gone from the bedding I'm sure he'll be fine in a couple of days. What country are you in by the way? (For food recommendations).

Also it's possible his cage might be a bit small. They tend to really thrive with a lot of entrichment - eg deep bedding (robos love digging tunnels and sleeping under the bedding). Recommended sizes are approximately 100cm x 50cm of floorspace - like a tank or large cage. Although with robos a cage needs to have suitable bar spacing and not be too tall.

I wondered about the habitat as well, is it the one that he's used to or a new setting? Here in the USA we have a Bach flower essence called "rescue remedy" - it should be available at a health food shop? A drop or two in the water supply can help alleviate stress and will do no harm. I use flower essences and homeopathy with my hammies and dog as needed, in addition to regular vet care.

 

[Maz]

I think you need to be a bit careful with things like bach remedies as they are alcohol! I will confess I did try it many moons ago with our first hamster and it had a very strange effect on him (people joked he was probably drunk). Even if it's diluted, I'm not a fan of putting anything in their water as it can deter them from drinking if it doesn't taste right.

Homeopathy is an option with hamsters but again very difficult to work out how to administer. I one had a consultation online with a veterinary herbalist regarding pain relief for older hamsters and the conclusion was - you can't because a) the dose is impossible to work out for a hamster and b) administering something.