Hamster losing fur?

HammieLover98 · 01-20-2016, 11:23 AM

Hi,
My female syrian has gradually lost the fur under her neck, so gradually i didnt notice until it got very thin. Now it is nearly bald and the fur on her back leg is also thinning out. Anyone know a possible reason for this? Also last night i saw she had a small cut under her neck sort of on her shoulder. I think it could be like a sore? I have researched and mites came up but she isnt scratching. In fact she rarely scratches unless she is scent marking. She is also still quite young she is about 9 months. Any ideas or advice on this would be great. If possible i would like to avoid the vets because of the stress involved. Thankyou!

xbuttons94 · 01-20-2016, 12:21 PM

It could me a few things. Have you changed her bedding recently? It can be stressful for them but the vets might be the best way to go in case it is serious and it can be treated ASAP. Someone here might know more than me. Maybe call the vets and see what they suggest. The vets I'm at will happily give over the phone advice

cypher · 01-20-2016, 11:21 PM

I know a lot of people fear going to the vet will be stressful for their hams but health problems are generally a lot more stressful than a trip to the vet!
It sounds as though she may have been rubbing against something or caught herself on something in the cage so it may be worth having a thorough check to see if there is anything with rough or sharp edges in there.
If it looks like a cut keep a close eye on it in case it gets infected, you could bath it with saline if need to be keep it clean, it may just heal up on it's own but if not she may need the vet to have a look.
ETA Does her cage have any plastic tubes? Some of them are too small for a fully grown syrian so if she does it may be she's grown to a size where she's scraping her shoulder as she pushes through, just another thought to consider!

HammieLover98 · 01-21-2016, 03:37 PM

Hi thanks for the replies. I think im going to leave it over the weekend and see what happens. The small sore/cut looks like its healing well. I will check her cage tonight. She has a couple of tubes in it but i think she still fits them well. She does occasionally knaw the bars so im wondering if that could have caused the bald patch on her neck. Unfortunately she knaws the bars for attention im slowly trying to break the habit. Hopefully she will be alright. I hate going to the vets.