Trix is going bald

[Acorn]

Thanks a bunch - I also hoe that the vet can do a house visit. I should know by today. When Trix was out for her run last night, I noticed she rubbed up against the wall a few times....now I worried it might actually be mites....but, then again, maybe I am just noticing every little thing she does now!!!

[amie]

Thinking of you Acorn and wishing your little Trix all the best.

Hope you can get the house visit you want.

Best wishes to you both.

[Acorn]

Thank you amie - so very much appreciated. It is so hard when you feel helpless, I want to make sure Trix is healthy and happy....but it is so frustrating when you don't know what to do.

The vet looked at some pics, and she wants to rule out mites. She has recommended a med called 'Revolution'. She says that if it is not mites, this med will not do any harm. If, however this does not rectify the problem, she will come to our house and do a skin swipe. she said that a blood sample would be best done at the clinic, to check for cancer, etc. She also mentioned stress being a possible cause.....we have gone through unwanted renos here over the last 8 months due to a chimney fire, water damage, and roof damage. Oh my, I am at a loss...my poor, beautiful baby girl

Any thoughts?

[walfy]

I should not worry too much. You think she may be around 2 year old; it is not uncommon for female hamsters to lose their fur at this age, males can lose it a lot sooner. The black dot you see is her scent gland. I have had many female hamsters lose fur and almost completely bald by 24-26 month old. I don’t think for one minute it is mites. More of a natural aging process.

[Erin.R]

I would not worry too much either. I felt the same way when my older boy started losing hair fast, I was sure it was cushings, turned out he had mites, a pain but very treatable. May I ask, is your vet a small animal vet? I only ask because I have never heard of using revolution for hamsters, I use it for my cat though.
I'm not sure if you got your answer but yes those are scent glands

[Acorn]

Thanks guys. Our vet is a small animal/exotic vet. She said that, with this treatment, we could be ridding the mites if there, or ruling mites out, and that it is not harmful to Trix, even if it is not mites. We started the Revolution last night, it says to treat three times - once every three weeks. I will continue updating - thanks again for all of the support - it so very much appreciated!

[karlh]

as far as I Cushing's is a symetrical fur loss, particularly over the hind legs. Judging from what you told us, she is over 2 years old. it may be either fur loss due to age, which does happen, or just mites. Mites can now be treated with an external treatment, rather than injections. See my post on treatment on mites. The best of course is to see a vet. I should think a trip in a proper container should not be too stressful. My dwarf has traveled at that age, without any discomfort. bit of cucumber and few nuts in the travelling box should help.

[Ellie Bee]

Sorry, I've been away for a while.

It sounds like you're taking fantastic care of her and it's good that it isn't mites. Also good that you already used Carefresh - changing a hamster's main bedding can be alarming, and Carefresh is very warm so should keep her warm enough in the upcoming winter without her fur. Unusual that the fur is going on her head... Usually it is the flanks that lose it first.

Were those stones in her cage? I know you can use sanatised stones in normal hamster's cages, but with fur loss something as simple as accidentally brushing against rough stones could tear the skin. Sorry if it's just my eyes playing up. Apart from that it all sounds completely fine.

Adding to Karlh's point above, ErinsHamsters has a video on YouTube about how to set up a travel cage safely and comfortably to reduce stress if you need to go to the vet's clinic.

We are all here for you! I hope she gets better! xx

[Acorn]

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated. And, yes, we have a stone in there to hold down her wheel (she was constantly knocking the wheel over, so we added that stone about a month after adopting her). There was also a "filing stone" in there for her nails. We have since removed the filing stone completely, and hubby sanded the wheel holding stone down nicely to ensure smooth edges.

We started the treatment, and we have done two doses over the last 3 weeks. Just did the second dose tonight. Trix has lost more fur, her head is now fully bald, and she basically has more bald spots on her body than fur.

We have not yet taken her to the vet, but the vet has agreed to come to us if we felt it was truly needed. I have reached that point where I do think it is more than needed. Trix is acting normal, eating, playing, etc. we have been weighing her daily, and weight has stayed consistent, although she gained a bit of weight last week.

I have also noticed some scratches on Trix's skin, which I suppose is to be expected. We had skinny pigs for years, and the odd scratch was not out of the norm. We use to use an ointment on our oldest skinny pig, Wilbur Peach, he had skin condition, similar to human psoriasis, just not the same name, and he also went through two stone surgeries - what a strong boy! I can't recall the name of the ointment, but I am hoping to find something safe to use on Trix, who is also showing us that she is a strong girl!

[LoveMyHams]

I had a black syrian that went bald with age just like Trix. They could have been twins . Don't stress over it. Unless she is giving you signs of discomfort like scratching or bitting at her skin or you notice red spots on the skin it's natural aging. Pepper was completely bald when she finally died.