Strange Sudden Itching Behavior

[HamsterServant]

Our Syrian, Zoe, is almost a year old now. Last night she started itching her back like crazy with her back paws. Running around her tank rubbing her sides on things and digging down in her favorite corner, flipping to attempt to scratch her back. We watched her display this abnormal behavior for a couple hours.

We pulled her out and tried combing her to see if we could see any mites or something. That was a crazy chore. Our girl does not like to sit still. My husband and I could not find anything. Her fur looks fine so far. We will check her out again tonight, but does anyone have any ideas?

It's so hard to see our baby so uncomfortable.

Thank you,
Jennifer

[racinghamster]

Hi Jennifer. It could be that she`s just feeling itchy and excitable with no real cause, although if she doesn`t settle and the behaviour doesn`t change, it may be advisable to see a good vet who could check for mites/lice or anything else that could be the culprit. Syrians scent glands are on their hips, so she may just have been having a mad flip!

Hamsters can have little mad episodes sometimes digging, burrowing and scent marking etc....but keep an eye on her. Check her fur with a magnifying glass for any signs of insects or bite wounds. x

[ExtremelyFluffyHamster]

Hey there, I'd say definitely have a much closer look. It's like with fleas on dogs, they can be hard to spot but once you do you know they're there. Mites can appear as tiny black dots moving around. If you handle your hamster a lot with bare arms and your arms become itchy afterwards you know they've tried to bite you.

They make a great little treatment for Syrians at the pet shop called "Beaphar" it's for mites and bugs and nasties that bite so you might want to have a little try. Follow the instructions carefully and see if it makes a difference. If the hamster is still itching after 72 hours with no respite then it's not mites.


Things it could be:
Fungal infection
Skin irritation
Allergy - can develop over time
Mites/fleas/insects
Bacterial infection
Dietary issue
Skin disease/issue

Most likely it's nothing. Your hamsters scent glands are on their sides/hips and are especially prominent in males. That excessive itching is telling me it's something more imminent contaminating the skin e.g. chemical or insects.

If it doesn't improve definitely pop into the vet and get it checked

[Thin Lizzy]

Have you changed anything in Zoe's cage lately?

[happy hamster 101]

hi hamsterservant. The same thing happened to my hamster, i bought some childrens play sand for his sand bath, but apparently it made him react in a rather unpleasant itchy way,i think he might have been allergic, maybe check for anything new that you recently bought for him like bedding ect. hope this helps and hope your hammie will be ok.

[HamsterServant]

Thank you all for your responses and ideas. We have found the culprit. We had been adding a bit of new bedding with baking soda to the corners of her cage for added freshness. Last time we cleaned her cage, we added more of this bedding than usual and it seems that is what was irritating her skin. Poor little girl. We've removed all of that bedding and she seems much happier.

[racinghamster]

Glad you found the culprit, she`s gorgeous. Personally, it`s better not to use these soda based or even perfumed substrates as they are purely for our benefit and not the hamsters. Keeping a clean cage is fine, but hamsters like their own smell! I never fully clean my cage, I spot clean, add in fresh, move the substrate about checking it for droppings or damp areas and wipe areas down with plain kitchen towel and warm water. No cleaners, lemon, washing up liquids or anything else I feel could stress my ham.

Pet shops and manufacturers play on this idea that a small animals cage needs to be spring cleaned all the time when the reality is, the smells of phenols and chemicals probably do more damage. Don`t do it people. x

[Snowz]

Good that you have found the problem, Zoe is adorable!