Itchy hamster?

[FlowerPixie]

Hello all, I have noticed the past 2 days Bubble Bee has been itching one side of his body slightly profusely and often. As I am not able to pick him up yet I can't examine too closely but I did move his fur around a little bit when he stopped to look for inflammation or any type of sore and don't see anything. He doesn't mind me touching the area or the side of his body so it's obviously not sore or bothering him painfully, do hamsters get itching fits normally? Should I be concerned? he has been bathing himself often in the chinchilla sand as well if that means anything. It doesn't seem he is itching himself super hard though, just really fast.

[cypher]

Hamsters do groom a lot so it may just be normal behaviour, the chinchilla sand should help to keep his fur clean so it's good he's using that.
Just keep an eye on him, if it does seem excessive & continues there is the possibility of something like mites & you'd need to get him checked & treated by a vet in that case.
What substrate are you using in the cage? Do you think that or anything else in the cage could be causing a bit of irritation?

[FlowerPixie]

Originally Posted by cypher

Hamsters do groom a lot so it may just be normal behaviour, the chinchilla sand should help to keep his fur clean so it's good he's using that.
Just keep an eye on him, if it does seem excessive & continues there is the possibility of something like mites & you'd need to get him checked & treated by a vet in that case.
What substrate are you using in the cage? Do you think that or anything else in the cage could be causing a bit of irritation?

I'm using the Kaytee Clean & Cozy currently. What would any signs besides itching be of irritation to substrate? and as far as mites would I see any little bugs or anything? I kind of looked at his fur like you would a cat or dog when looking for flees, separating it. Other than that everything else in his cage is either ceramic, plastic, or wooden. He may just be grooming a lot and I just now noticed? I'll let it be for now and just keep watch I was just concerned seeing his little foot constantly going itching his side.

[cypher]

I can't see that your substrate would be causing a problem, sometimes with things like wood shavings they can get allergies but you should be fine with that.
You wouldn't see mites but there would be a lot of itching & possibly fur loss too.
He could also be moving food in his pouch, sometimes they use their feet to push food out so if you can hold him you could just check for no lumps there in case something has got stuck.
It really does sound like it's probably just normal grooming though, the other stuff is things to be aware of but I don't think you have reason to worry.

[FlowerPixie]

Gotcha, I'll keep those things in mind for the future if it ever comes up and just leave him be for now!