HELLO! new to hamster forum.. need help.. no vets around here!

[AlexCrazy]

hello.. i have a Syrian, Thomas.. i am from Latin America-Paraguay so excuse my English! he has been very it-chi lately! rubbing everywhere and i looked at his skin and it look dry and sort of like dandruff! please help.. i don't have good vets for hamsters.. not even in the capital! so this is my place to help him!
Also.. he made weird noises today this afternoon.. and them it sort of whet away with sort of like runny nose sounds.. hope i will be-able to fix this issue.. and i hope a came to the right place!
here is a photo so you can meet him took it a while ago.. phone stolen so dont have his cute new photos!

[racinghamster]

Hi, welcome. What age is the little guy? he looks young in the photo? If you can answer a few questions this might help advise you better:

1. What cage size is he housed in?
2. What floor substrate are you using and have you changed this recently?
3. What nesting/bedding material do you give him for nesting with?
4. What is he fed on?
5. Has this itchiness/dry skin started recently or has he had it since you bought him?

Please take some time also to read many of the posts on the forum as we have sections that deal with diet, health, housing and husbandry in general, so it might help you find some answers, but let us know the above.

You need to keep his cage from becoming too hot/stuffy. Dust free or as dust free as you can and make sure he is eating properly and not being handled too much and allowed to sleep during the day as most hamsters are nocturnal. x

[AlexCrazy]

he is almost one year old.. y bought him almost a year ago.. when he was one month old.. i kept him for most of his life.
1#He lives in a DIY i had built for him.. 43,5 X 30 Inches (110X76 CM) very big
i would like to show you a photo but my phone is gone.
2#i use a tipe of wood shavings.. the wood i told my dad should not have oils in it.. so it does not
3# first time i hear about nesting materials.. he chews on his box toys and takes it to his house.. as-well as some of his wood shavings..
4# he eat a mix of hamster food.. sunflower seed.. corn.. millet.. peanut..rice with the cover.. and hamster pellets. it comes all mixed like that. its made here (FOODY - SUPER MIX) occasionally a make him cookies, for teeth wear
5# it started not so long ago.. maybe Monday.. i had a lot to do so i didn't notice the start.
I read a lot on them and almost started a hamster YouTube channel in Spanish for my country to learn about them but i got busy and whas not sure it was gonna have views
anyway.. i im not new to hamsters.. im am breeding 2 hamies now that i sell the babies and other stuff.. i just dont have a vet in this country for them.. so when i get a problem i don't know.. i need forums... for my snake as-well ( since it worked with him i got in to a hamster one for Thomas)

[Pebbles82]

Hola! I'm not sure what it could be if you haven't changed wood shavings, bedding or diet recently. We're not vets to be able to diagnose unfortunately but it sounds to me like either an allergy or a mite infestation. The runny nose possibly (?) suggests it could be an allergy. But the itching and dandrfuff sounds like it could be mites.

Have you just changed his bedding recently (ie cleaned and replaced the bedding using the same brand of wood shavings?). If it is mites it needs a vet's prescription for the correct medication.

I would suggest trial and error. Try changing his litter/substrate/bedding for a paper based one if you can (can you get carefresh there?). Other alternatives are hemp bedding, shredded aspen wood shavings - which is a hardwood (ie assume the current shavings are pine). Sometimes suppliers of horse bedding sell hemp bedding or recycled paper bedding. Kaytee Clean n cosy is non allergenic paper type bedding if you can get that in Paraguay.

I'm guessing maybe you can only get pine softwood shavings there, but suppliers or horse bedding or snake bedding may have an alternative.

Cardboard is ok for nesting material, so is white toilet paper torn into strips.

If you change the nesting material to something non allergenic and it makes no difference it is probably mites. If you don't have a vet anywhere near you, do you think a chemist would prescribe some treatment for mites? I know in some countries you can buy things over the counter that in the Uk are only available on prescription.

If it is Mites it tends to be something that is brought on by a low immune system, but it could also have come from some bedding I guess. Sorry I haven't been more helpful, but am not a vet. Could you try an online vet maybe? Post some photos and put a description?

[AlexCrazy]

thanks.. you were VERY helpful... i don't see the mites tough.. i saw on a thread this beading made of flease and cotton material... maybe a could try that? its just that he loves to dig round it.. :P i could be an allergy.. cos each time i get the shavings its kinda a different tree every time.. (not tipe) and it comes sort of different.. haha

[BrainGirl]

Avoid fleece and cotton! It can cause serious problems if it gets caught in his pouch or wrapped around a limb or he eats it. If it is his substrate that's bothering him and you can't get any paper-based beddings where you are then perhaps a better bet would be to give him shredded toilet paper. Plain, unscented, undyed toilet paper