Daisy is losing fur! Cushings?

Hetty · 12-11-2015, 04:08 PM

Hi Folks,
it's been a long time since I posted!

But I think something is up with my Daisy Moo.
Firstly Daisy is a super puffy, long haired dominant spot. Bar her head cap, facial mask and sparse light charcoal spots on her rump and shoulders, she is pure white. Her fur is ultra soft and cottony.
I leave her with my parents, but come back every four days when I'm finished my shift to care for her. I left her Monday morning, she was completely fine. My sister plays with her every evening and hasn't noted anything unusual with Daisy.

But I took her out this evening (Friday), and have seen that a quarter of the fur on her lower left flank and leg is balding! As in I can seen her pink skin beneath! It is not a completely bald/hairless spot. There are some small coverings of short hair, as if she barbered/chewed her fur perfectly. Other areas are covered in a downy fuzz!!!
Apart from her baldy patch, she is happy and bright eyed, eating and playing as her usual happy little self.
Her fur has not darkened nor her skin ( I can seen where the melanine in her skin is on her flank, it corresponds to a erst while charcoal spot on her fur)
I'm so worried this might be Cushings? But could it be?

Scargirl · 12-11-2015, 04:27 PM

I don't know what it is. I really don't. Scarlet has that too.
Please check out this link -

http://www.hamstercentral.com/commun...ammys-leg.htlm

This is posted by me and lots of people have responded. Read through it and see what you think. But, if you are okay with vet bills, I would personally take her to the vet. The reason why I haven't done that with Scarlet was because I am afraid of really expensive vet bills.

Hope Daisy gets better soon.

Scargirl · 12-11-2015, 04:30 PM

I just tried my link. Did it work for you? Because it didnt't work for me. If you have to search it then the keywords are: bald, leg, noticed, photo, spot, hammys, important

Hetty · 12-11-2015, 04:34 PM

Hi Scarlet,
yeah it didn't work for me either, I'm going to have a look now. What did you do for your little hammy? Did you find out what it was?

Hetty · 12-11-2015, 04:39 PM

Found it Scarlet! Okay, so you came to the conclusion it was scrapping/and/or mites?
Daisy lives in the Dulxe Barney Cage (100 x54x45), with plenty of fresh sawn wood branches and stumps. She has this little cubby hole, that she uses as a stash-house.
http://media.mediazs.com/bilder/barn..._barney3_8.jpg

She also has this wheel:http://media.mediazs.com/bilder/wond...ie_wheel_1.jpg

I clean her out every 2 weeks, with a spot check once a week. Her diet is very good: Hamster Harvest by Burgess, fresh greens, dandelion leaves. The Burgess rang of Forage herds and no-sugar gnawing sticks. Berries as treaties and egg/cheese once a week.

Scargirl · 12-11-2015, 05:19 PM

Yeah. I thought it was cushings at first too. I was like, literally, shaking when I saw that she had a bald spot. So I don't really know what it is. So one person (you probably saw that) thought it was urine burns but, like me, you clean out your cage every 2 weeks. I guess it really could be anything. One person thought it was ringworms but the symptoms said the fur loss starts at the face and/or head. This started completely at her flank.

So, can you get us a picture of her from all angles? That would help. But we can't really diagnose her from a picture or we can't give her medications if we know what she has so I would think about taking her to a vet.

Can I also get a picture of her whole cage setup? Also, in the meantime, check Daisy's bald spot and make sure it doesn't look sore, run your hand over everything in the cage to check for any sharp edges, and look for tufts of her fur in her nest and around the cage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hetty

Hi Scarlet,
yeah it didn't work for me either, I'm going to have a look now. What did you do for your little hammy? Did you find out what it was?

Yes. I thought it was just my computer.

I didn't really do nothing. I checked her cage for tufts of fur, I kept looking/examining it as often as I can. I found out that it is not just on her one flank, but now on the other!

I haven't found out what it is yet but, since I don't want vet bills at least not yet unless necessary, when I get the time I will call up the vets that deal with hamsters, explain it to them, and see what they think is best.

Erin.R · 12-11-2015, 08:53 PM

It can be so many different things, it is best to get it checked out by a vet. I had a male who lost fur like this, he went to the vet, was treated for mites several times with no luck. We decided to try some antibiotics because he was wheezing a bit at one point and suddenly his fur grew back and never fell out again. So, it must have been some sort of skin infection.There are just so many possibilities its best to get medical help for him

Cushings is really not that common but I know when they lose hair it can be a worry, but I know another sign is not only loosing the fur but the pigmentation of their skin turns dark/blackish.

Bertiebobbins · 12-12-2015, 12:59 AM

I had this happen to a mouse I had when I was a kid too, he was approaching 2 so we thought he was on his way out, took him to the vet who gave him some liquid vitamins (and waived his fee aswell he was so impressed at a 10 yr old taking their pet care so seriously!), anyway after a week all his lost fur grew back and he lived another year.

I know vets can be expensive but really, it's an important part of pet ownership. If your hair fell out you'd see a doctor right?

WinnieTheHam · 12-12-2015, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hetty

fresh sawn wood branches and stumps.

Are these from the outdoors? do you bake and freeze them before giving them to her? They could definitely contain mites if you don't and would be transferred to her.

I think you're cleaning her cage too often, which could cause her to scent mark a lot. From rubbing against things when scent marking it could cause hair loss. Try clean her cage less, maybe once every 3-4 weeks. Just clean out the areas she uses to wee and spot clean often.

If your hamster has cushings disease the balding areas would be symmetrical. So say her leg is balding on the right side, it would be on the left side too.

Also hamsters bald as they age, I'm not too sure how old she is but if she's almost 2 years or more then it's quite common.

I'd definitely get to the vets with her, they'll be able to test her for mites etc..

Hetty · 12-12-2015, 05:07 AM

Okay, I've been ringing the two vets whom I trust with small animals. But it is Saturday here! The first vet whom I adopted Daisy from ( they run in conduction with the rescue centres), said it was only emergencies today. The second vet said similar, and the road to their practice is flooded!!
I would never ever not bring one of my animals to the vets, expense is arbitrary when it comes to their well being and happiness. I'll try again in the afternoon....
WinnieTheHam: the wood is kiln dried, but not frozen. Right so, I'll remove them ASAP! But funnily enough, the two larger pieces have been with her since she was a pup, plus they were in Basil's habitat too. No problems, just some rampant chewing....odd.
I didn't realise I was clean her out too often? I make sure her substrate is nice and thick for her to dig. There is one thing: I had to change her usual saw dust, to a Tesco's brand out of sheer desperation. There has been awful flooding and transport disruptions due to the weather here in Ireland. I'm getting her regular stuff today, plus her usual food.
I will get some snaps of Daisy and her patch, but she's a wriggler.
Also some of her cage set up.
PS: The wheel she has is the largest version of the Karle Disco wheel!
PSS: OK, I reviewed the info on Cushings. No darkening of her skin, scales or dryness. She is only 1.5 years old and her fur on her hips and side has always been very very fine, almost sparse and cottony. Whereas the fur on her rump and else where is thick and puffy.