Skin problem?

[miss_eva]

Hello!

For the past few months my Syrian, Peaches has had some skin issues on her belly and around her mouth. She is about a year and a half and is a healthy weight and seems to be fine otherwise, apart from maybe a wee bit less bonkers than usual.

Her skin on her belly is very dry and bald. I have (hopefully successfully) attached a photo of this to the thread! Sorry how blurry it is but she really doesn't like being on her back!

She has been to the vet and they are unsure exactly what it is but have given her some courses of baytril and some mites drops too. The baytril seems to be helping a little with the dryness and some of the hair is growing back but not a huge amount. She's had two courses of that so far and is due to go back in January. They don't think that it is cushings.

I have tried changing her bedding, toys, anything I thought that could be causing some sort of allergic reaction.

Has anyone had or heard of a similar issue? What did you do to help fix it? Am I missing something really obvious?!

Thank you in advance!

[racinghamster]

Hi miss_eva. I have seen this on the underbelly of hamsters and it could be a type of contact alopecia/dermatitis. When did you first notice this and could you say if everything was fine and then you changed something like shavings to Carefresh or Carefresh to shavings or to other substrate? Diet changes? Feeding food meant for dogs or cats or other animals as a treat?

Does she have a sand bath? If she does, remove it. Sand can dry out a hamsters skin unlike a chinchilla who have denser fur and need sand 24/7.

Usually once this starts, it can be difficult to cure, but you have take steps to reduce any allergens, which is good. Supreme do a product called Cosi n Dri (the makers of Carefresh) but it`s a far better product, so you may want to have a look for it online.

Go over everything.

Substrate: Was this changed and then symptoms started?
Diet: Has this had any changes or does she eat anything not meant for hamsters? This could be dog biscuits, cat food, dairy etc...

I will try and find some images for you later on to compare when I have some spare time. x

[racinghamster]

Hi again miss_eva. Sorry about the image as it may distress, but don`t worry, the hammy was under anaesthetic! The condition is called Ventral Dermatisis. This particular case was caused by a change to corn cob bedding (in Hong Kong) where this practice was. So it can be brought on by an reaction to a change in bedding/substrate, or I imagine, something switched in the diet, although ventral dermatitis is seen on the underbelly. This hamster was given an anti-itch injection (or what we might call anti inflammatory injection) by the vet and the owner was advised to go back to the paper bedding she was originally using. Print this out for your vet if you feel it`s helpful, or google Ventral Dermatitis in hamsters to find more articles. x

[racinghamster]

Ooop...sorry, for got the image!

[racinghamster]

Also meant to say that creams with steroids will calm the itching, although your vet may go for an injectable form of steroid if necessary due to a hamster licking and ingesting any ointments which may not be safe or upset the tummy. So if your hamster is itching a lot, ask your vet about a steroid injection. x

[miss_eva]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Hi miss_eva. I have seen this on the underbelly of hamsters and it could be a type of contact alopecia/dermatitis. When did you first notice this and could you say if everything was fine and then you changed something like shavings to Carefresh or Carefresh to shavings or to other substrate? Diet changes? Feeding food meant for dogs or cats or other animals as a treat?

Does she have a sand bath? If she does, remove it. Sand can dry out a hamsters skin unlike a chinchilla who have denser fur and need sand 24/7.

Usually once this starts, it can be difficult to cure, but you have take steps to reduce any allergens, which is good. Supreme do a product called Cosi n Dri (the makers of Carefresh) but it`s a far better product, so you may want to have a look for it online.

Go over everything.

Substrate: Was this changed and then symptoms started?
Diet: Has this had any changes or does she eat anything not meant for hamsters? This could be dog biscuits, cat food, dairy etc...

I will try and find some images for you later on to compare when I have some spare time. x

Hey! Thanks for your reply, this exactly the kinds of info Im needing! So, she was on woodshavings when it started (which is what she has always been on), so then I switched her onto FINAcard cardboard bedding, which is what my other hamster is on and he has had no issues with it. You think I should swap her substrate again onto the cosy n dry? Food wise she hasn't had anything different to what she has usually had, she occasionally gets antos chews/whimzees and occasionally dry dog biscuits. Never any cat food or dairy.

[racinghamster]

It depends when she started having the Antos chews and dog biscuits. If she didn`t show these symptoms pre-having these, then there`s your answer. If she started having the hair loss while bedded on wood shavings, then the shavings could be the cause and not the treats. Cardboard bedding will not cause this as it is paper based. The Cosi n Dri is lovely and soft so I would recommend it as a nesting material, or for use in the entire cage. Depends what you think yourself.

I use a combination of wood shavings on my cage floor and Cosi n Dri in and around my Russian hamster`s bed area. They combine well. What you need to do is eliminate the true culprit, be that the shavings or the treats, or both, to see if it makes any difference. Replacing the treats with fresh raw veg in small pieces should go down well. Broccoli, cauliflower, baby sweet corn and garden peas, cucumber. A little leaf of lettuce on occasion. Keep her hydrated to prevent the skin drying. These are really important to help a hamster with fibre, extra vitamins and should always be part of their diet daily, but obviously, introduced slowly to prevent tummy/gut upset if they have never been fed these before.

If her irritation began while she was keep on wood shavings, then you probably done the right thing by removing those and using the cardboard bedding. It should be less likely to cause any allergy. Look very closely too at any colourings in food, although most hamster foods do tend to contain extruded biscuits with green or brown dyes. Goodness knows whether these are safe vegetable based dyes or colorants that are widely used in human foods is anyone`s guess.

But when you see your vet again, hopefully you will have a bit more ammunition to go on as far as the condition is concerned. x