What is this?

Queen Of The High Teas · 01-02-2016, 12:26 PM

Hi all, not been on here for months as I now only have one hamster. I found her starting to hibernate this morning. I've managed to wake her back up, but I've noticed a large totally bald patch on her. The skin is totally smooth and pink, I can't see a thing on her, she isn't scratching at all and the rest of her fur is perfect. I'm wondering if she's pulled it out as she obviously felt cold enough to go into hibernation. I will get some xeno drops on Monday just as a precaution, but in the meantime, does anyone have any idea what this is?

racinghamster · 01-02-2016, 01:14 PM

Hi QotHT. I`m not sure that`s mite or parasitic related it looks more hormonal or even a contact/ventral dermatitis? She may have `plucked` the area herself. If she`s not scratching a lot, I would say keep an eye on it and more importantly, make sure she`s kept in a warm room as she could go into a torpor and become comatose. I put the central heating off at night, but my room door is closed, the blind is right down and I draw a short curtain across the window and tick it under the windowsill to prevent any draughts.

But that`s to keep the room temp from dropping too much. I switch it back on in the morning and it heats up quickly, so the room gets warmer again.

She may also have just over groomed herself? But my educated guess would be a type of dermatitis or hormone related. The fur may well grow in again but it might not. Watch for any changes or spreading. Your vet may have clues to what this could be but unless they know for sure, they would probably just ask much the same questions or give you baytril! x

souffle · 01-02-2016, 01:15 PM

It looks either hormonal or some sort of urine burn. It is quite red so I would see a vet for this. I don't think it looks like mites as it is too concentrated in one area. The hibernation is concerning if she has never done that before as well.

racinghamster · 01-02-2016, 01:30 PM

Didn`t think of urine burn, thanks for adding that soufflé as it`s another possibility. Chinese hamsters do tend to like sleeping on the own pee! Hope she`s okay. x

Queen Of The High Teas · 01-02-2016, 04:55 PM

Hello you two, it's nice to see some names here I still recognise!

I'm really not sure why she decided to hibernate, she has lots of bedding in her house and her cage is solid sided except for the mesh panel front (it's homemade from a cupboard). I've had her since last February, this is her first winter so she hasn't done it before, but I've had a Chinese in the past who started hibernating this time of year so I took it that it's something they do. I popped her in the airing cupboard for bit and now she's fine, apart from that patch. She's not scratching at all RH, but mentioning urine burn, I've now had a thought, her wheel is one of those plastic saucers, and no matter how much I wash it, she keeps peeing on it as it's always sticky in the morning. Could it be that she's favouring one side to run on which is making that patch of fur brush against the saucer constantly?

racinghamster · 01-03-2016, 02:19 AM

It could be. perhaps an upright wheel could solve the problem if indeed it IS the cause. Is she kept indoors? It`s good that she`s fine otherwise. x

souffle · 01-03-2016, 02:22 AM

I'd remove the wheel for a while (in fact any wheel) and provide another source of enrichment and see if it starts to grow again. Give it a couple of weeks

Pebbles82 · 01-03-2016, 02:26 AM

Hi there! They don't actually hibernate - they just go into a state of torpor if the temperature drops too low, which can be dangerous and lead to death. Hamsters shouldn't hibernate. I've actually been leaving a heater on at night recently and it has made a big difference to Charlie's behaviour - he comes out a lot more and looks less peaky. Hamsters are awake and having their active period at night, so it isn't great to have to huddle in their bedding to try and keep warm. So I would recommend having some kind of heat source at night during the winter months. It bumps the heating bills up a bit, but the bonus is the room is nice and cosy first thing in the morning! We have an oil fired radiator that plugs in - it has a timer on it, but the timer doesn't seem to work lol, so it's on all night.

As Souffle says, maybe get the vet to check out the bald patch as well.

cypher · 01-03-2016, 03:52 AM

If they get urine burn from the wheel it's usually on their feet & while they're running most of the urine just gets spun out of the wheel or off the saucer so I guess while it's possible it's splashing up against her while she runs unless she's lying on the saucer that seems a little unlikely, if it is urine burn I would have thought it would be more likely caused by lying in a wet nest if she pees in her nest.
It doesn't look like mites to me either tbh, best bet would be a vet check when you can.
Most Chinese pee in the wheel/saucer btw, the more you clean the more they pee basically, so wipe down with a damp paper towel & just give it a wash about once a week.

Queen Of The High Teas · 01-04-2016, 05:44 AM

I have had some xeno drops from the vet this morning so I will put them on later and see how she does. In the meantime, I have taken the saucer out and the skin has lost its redness. Guess only time will if either is effective

. She seems to have got over her sleepy state too as she's lively as ever.