Hamster has a scab and is bleeding!

2angelous7 · 01-12-2016, 09:00 PM

I have a winter white hamster which is about 1 and a half to 2 years old. It's name is Muffin. Muffin is losing fur around his arms and legs and I thought maybe that was because he was getting older? But then a few days ago I saw that on his back he has a patch of no fur, and it had a little scab in the center. Now I checked on his and it was bleeding! I don't know what to do. I don't want to take him to a vet and pay a lot... and I'm in school all week. Do you know why he has a scab? What an I do? Is he getting old? Please Help!

Thanks,
2angelous7

racinghamster · 01-13-2016, 05:20 AM

Hi, welcome. If he is fine in himself, you can mix up some saline to clean the wound if it is bleeding or you feel it needs cleaning. Take a glass heatproof jug and add a teaspoonful of salt. Boil the kettle and add one pint to the salt and leave to cool right down and allow the salt to dissolve. Once cooled to room temperature, you can use a cotton pad or ball to gently wipe over the wound but don`t make the cotton pad too wet obviously. Just enough to clean the area.

Do you know what was likely to have caused this wound? Does his wheel have a spindle that sticks out and is the wheel big enough that his back doesn`t touch this spindle? Just one thing that could cause an injury but it`s rare. The thinning fur can be a sign of allergy if anything has been changed recently either within the diet or the cage itself. So you need to look at those areas and determine if they are indeed the cause, or if nothing has changed.

If you use sand, remove it as this could be drying his skin too much. Come back to this thread and give some more detail if you can. Is Muffin okay otherwise, eating/drinking/bright eyed when running around? x

2angelous7 · 01-13-2016, 01:51 PM

Here are some pictures of his wound. I haven't changed anything and I don't have sand. So i don't know why he is losing fur, but he wound isn't bleeding now, it's just a large scab. I don't think his wheel is a problem. He eats and drinks the same His behavior hasn't changed at all. How could he have gotten the wound?

2angelous7 · 01-13-2016, 03:13 PM

Maybe he was itching his back a lot?

2angelous7 · 01-13-2016, 03:16 PM

I had send a different reply but I guess it didn't send. I said that I hadn't changed anything in his cage or diet. He has been acting normally. I'll attach some photos of him and one of his wheel. They are not very clear pictures but I hope then help, he doesn't like staying in one place. Thank you.

HenriandHobieHammies · 01-13-2016, 03:37 PM

The pictures are kind of blurry, but from what I can see it probbly is a result of something sharp in his cage. This happened to my hammie and I was very worried but now I realize that it is just from a part of the bars of his cage. Examine everything and like racinghamster said you can make saline.

2angelous7 · 01-13-2016, 04:12 PM

I cleaned his cage today, and there is nothing I could think of being sharp, because his cage isn't bars... I'll check again though. Thanks a lot!!

racinghamster · 01-14-2016, 02:46 AM

Sorry for the late reply. The wound seems isolated so it could be that he`s has a small abscess or a cut and has felt itchy in that area and has made the wound worse by scratching at it. Using the gentle saline will keep it clean. He`s a lovely hamster.

The coat condition overall looks good. Try spot cleaning the cage too rather than doing full cleans and don`t use any disinfectants. Just wipe the cage with warm water and kitchen towel. x

2angelous7 · 01-14-2016, 02:47 PM

I'll do that. Thanks Again!