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Old 11-20-2017, 12:51 PM   #1
MiguelMtzz
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Join Date: Nov 2017
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Question Hamster Crusty Bottom

Hello, I’m a new member of the HamsterCentral community, I hope everyone is having a wonderful day, anyway what I wanted to say was that my hamster Draco (Campbell’s Russian Dwarf) has a crusty bottom, I was worried as Draco happens to be my very first hamster. I have had Draco now for 6 months now and he is a very friendly and playful hamster, I regularly change his food and water and when I do that in the mornings he hears me and comes out for a treat. Right now I have him on an All Living Things Hamster Diet, So when I went to go change his food and give him his treat I decided to pick him up and I felt his bottom when I lifted him out of his cage and I took a look and he had a yellow crust on his genital area and some hair loss near his left leg, it wasn’t to much hair loss but it was visible and I decided to take some pictures of his bottom so I could get a better look, I also took some pictures of his belly and noticed it kind of looked red but I don’t know if that’s just his skin color under his fur but there was also some small scabs around his belly, Anyone who can possibly help me figure out what he has or tell me and remedies to get rid of that weird crust on his belly and his bottom because it has me worried but he is acting completely normal and playful and energetic as he always is and regularly eating and drinking. Please help me, Thank You!
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Old 11-20-2017, 01:43 PM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

Hello and welcome. It sounds like you have some photos. I think new members can't post photos straight away and have to have a few posts first, but maybe ask one of the moderators if you need to post the photos. Crusty bottom doesn't sound good and neither do scabs on his belly. I would suggest a vet visit and have him checked over. I don't know the food you mentioned but I know it's hard to find a good Syrian diet in the US. I think Hazel Hamster or Harry Hamster would be an improvement for now - it's not the best arguably, but it does have all the nutrients and vitamins needed, it's sugar free and has the right level of protein.
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Old 11-20-2017, 02:37 PM   #3
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

Oxbow in a pinch is much better than Harry Hamster,and it would definitely be a huge improvement on the All Living Things food.While it doesn't have any variety being a pelleted diet,they don't source ingredients from China and unlike Harry Hamster there are no artificial dyes(there isn't any added sugar either!).The protein can be boosted with Pure Bites freeze dried shrimp(I'd avoid dried mealworms though as they're pretty much all sourced from China which is very risky)or another protein from that brand that is hamster safe.
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Old 11-20-2017, 02:53 PM   #4
EJoy123
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

Hi there!
So I'm wondering if that could be urine scalds? Does he have one place he regularly urinates? How often do you clean it out? If a creatures skin spends too much time in contact with urine it can cause red rashes. My friend has a Guinea pig with red feet from urine scalds. Obviously I don't know for sure and I think it would be worth a visit to the vets whatever it is.
I hope he recovers soon! X
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Old 11-20-2017, 04:54 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

It could be urine burns - good point. How much substrate/litter do you have in the cage? They like a good depth of substrate for digging and burying hoards. 3 to 4" at least - 5 or 6" is better. You end up using less of it when you have more in the cage, because the bottom half tends to stay dry and you can just spot clean the top occasionally - means less clean outs and less stress for the hamster as well.
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Old 11-20-2017, 05:26 PM   #6
PumpKinSpiceLatte
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

I think this was caused by dirty substrate or not enough. If your hamster doesn't have enough space to go to the bathroom they can develop these urine burns Serendipity and EJoy were talking about
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Old 11-20-2017, 11:53 PM   #7
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

It's difficult to guess what might be going on here so I hope you can upload the photos soon as that would help give a better idea of what might be wrong.
The crust on his belly may just be his scent gland, it can sometimes look a little yellow & crusty but they should normally clean it themselves when grooming, if it stays like that or shows any signs of infection then it may need treating, you can try gently bathing it with some cotton wool soaked in warm water.
Until we can see some photos I'm not really sure about the other issues.
I'd be a bit concerned about his diet too as that mix has a lot ingredients that are high in sugars so not suited for a Russian ham, it can be very hard to find good food for diabetes prone species in the US but if you are able to order from Viovet in the uk (they deliver to the US) then you could get a more appropriate food like the Burgess dwarf hamster harvest which would be better for his health in general. I understand that would be an expensive option but maybe something worth considering.
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Old 11-21-2017, 10:39 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

That is a good point Cypher makes. Dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. The Burgess mix is very good and it's sugar free - I think it's available on US Amazon as well.

Here it is

https://www.amazon.com/Hamster-Supah...70_&dpSrc=srch
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Old 11-21-2017, 01:09 PM   #9
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hamster Crusty Bottom

Higgins Vita Garden has no added sugar and would be much easier to get.It is one of the Higgins products that doesn't contain ingredients from China(the ingredients they source from China are pumpkin seeds,dehydrated sweet peppers,and mung beans)as I've recently found out
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