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Old 05-05-2018, 11:09 AM   #1
weaverfam02
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Default what dry skin on hamsters ears

My Syrian hamster has white dry crusty ears. I rubbed a white towel over his body to see if any black spots appear and there wasn't any. a use a warm wash clothe and cleaned his ears and body. I use a Q-tip with peroxide on it to also clean them out just in case. I put coconut oil on his ears afterwards. After all this his ears perked back up and look healthier again. for a few days it didn't look to bad just looked a little dry so I would wipe them and put vaseline on them. but last night they were more dry and crusty looking and he held them down, so that's why I did a better cleaning. Can this be part of getting older? I didn't see any black things in his ears or on his body, it's just white crustiness.
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Old 05-05-2018, 11:49 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

You need to try & work out what might be causing this, treating it topically isn't likely to resolve the problem, putting coconut oil on isn't going to do any harm but don't use vaseline & I wouldn't clean the ears with peroxide either.
It could be mites, these aren't like flees so you won't find black bits on a cloth, the only way to be totally sure would be for your vet to do a skin test.
Mites most often first become apparent around the ears & eyes, usually but not always with scratching.
They can get mites from some natural materials like wood, hay, plant material etc or it can be the mites that normally live under their skin but can get out of control usually when something like stress has compromised the immune system.
It could also be a nutritional deficiency of some kind, evening primrose oil, flax seeds & nutritional yeast used together can help with skin problems but this won't be a cure if there's an underlying cause that's not dealt with.
Some dry skin or fur loss isn't uncommon in old age, how old is your ham?
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Old 05-05-2018, 01:22 PM   #3
weaverfam02
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
You need to try & work out what might be causing this, treating it topically isn't likely to resolve the problem, putting coconut oil on isn't going to do any harm but don't use vaseline & I wouldn't clean the ears with peroxide either.
It could be mites, these aren't like flees so you won't find black bits on a cloth, the only way to be totally sure would be for your vet to do a skin test.
Mites most often first become apparent around the ears & eyes, usually but not always with scratching.
They can get mites from some natural materials like wood, hay, plant material etc or it can be the mites that normally live under their skin but can get out of control usually when something like stress has compromised the immune system.
It could also be a nutritional deficiency of some kind, evening primrose oil, flax seeds & nutritional yeast used together can help with skin problems but this won't be a cure if there's an underlying cause that's not dealt with.
Some dry skin or fur loss isn't uncommon in old age, how old is your ham?
He's almost one and a half years old and his hair has thin too. He eat's good and he drinks a lot of water.
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Old 05-05-2018, 01:29 PM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

He's not that old really but they can begin to show signs of ageing by that age sometimes, if his fur is generally thinning it may be at least partially nutritional, what do you feed him?
When you say he drinks lots of water how much do you mean? They should only drink very little if healthy.
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Old 05-05-2018, 03:42 PM   #5
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

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Originally Posted by cypher View Post
He's not that old really but they can begin to show signs of ageing by that age sometimes, if his fur is generally thinning it may be at least partially nutritional, what do you feed him?
When you say he drinks lots of water how much do you mean? They should only drink very little if healthy.
I give him about 6 to 7 pieces of Oxbow Essentials with mix of Carefresh complete and another brand that I don't have the bag for any more. The picture is what the other bag had in it. I add a little dry carrot flacks to it too. I changed it to this a few days ago to, because of him looking a little old looking lol
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Old 05-05-2018, 11:13 PM   #6
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

Oxbow isn't really suitable for hamsters as it's too low in protein & too high in fibre, the Carefresh isn't too bad, I can't say about the other without knowing the ingredients & GA. I know it can be hard to find really good food in the US & I tend to forget which the better ones are, sorry!
It may be worth giving him the extras I suggested before to see if that will help give him a nutritional boost.
What about the water?
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Old 05-06-2018, 11:33 AM   #7
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
Oxbow isn't really suitable for hamsters as it's too low in protein & too high in fibre, the Carefresh isn't too bad, I can't say about the other without knowing the ingredients & GA. I know it can be hard to find really good food in the US & I tend to forget which the better ones are, sorry!
It may be worth giving him the extras I suggested before to see if that will help give him a nutritional boost.
What about the water?
I mark it with a black dot probably around 4:30ish yesterday, if you can see it. I know he drinks a lot more then my other Syrian hamster or Dorf hamster.
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Old 05-06-2018, 12:19 PM   #8
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

It's hard to tell from a photo but that does look like a lot of water.
It does appear that something is wrong, I don't think trying to guess is really going to help & the best thing would be to have him checked by your vet.
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Old 05-06-2018, 01:49 PM   #9
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

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Originally Posted by cypher View Post
It's hard to tell from a photo but that does look like a lot of water.
It does appear that something is wrong, I don't think trying to guess is really going to help & the best thing would be to have him checked by your vet.
Thank you for your replies.
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Old 05-06-2018, 02:00 PM   #10
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Default Re: what dry skin on hamsters ears

I agree with Cypher. That looks like excessive amount of water has been consumed unless somehow it is dripping without you realizing it. I think it is best to have him checked by your vet, too. Good luck.
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