No fur/hair on ear anymore

Nadia · 05-28-2018, 08:11 AM

Im worried. My syrian is 9weeks old. I have had her for a week. Today i just noticed her hair is gone from her ears. Couple.of days ago i noticed a loss of hair the bottom of the ear. Now today both ears are bald.
I have not seen her scratch herself since i have had her. Only seen her clean her hands and mouth after treats.
Looked for mites today when i cleaned her cage. Nothing. Only thing was that she literally had about 3tbsp worth of food in her hoard covered by bits of poop. I left the hoard alone as shes still new and it was dry.

cypher · 05-28-2018, 08:48 AM

Although there are a lot of different mites you won't usually see them & they have mites that live under the skin that you definitely won't see, those only normally become a problem if a hamster is stressed & it's immune system weakened.
You can get mites from a number of things like natural wood, hay & other natural materials too, it's best to freeze those things for about a week before use.
They don't always scratch with mites so it can be hard to tell sometimes.
How often have you been cleaning the cage, a week is early for a cage clean or did you just do it because you suspected mites?
The hair around the ears is naturally thinner than elsewhere anyway but if you've noticed a change she might have a problem.
Keep an eye on it for now & see how it goes, if you are concerned you would need to see a vet to check.
Do you have a photo that would show the hair loss?

Nadia · 05-28-2018, 09:03 AM

I didnt clean out the whole cage yet. I spot cleaned and looked around the substrate and gave her more bedding as it wasnt that deep around her house.
Shes sleeping now. Hopefully when she wakes up i can take a photo.

cypher · 05-28-2018, 09:15 AM

Spot cleaning is fine, hope she'll give you a chance to get a photo later.

flowerfairy · 05-28-2018, 02:46 PM

Baby syrian hamsters do lose hair from their ears as they get older so it may be that. Hope so!

dreamtree1234 · 05-28-2018, 06:13 PM

I hope that your little one is cooperative so you are able to get a good picture of her hair loss at her ears.

Nadia · 05-29-2018, 08:55 AM

Unfortunately i still havent had the chance to take a picture due to her sleep patterns. At night the room doesnt have a bright enough light bulb to take clear images of the ear (blurry). I booked a vet appointment for friday, just incase. As im worried. Might be being silly.

I just realised since giving her more bedding shes sleeping underneath the substrates at corners of the cage. Sometimes i see her in her house, and if im moving around in my room i can hear her moving underneath in a corner then she falls asleep again. Is this normal? Do i have too much substrate :/

Coco61 · 05-29-2018, 11:18 AM

All sounds perfectly normal to me!

Nadia · 05-29-2018, 02:20 PM

I just tried taking a picture as best as i could. Sorry about the quality.

This is the back of her ear with loss of hair.
PhotoGrid_1527628932666.jpg

Also i noticed her scent glands are more visible since she woke up?...looks ruffled.
PhotoGrid_1527628964191.jpg

souffle · 05-29-2018, 02:41 PM

Her ears look fine. Baby hamsters have a fine coat of downy fur on the ears. When they moult in to he adult coat at around 10 weeks or so the ears become bare. As they mature the ears may get more pigment on them so they change to brownish or greyish in colour,
Because your hamster is a banded hamster (cinnamon banded I think) the ears will be mottled so will appear patchy with pink bits and some more brownish bits.