Hamster hair loss?

[Lila513]

I recently got a new syrian hamster and ever since I got her she's been scratching non stop. She will just run to the corner of the cage and twist herself and scratch all over. Today she even put her paw inside her ear to scratch. We have changed her woodshavings to antibacterial ones since we thought that the bedding was the problem but it hasn't stopped. Yesterday I noticed she had tiny little patches of what looks like hair loss on her tummy however I don't know whether it's normal or if I should be concerned.
This is a photo of what it looks like (sorry for poor quality) thank you x

[souffle]

Hamsters do groom a lot and they do it a lot more when they move to a new home. They scratch to get their scent on their paws then they spread it round their cage by walking and rubbing against things. They do it even more after handling and after a cage clean.
The marks on her tummy are not fur loss. Those are her nipple lines. These are visible on female hamsters. Males don't have them. They are more obvious in pregnant females so I would have her on pregnancy watch till you have had her 17-18 days just in case she has been in with a male.
I would stop cleaning the cage. She needs to get her scent all round. Young syrians only need spot cleaned and a full cage clean about every 6 weeks only and even then return some of her old bedding to keep her scent. It is really important they have their scent for their mental health and to settle them.
I would not use scented bedding or anything with additives as this can cause problems with hamsters who pouch their bedding.
Let her settle and keep her calm and see how she does.

[Lila513]

Originally Posted by souffle

Those are her nipple lines. These are visible on female hamsters. Males don't have them. They are more obvious in pregnant females so I would have her on pregnancy watch till you have had her 17-18 days just in case she has been in with a male.

Thank you x I've had her for 21 days now so I believe she isn't pregnant, however she has been nesting a big pile of her bedding in the corner of her cage. She's very active and when we got her she was being kept with her sister. x