My Dwarf is losing all her fur!!!

[kierstynn04]

Hey guys, I'm looking for serious help. I adopted two dwarfs about 3 months ago and I noticed that one was losing her fur. I panicked and thought that they were fighting since I caged them together and separated them immediately. But the hair loss continues, I was originally using Aspen bedding but about a week ago changed over to CareFresh, plain white. She looks so tiny and is very much under weight, I'm worried this is going to end in her death. I heard some say hair loss could be influenced by her diet, I'm lost on what I need to provide her because I thought she had a balanced diet. My other dwarf is still using Aspen, and on the same diet and is kinda a chunky one, so I'm at a loss, I don't know what to do. I'm looking for advice and need help quickly, I don't have any experience with this and I'm extremely worried.

[Charlie Dunn]

Aww she does look a poor wee thing. I really think you should get her to a specialist vet as soon as you can ☹️ X

[Pebbles82]

Agree that she needs to see a vet. Can you google exotic vets in your area - an exotic vet will know more about hamster conditions and be able to give a diagnosis.

What diet is she on? Is it possible that before separation, the other hamster was hogging all the food so she wasn't getting any (I believe that can happen). How long has she been separated?

It is possible for it to be a bedding allergy but hair loss seems more than just allergy.

I believe a lack of protein can lead to hair loss but it really needs a vet visit. Is she eating and drinking ok? You could try and tempt her with some tasty healthy protein extras - pumpkin seeds are popular and have a lot of protein and are vitamin and mineral rich. Plain peanuts or a cashew nut too. (Not salted etc, the plain ones).

[kierstynn04]

Yes I'm planing on visiting the vet soon, I'm just struggling to find a clinic that knows their way around a hamster. And they have been separated for almost 2 months now, they didn't share very long before I noticed the loss of fur. With the diet I'm planing on cooking up some noodles, and I've been feeding her a good amount of both pumpkin seeds and peanuts. Her diet is a mixture of VitaSmart Complete Nutrition{Crude Protein (min) 16.0%, Crude Fat (min) 3.0%, Crude Fiber (max) 10.0%, Moisture (max) 12.0%}, and SunBurst{Crude Protein - Min. 15.0%, Crude Fat - Min. 7.0%, Crude Fiber - Max. 9.5%, Moisture - Max. 11.5%, Vitamin A - Min. 8,000 IU/kg, Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Min. 0.40%, Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) - Min. 0.03%, Total Lactic Acid Bacteria - Min. 2 x 105 cfu/g, (Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei)}. With added Banana chips, raisins, alfalfa pellets, dried carrots, dried peas, dried mango, most of them are occasional. Also do you know for any product that might help hair grow.

[Pebbles82]

I'm guessing you're in the US? Neither of those foods are the greatest for a dwarf hamster. Both a bit low in protein but it's not too bad. When you say the banana chips, raisins peas etc are added and occasional - are you removing them from the mix and giving them as extras? Because that can completely skew the nutritional balance of the mix. It's true the sugars are best avoided, but it's not recommended to remove things from the mix generally.

It is very difficult to get a good dwarf hamster mix in the US. Burgess Dwarf hamster used to be the best, but it's been discontinued.

You would probably be best just giving Harry or Hazel Hamster. They are identical mixes - Harry is produced for the Uk and Hazel for the US - the contents labelling is slightly different due to labelling regulations in each country but the contents and nutrition are identical. So on Hazel Hamster it says the protein is 16% and on Harry Hamster it says it is 18%.

It is inexpensive, completely sugar-free (which can be important for dwarf hamsters as they are prone to developing diabetes) and contains all the vitamins and nutrients required.

I would suggest you gradually switch her over to this by mixing it in half and half with her current food for a week and then switching to it. Then supplement the protein a bit - I supplement the protein with plain shelled nuts (cashew, walnut, pecan nut and brazil nut - I give half a nut twice a week) and freeze dried chicken or mealworms. Nuts must be plain not salted etc. I get them on the bakery counter in the supermarket. Some people in the US use lab block for extra protein, which is soya based. Personally I prefer to use nuts and freeze dried chicken as the hamster mixes are mostly soya already.

Cut out giving the banana chips and raisins as that is too much sugar. For treats, pumpkin seeds or the occasional sunflower seed or 3 is good. Pumpkin seeds also contain protein.

I would also invest in a bag of brown linseeds - they are great for helping with fur condition and hamsters seem to like them. I put a pinch of these out daily on a separate little dish from the main hamster mix.

So ideally you'd be giving her the Harry/Hazel Hamster mix in her food bowl, a pinch of linseeds on a separate little dish, a piece of fresh veg daily (every other day for the first week) - just a tiny thumbnail sized piece - I rotate between broccoli, cucumber, carrot, and another veg, but there are plenty of other safe veg (there is a list of safe veg on here). I find those keep well in the fridge so you don't have to keep buying veg too often.

Plus the "extras" either half a nut, a mealworm, a bit of freeze dried chicken - and put those in a separate place again - maybe the same dish as the linseeds - they tend to seek them out. Maybe every other day but every day would be fine too as they tend to only take what they need.

That should sort out the diet - with enough protein and vitamins to give her fur the best chance.

Apart from diet there are a number of other reasons for fur loss - mites is one, but you would see her scratching a lot probably if that was the case. Allergy is another (she could even be allergic to something in her current diet but again she would probably be scratching and sore if it was allergy).

To eliminate the chance of it being allergy I would suggest using Kaytee Clean and Cozy rather than Carefresh. There have been cases of Hamsters with an allergy to Carefresh and I find it quite dusty. They can also be allergic to any kind of wood bedding, whether it's hardwood or softwood. Kaytee Clean and Cozy is very soft and dust free and I've not heard of any hamster having an allergy to it. Alternatively Boxo (soft cardboard/paper bedding) which is sold in bulk by Walmart.

Re Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds - I also get human grade ones of those from the supermarket bakery counter Along with the nuts.

Does she seem ok in herself apart from the hair loss? Active? No hunching over?

Here are the links to the food and linseeds. I also give a pinch of Hemp seeds as well as linseeds - they are full of vitamins and minerals and taste nutty so hamsters tend to like them. Don't worry if she doesn't eat everything all at once.

https://www.amazon.com/SupremePetfoo...s%2C233&sr=8-1

This bag should last years!

https://www.amazon.com/Biona-Organic...gateway&sr=8-6

https://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organi...pantry&sr=8-16

That should give her a good balanced diet with plenty of nutrients and no sugar plus tasty extras to motivate her.

I think excessive stress can cause fur loss as well. It is possible she was being bullied when in with the other hamster, which could have started the fur loss. But another thing that causes a lot of stress is cleaning out too much - especially if their nest and hoards are removed.

Ideally you want at least 3 to 4 " of substrate in her cage. You can then just "spot clean" mostly (ie take out the odd handful, replace it with a new handful and mix it in so it still smells familiar) and only need to change the substrate after 6 to 8 weeks. Even then it is best not to clean everything at the same time as that removes all their familiar scent and stresses them. So if you do the substrate one week, resist the urge to clean everything at once and do the wheel a different week and any toys etc a different week again. Toys, ramps etc often don't need cleaning very often.

They also need somewhere dark to retreat to - either a hide or house that is dark inside and big enough to build a cosy nest, and/or a shelf to hide under where they can build a nest.

Something like a cardboard tissue box or child's shoe box can make a good nesting box. Open underneath and sat on top of the substrate with a hole cut for a door. You can even have it partly under the substrate so it mimics an underground burrow. Putting a bendy bridge tunnel over the door helps it be dark inside and adds a tunnel entrance (and also a ramp to the roof if it's a flat roof).

They are very particular about their nest and hoard and get very upset if it's removed and that can lead to them peeing on the hoard to deter people stealing it!

I tend to leave the nest and hoard alone unless they are pee'd in. Then you have to remove it, but try and leave a bit of the old dry nest behind and put out new nesting material in the cage (not inside the house) so they can forage for it and rebuild the nest. Same with the hoard. If you have to remove it, try and leave a little bit of old dry hoard behind and add new food in exactly the same place, to replace the hoard.

[kierstynn04]

Omg, such a long response, but it was extremely informative and big thanks for putting the time into it.

Answering some of your questions right off the back, yes I live in the US just moved back 3 months ago and soon adopted my babies.

No I don't take anything out of her food because I know that it can knock the balanced diet off, sunflowers and pumpkin seeds are in her mix but since she been losing more and more fur I've been adding more seeds on top to bump up her protein.
All the other treat are extremely occasional, Maybe once a week because I'm super cautious of the sugar, but if you think its best I'll completely cut it out.
I plan on looking into Hazel Hamster as soon as possible.
In my family we don't eat a lot of meat so I'll probably substitute for meal worms and plain pasta.
I'm defiantly looking into brown linseeds

Bedding situation, I'll have to ask my mom, because I already had to work her into letting me get CareFresh, I bought all the supplies for my hamster including themselves. I bought enough of everything to last a long while, using money I saved before leaving my job. I'm on the look for employment, but its difficult finding on that works around my school hours. But as soon as I can I;m making the switch!!!

I very rarely clean my babies cages, I spot clean 1-2 times a week picking out spoiled bedding, and usually leaving their nest alone unless it is giving out an odor.
I use a bottle of very much watered down vinegar to clean the cage,
Only cleaning the toys and others a week or two after the "deep" clean.
I make sure to give them lot of bedding for burrowing, (even thought they don't seem very interested) I would say a good 3-4 inches worth.
And both my dwarfs have two hideouts of the choosing, that I rotate out if they lose interest.

With her behavior, its sad to say shes change a bit. She used to be very curios and outgoing, now if you try and approach her she runs away, hides, or nibbles on you. I try to give her the space she wants, knowing shes not feeling her best, but I hard not to handle her when she used to be so happy to be.

I attached some images of her cage below, looking for any advice if I may be doing something wrong, or what I can do better.

Thanks again sooooo much for for help and time!! <3

[Pebbles82]

Your set up looks very nice. Possibly on the small side.

It is possible the vinegar is bothering her, even watered down. They have a much stronger sense of smell than we do and they can get skin reactions to things too.

It really isn't necessary to disinfect or deep clean a cage unless there has been illness or disease. And it seems unlikely to be mites if it has been deep cleaned.

I just use warm water and wipe with a cloth - or possibly washing up liquid water. But nothing really scented or strong smelling - if there is a scent, then rinse really well.

With spot cleaning the base shouldn't get dirty or smelly - although dwarf hamsters do tend to pee everywhere. Main thing is not to clean out too often as this can stress them and cause all kinds of things. They really are quite clean little things - it is only their pee that needs cleaning out really. Some of them will use a sand bath as a toilet if one is provided (can't see if you have a sand bath). Just a dish with chinchilla bathing sand in (must be sand not "dust").

It is our instinct to want everything spanking clean (and hygiene is important) but it really is ok to leave things a bit longer and just spot clean mostly.

So I would suggest stop using the vinegar and don't worry about deep cleaning. Try and clean the substrate less often - maybe once a month. And then sprinkle a bit of old clean substrate on top of the new so it still smells familiar to her.

Only other observation is she may feel a bit exposed. They don't like too much open space, particularly from above (being prey animals) so some additional floor toys and tubes/tunnels could help her feel more secure. Just kitchen roll cardboard inner tubes are fine for tunnels. The igloos are good but aren't dark inside so maybe add a cardboard box hide as well - eg a tissue box - open underneath to sit on top of the substrate and a hole cut for a door - if you put a bendy bridge tunnel or similar over the door as well it makes it dark inside. The do need somewhere dark to retreat to - either a house that is dark inside or a shelf to build a nest under and sit under.

A shelf or platform could be a good addition - just a piece of wood on legs They like to sit under a shelf where they feel secure and it's a good place to put a food bowl and somewhere else for them to go.

It still could be a good idea to get a vet diagnosis though.

Re the cleaning - it's a balance between hygiene and not removing all of the hamster's familiar scent. They scent mark their cage so they can find their way around (they really don't see well) and also to claim their territory. Trails of scent along the substrate as well. If all their scent is removed too much they feel a bit lost and stressed or invaded.

You probably know all that. It is more difficult with dwarf hamsters. With a syrian it's easier as they tend to only pee in one place and will use a toilet!

[kierstynn04]

Thanks for all the tips I'll defiantly taking that all in and placing it to action. Most of the information I know but it's good to hear it again. Gonna stuff her cage with as many toys, and hideouts as I can fit. And I agree completely, Dwarfs are much more difficult then Syrians.

[herbi7]

Fur loss can also be mites. Although I would expect mkst of the loss to be around the tail area and ears eith some on the back. They can be easily treated with stuff from the vet although sometimes just stress can cause s flare up of them as they often live naturally in the skin and don't cause a problem unless the immune system is down.