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Old 07-18-2019, 05:50 PM   #1
Clarks_Owner
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Default My hamster is going BALD

This is my syrian hamster. His name is Clark, he’s 1 year and 4 months old, and He lives in a 120/50cm fish tank.
Recently Clark started to lose his hair, mostly on both sides of his body where his scent glands are. And it’s getting worse and worse.
He seems like he’s feeling great though. But it is very concerning.
I took him to a vet that didn’t seem to know ANYTHING about hamsters. He thought that his scent glands on both sides on his body were tumors and suggested to remove them in surgery.
Obviously I haven’t spoken to that ‘vet’ ever again.
Then I took him to an exotic pet vet place and they seemed to know more about hamsters than the previous vet. But they couldn’t tell what’s the reason for his fur loss. They did some tests on him.
And they checked other things, like his scent glands, and they did a fungus test (I got the results a few days later, and it was negative).
They took some hair from bald areas on his body and looked at it in a microscope, and they said that it looks like the hair is like.. broken/torn, and didn’t seem to fall out of the root. So they said that he might be rubbing his body on things in his cage, and suggested to take everything that isn’t smooth out of the cage for 3 weeks and see if his hair grows back.
And i’ve never seen him rub his body on anything, so I kinda knew it wasn’t gonna work, but I did it anyways. And I actually replaced everything in his cage ‘cause I was scared that it might be mites or something. Even though I spot clean it regularly and clean it every month and a half.
Anyways, his balding is getting worse!
I don’t know what to do
(I don’t care what he looks like, I just wanna know if he’s healthy and i’m worried about him).













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Old 07-19-2019, 02:05 AM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

Hi there. He is gorgeous! Hair loss can be caused by a number of things, and at this time of year, when it's warm, he could be just having a moult - losing his winter coat sort of. I didn't know about this before, but our hamster had this at about the same age last summer (see photos below). Got very mangy looking, It all grew back and I started giving him a pinch of linseeds daily as well (works wonders for their fur) which he really loves and licks them all up each day. Very healthy! You can get a big bag for not very much and they last forever. Brown linseeds are the best.

There are other things that can cause fur loss. And Cushings disease is one - but that is hard to diagnose. Coco on here has a vet in London who was able to do a blood test, to test for it, but no vets I have met are able to do that or know how to (hamster's veins are teeny tiny). There is a urine test but it's very unreliable.

So personally, as he looks healthy, I would assume it is a moult and give him some linseeds. If it gets worse and doesn't start growing back by the end of summer you might want to have some further investigations. Cushings disease isn't very common. Other symptoms of that are sores and bloating, and weak back legs.

This photo only shows a little bit but it looked worse!

Attachment 48731

Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-27-2022 at 06:46 PM.
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Old 07-19-2019, 05:04 AM   #3
Coco61
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

I am sorry to read about the worry you have about Clark. Looking at your photos I can see why. My thread Cushings and Treatment is the first sticky thread at the top of this Healthcare section of the forum. Everything I learnt about this is in my post there. Clark may only be moulting in the heat but reading my post will give you more information. And your vet.
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Old 07-19-2019, 08:54 AM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

Coco's post on Cushings is very helpful. It could be an idea to see an exotic vet - they know more about hamsters - and see if they think it's a moult or not because it is quite a lot of hair loss. Perhaps doing that rather than waiting would be better.
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Old 07-21-2019, 08:43 AM   #5
Space Hamster
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

Hello there! I'm sorry I have no advice to offer, but I just had to respond since I came to the forum to post about my hamster having the same issue.

I was astonished to see your Photos of Clark, which look very similar to how my Skyler is experiencing balding and fur loss! I started my own post over here - I hope we both find the answers we're seeking soon! Best wishes to you and Clark
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Old 07-21-2019, 02:53 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

This article could be very helpful to both of you

Hamster fur loss
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Old 07-22-2019, 10:45 AM   #7
astrid
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Default Re: My hamster is going BALD

Sorry, I don't really have any advice. I hope Clark gets better soon!

I'm also currently having issues with one of my hamster's fur loss. Initially, I thought it was mites, now, slightly hoping that it's just a bit pronounced summer moult. Either way, we will be investigating further.

I'm also grateful for the article shared by Serendipity7000
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