My hamster has dry skin?

[Mandyhammy]

So my hamster Mandy is around 4-5 ish months old and is a female dunjarian. She has a large aquarium tank with paper bedding.

I noticed she hurt her nose and made a thread previously, and I'm happy to say she it is healing up, but with that comes a new problem.

I took all the toys from her cage except her silent spinner and food bowl, so she stopped hitting her nose into anything rough that could have caused the scabbing but now that her nose is healing she cant stop scratching her nose

I'm guessing that the skin is itchy since its healing, but when she scratches her nose her nails also scratch the skin on her bottom side that's near her face and when I picked her up I saw it was a little red and raw and I'm just really scared that she may get an infection. She also makes a chirping sound every once in awhile but is eating and drinking and playing like normal.

I dont have access to a vet and I just want to know if anyone has gone through something like this and if there may be a way to help her,

I'm really worried about my Mandy

[chloeeruth98]

Glad Mandy's nose is healing up, bless her! Poor little mite, she's probably finding it itchy as you say. From experience, I can suggest a couple of things... One would be that if she's tame enough that you're able to hold her and give her nails a clip, that could definitely help reduce the amount of damage she can do scratching. The other would be dabbing a tiny bit of Johnson's antiseptic small pet tea tree cream onto the area she's making sore (not her nose) using a q-tip/cotton wool bud or the tip of your finger, to help soothe and keep the area clean. Hope this helps xxx

[AmityvilleHams]

Please do not use tea tree cream. Safety is dubious at best(even if some have recommended it on the forum), and tea tree is known to be harmful to numerous animals even in very small doses. Not only do hamsters groom themselves so they'd ingest the product anyways over time, but skin is also a very absorbent and massive organ - which does absorb anything you put on it.

Coconut oil however would be a safe solution as long as it is thoroughly rubbed in and isn't used on a rash. I would also add flax/linseed(brown) into the diet as it can benefit the coat, skin, and overall is a very healthy supplement which hamsters seem to really enjoy eating.

[chloeeruth98]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Please do not use tea tree cream. Safety is dubious at best(even if some have recommended it on the forum), and tea tree is known to be harmful to numerous animals even in very small doses. Not only do hamsters groom themselves so they'd ingest the product anyways over time, but skin is also a very absorbent and massive organ - which does absorb anything you put on it.

Coconut oil however would be a safe solution as long as it is thoroughly rubbed in and isn't used on a rash. I would also add flax/linseed(brown) into the diet as it can benefit the coat, skin, and overall is a very healthy supplement which hamsters seem to really enjoy eating.

Thankyou so much for correcting me on this one - I had no idea it could be so harmful. I've used it before, and I am so glad it didn't seem to harm my hammy but I'm chucking mine out.