New hamster scratching!

[hannahshamster]

So I got my new hamster yesterday and he has been completely fine until the past hour, where he seems to be scratching himself quite a lot. I can’t figure out if it’s dry skin, mites or if I’m just being paranoid over excessive grooming. Yesterday he was completely fine so I don’t understand this. I also cannot check his skin because I just got him and haven’t even touched him yet. I slipped his first tiny square of apple earlier but I just can’t imagine that he’s having an allergic reaction to that. I sleep with him in my room and he doesn't sneeze or wheeze at all. He has paper bedding and all of the items in his cage are bought from the pet store (except for toilet paper). His fur is completely normal and his eyes and nose are free of discharge.

When he, for example, is running on his wheel he'll stop abruptly to scratch himself. Sometimes using his legs and other times his teeth. I do notice him spitting on his hands before sometimes so it could be grooming. He just seems irritated about it.

I’m very worried and don’t know if I should seek a vet.

[cypher]

I would just keep an eye on things for now, sometimes when they move into a new home they do a lot of scent marking including rubbing their scent on themselves so you may see a lot of grooming going on for a while.