Please Help ASAP! Hamster Skin Condition

[I <3 Hamsters]

Hi there,
One of my pair of male dwarfs has developed some kind of skin condition, it began a few weeks ago with him losing odd patches of fur on his back and now his entire back is covered with flaky/scabby white patches and his fur has thinned greatly.
He seems okay in himself and is eating fine although I think he's less active than usual and I certainly see a lot less of him than his brother.
No new bedding has been used since the condition started, he has had no changes in diet and his brother who lives in the same tank as him has no skin problems. Their age is unknown as they're rescues but I think they're around 3-6 months old.
I have attached a photo of his skin and any help would be greatly appreciated - we are on lock down at the moment so I can't go to the vet unless I have no other options.
I have the chance to possibly get to a pet store thursday or friday so help ASAP would be amazing!

Thanks!

[Vierville]

That looks quite nasty...I'm afraid I can't offer any advice but there are people on here who may well know what it could be. To be honest I think a visit to an exotic animal vet is probably the only option, even under lockdown as medication is most likely necessary.

[cypher]

I was wondering how they get on as a pair, do they fight at all? Most pairs fall out at some point & the back area is one of the most common areas for one ham to attack on another so it is possible it's related to that.
What substrate are you using? Although not that common some hams can have allergic reactions to some substrates.
What do you feed them?
You could give a few extra flax seeds daily & a drop of evening primrose oil on food each cay, these two together can make a big difference in skin & coat condition so that could well help but if it doesn't improve then I would phone your vet & see what arrangements they have in place during lockdown.

[I <3 Hamsters]

I was told I could only adopt them as a pair or a trio from the RSPCA, i know this is a somewhat controversial topic. They’ve always got along well, they have the odd squabble when they annoy each other but they only every last a second or two and never seem physical. I did wonder if the fur loss was a result of a fight initially (his skin didn’t look irritated or red like it had been pulled out or bitten) but they haven’t fought in weeks and his fur is continuing to thin and his skin is crusty and dry looking. They’re on the tiny friends farm harry hamster mix with mealworms and veg as treats throughout the week. I have them on carefresh with pets at home recycled paper bedding in their nest, they’ve been on this since long before the skin problems started. I will look into the flax seed and primrose oil thanks for that, I will also try and contact the vet to see what the situation is.
From looking online my pet shop does a variety of skin treatments for small animals - ivermectin anti parasite treatment, tea tree skin cream, vitamin drops for hamsters which are supposed to improve skin and coat. Do you think it would be worth picking up any of these to try out? I assumed if he had mites or a parasitic infection the other one would have also picked it up by now? Thanks for the quick response.

[I <3 Hamsters]

Just having a look online at where I can find the oil quickly, my local store do an evening primrose supplement
“A daily supplement containing evening primrose oil a source of the essential fatty acid omega 6. Formulated with vitamin E which supports the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
A daily supplement containing evening primrose oil a source of the essential fatty acid omega 6. Formulated with vitamin E which supports the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
No artificial preservatives, flavours or colours”
Formulated with vitamin E which supports the protection of cells from oxidative stress”
would this be suitable or do i need to order an oil online (i’m worried about it taking long to arrive as I want to treat him asap)

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by I <3 Hamsters

I was told I could only adopt them as a pair or a trio from the RSPCA, i know this is a somewhat controversial topic.

They’re on the tiny friends farm harry hamster mix with mealworms and veg as treats throughout the week.

I have them on carefresh with pets at home recycled paper bedding in their nest, they’ve been on this since long before the skin problems started.

From looking online my pet shop does a variety of skin treatments for small animals - ivermectin anti parasite treatment, tea tree skin cream, vitamin drops for hamsters which are supposed to improve skin and coat. Do you think it would be worth picking up any of these to try out? I assumed if he had mites or a parasitic infection the other one would have also picked it up by now? Thanks for the quick response.

Edited the quote to get an easier to follow list of answers.

I would separate them now. Hamsters do not live together in the wild other than for breeding and as babies, and we've seen more than enough evidence on this forum to confirm just how unsuitable hamsters are for social housing. They may not have massive obviously dangerous fights, but it does so much more harm than good to keep them together - no matter how long they've been living together!

While there have been people saying Harry Hamster is fine for dwarf hamsters, it isn't very good for dwarf species. Rodipet make much better quality whole food based diets that are actually completely species appropriate, with the bonus of eliminating artificial dyes(yes, Harry Hamster does contain artificial dyes even though they've been hidden well).

Carefresh is known to be very dusty and problematic in general. They also use a known toxic wood species as one source of their fiber. It may not be the exact cause here but it is a factor which should be eliminated.

For other treatments you mentioned in your pet shop - do not buy them. Ivermectin is extremely harmful and must only be used if there is literally no other option with a confirmed diagnosis and requires a very specific proper vet dosage - something you will never get just going out and buying a product with no need to. Tea tree cream is also a dangerous product(dubious at best safety even though it should just be outright unsafe, especially highly concentrated essential oils which would be even more toxic) as tea tree in and of itself is quite toxic to a wide variety of species and should therefore never be used. Vitamin drops are just unhealthy overall though - they do far more harm than good and can cause serious dietary imbalances and such and are often loaded with low quality ingredients!

[cypher]

If they're getting on at the moment then I wouldn't be in a rush to separate them, do watch them carefully for any signs that they are falling out as it can escalate quickly & just overly dominant behaviour by one can be very stressful for the other but at the same time separating them & them having to adjust to new cages is going to be stressful to a degree so if they're ok just watch for now.

I think evening primrose capsules tend to have vitamin e in as a preservative as much as anything, that should be fine, I get mine from amazon & it's just pure epo liquid in a dropper bottle which makes life easier but the capsules are ok if that's all you can get, you should be able to get flax (linseed, preferably brown not gold) from any supermarket.

Don't use any topical treatments, it really isn't safe for a ham unless prescribed by a vet.

TThe problem with giving vitamins when you're feeding a mix like HH with added vitamins is they can get too much of some things which is harmful.

HH isn't an ideal diet for dwarf hams, if you want something more suited to the species have a look at Rodiipet, the mixes there are good quality & species specific.
https://www.rodipet.co.uk/pet-foods/main-foods/

edit I forgot about the substrate!
Carefresh can be irritating to some hams, it's cellulose rather than paper & can be dusty, although generally considered quite safe to use it may not be ideal for some more sensitive hams.
Kaytee clean & cosy is probably the best to use, just soft virtually dust.free paper.
Just to add you can shred toilet tissue for bedding (if the shops still have any that is!) rather than buying paper bedding.

[I <3 Hamsters]

I have been on the fence about separating them for a while now, I have been told by just about everyone on the forum that pairs is a bad idea and they need to be split even if they get along. I have another tank which needs a lid building but I may look into sorting that out for one of them.

Thanks for the diet advice - I’m UK based and as far as i’m aware Rodiipet isn’t available in pet stores, do you other UK based people order it online?

I had no idea carefresh could be harmful! I was always under the impression it was the safest option for hams, again Kaytee clean and cozy isn’t available in pet shops where I live, do other UK based people have an alternative or do you order that online as well? I have used toilet paper as bedding before but currently have some recycled paper bedding that holds its shape amazingly well for tunnels which they seem to love and given the current situation I don’t think my family would appreciate me shredding toilet rolls!

Thanks so much for the advice on the topical treatments! I would’ve never thought they’d be harmful as they’re marketed as safe for hamsters. I will get some flax seeds and primrose oil supplements today and see if that improves the situation. If i’m using capsules how many and how often do you recommend and how do you administer them?

Thanks again for all the help!

[AmityvilleHams]

Rodipet is always ordered online - you will not find it in pet stores.

Carefresh has high popularity but that doesn't make it safe or all that great even if you choose to ignore the part about them using a toxic wood species(which we shouldn't be ignoring). I can't speak to a high quality alternative necessarily but you'd want something completely free from any dyes etc - the best quality substrates being 100% virgin fiber not recycled which can have additives etc. I know a lot of popular things that people try to pass off as completely safe aren't always that safe!

Things can be marketed as being safe for pets of any species without being actually safe for them. I know there are tons of things sold for hamsters, ferrets, and even dogs(and all other pets) that are unhealthy or even outright deadly - with dogs in particular we see lots of rawhide, tennis balls, and an endless list of all sorts of other highly dangerous products. Manufacturers and stores keep making and selling said products though so you can't ever assume something is perfectly safe just because a pet store sells it for a certain animal!

[cypher]

As Amity said you can only get Rodipet food online, delivery charges aren't too bad though.
You can get the kaytee clean & cosy online too, I get mine from Amazon but various places sell it, if you do get some be sure to get the plain white.

If you need to use epo in capsules then just pierce a hole in a capsule & squeeze a drop out onto some food, it does get a bit wasteful & messy that way but it's fine to do that.