Teddy Bear Hamster fur patching?

BobaBeast · 11-30-2020, 06:38 PM

Hi everyone, I’m new here to Hamster Central!

I’ve only ever owned 4 dwarf hamsters in the past and never experienced something like this. I got my Teddy Bear hamster, Beast, around September and noticed he sneezes from time to time, especially when burrowing in his (Kaytee Clean & Cozy) bedding, which he does quite often. I didn’t think much of it, but now I am concerned.

Today I was giving him some treats while stroking the fur on the back of his neck area and noticed patches of fur thinning/missing and some pinkness around a dark “grey/blue” area. I also noticed that when I touched the red/pink area that is starting to form a tiny red spot from irritation, he cringed and tensed up. No verbal signs of pain, but this is alarming for me. I have attached a photo and could really use any advice as to what may be going on, and if I should change beddings? I’ve noticed that Care Fresh is less dusty, so this may be the route I take, but Kaytee claims to be dust free when it is actually very dusty and is 100% cotton. Is removing the Kaytee bedding necessary? Can hamsters form allergic reactions in their skin to beddings with a lot of dust?

Thanks in advance!

Here are the photos in a google drive folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Sr66xUMuBCy-F-

brieshamsters · 12-01-2020, 06:18 AM

it could possibly be an allergic reaction or it could be something else so i would definitely make an appointment at the vets to get him seen

cypher · 12-01-2020, 06:56 AM

Hi & welcome to HC.
An allergy to Kaytee is highly unlikely, I’m surprised you’ve found it to be more dusty than Carefresh too.
It could be a number of things, is there anything in the cage with rough edges or anything with entrance holes that may be a bit small? It’s possible he could be rubbing against something & that’s causing the problem.
It could also be a nutritional issue, what do you feed him?
If it doesn’t seem that he could be rubbing against something & he’s eating a good diet then it would be worth seeing a vet, make sure to see a vet with hamster experience or an exotics vet as many will just give treatment for mites without doing a skin scrape or being sure it is mites, the treatment is toxic so should only be given when absolutely necessary.
As for the sneezing when burrowing that’s not all that unusual with any substrate really, if he only does it when burrowing & his breathing is otherwise ok I wouldn’t worry too much.

brieshamsters · 12-01-2020, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Hi & welcome to HC.
An allergy to Kaytee is highly unlikely, I’m surprised you’ve found it to be more dusty than Carefresh too.
It could be a number of things, is there anything in the cage with rough edges or anything with entrance holes that may be a bit small? It’s possible he could be rubbing against something & that’s causing the problem.
It could also be a nutritional issue, what do you feed him?
If it doesn’t seem that he could be rubbing against something & he’s eating a good diet then it would be worth seeing a vet, make sure to see a vet with hamster experience or an exotics vet as many will just give treatment for mites without doing a skin scrape or being sure it is mites, the treatment is toxic so should only be given when absolutely necessary.
As for the sneezing when burrowing that’s not all that unusual with any substrate really, if he only does it when burrowing & his breathing is otherwise ok I wouldn’t worry too much.

not OP but what mite treatment is toxic? do you have any sources for this because i’m really interested. i once had a syrian get a mite treatment without actually knowing if it was mites and he died a few days later..

LunaTheHamster1 · 12-01-2020, 07:24 AM

Quick question, how big is his wheel, does it have a spindle thing in the middle of it? Asking because that could be a cause of it, looking where the fur loss is positioned.

cypher · 12-01-2020, 08:18 AM

brieshamsters
all mite treatments are toxic to some extent, usually if only give in the right does when really needed they aren’t likely to cause much of a problem, but unfortunately they are often given when not appropriate & too often which can be harmful, they can also get a kind of burn where it’s applied to the skin if the dose is even a little too high.