I rescued a hamster today from a bad owner... hes sick

[Urban]

Hi all

I bought a lovely friendly hamster today from craigslist. In the sellers photos the hamsters bedding was shredded office paper with ink.. his cage is a babys cage and hes almost grown up... the night before i was to collect him the owner says he has a graze on his tummy and shes not sure what to do... which i discover is absolute bs after i got 2 trains to come and see him .... so anyway i bought him as this asshole wouldn't give him for free or take proper care of him ... 50 euros .... worth it to save the fella ...

When i got home the "graze" was even worse than I imagined... its a big bald patch 3 times larger than the photo attached shows ... around his hip and side of abdomen/chest... he is biting his foot as well and itching a lot.... so i think he has mites ... i'll upload a video tomorrow as well because his back looks bent and majorly off on one side ... affects his walking looks like hes limping on one foot but its just his back thats bent... although hes running around the place and happy he may have had a bad fall in the past or attacked by her children or cat ...

So Im waiting on a measuring scale to arrive from amazon now.. this is due in 3 days time ... and then im going to call the vet and get medication for mites / ask their oppinion by sending photos... in the mean time i just would like if some experienced people here could take a quick look and give their oppinion... i have an existing hamster living in a cage near to this new hamsters cage ... and im worried she might catch it off him

hamster-itching — ImgBB

[IMAGE]https://ibb.co/P1HSZNn[/IMAGE]



The hamsters back seems to go inwards where the patch is, like a small chunk of her flesh is missing and hes walking weird on this side... im worried its more serious than mites ... hes eating loads and super happy / active ... will upload a video tomorrow when im not so sleepy. Thnx all

[Ria P]

Hello and welcome to HC!

Well done you for rescuing this poor little hamster.

Why do you need to wait for scales to arrive before you can take your hamster to a vet?
The vet would weigh him anyway because some medication gets dosaged going by the weight of a hamster.
I'd take him asap. He may need painrelief for his back.
Is the skin red and inflamed looking where he has the bold patches?

Personally, i'd quarantine him until he's been seen by the vet and mites have been diagnosed, if that's the cause, just in case he does have something that could be transferred to your other hamster. He could also have an allergic reaction to the ink in the paper bedding and may not even have mites. The sooner you find out the better.

Btw, i couldn't see the photos properly and one i can't access at all so haven't seen your hamster to give an opinion on his condition which i couldn't do anyway because i'm not a vet.