[racinghamster]

Hi Minnie, sorry to hear your hammie is having some issues. As far as constipation goes, introducing some fresh vegetables in small amounts will help. Hamsters eat their droppings to help reinstate the vitamins within them. It passes through the gut and is then eaten again. It`s natural to them.

Switching to a paper based bedding or even Hemp like Aubiose could help with any itching or fur related problems, although a lowered immune system can trigger mites naturally in small animals due to stress or their body not being able to repair itself. Mites will usually cause a lot of scratching around the face, neck and shoulder areas and cause little cuts and scabs aswell as hair loss/patches. So if you are not seeing these signs, then mites may not be present.

Feed a few small 5mm sized veggies like carrot, broccoli and fresh sweetcorn/corn on the cob. These can be bought in supermarkets and kept in the fridge and fed when required. A little piece of fresh tomato (without the seeds) will go down well also. Tomato contains lycopene which is a substance that prevents prostate cancer in humans. My syrian loved his little pieces of tomato as a treat.

Try not to do full cage cleans as the dust might affect him. I never do full cage cleans. It keeps stress levels down and retains the hamsters scent in the cage.

Piriton is something that is given as an anti-allergen/inflammatory but unless an allergy is known, it may not have any effect. Vets usually try these things but they never seem to work.

If it was me, I would try and stick with natural ways and go the veggie route and make sure his substrate and bedding materials were paper based or hemp. I use Aubiose myself but steer clear of things like Carefresh or cat litters. Cardboard substrates are also great but might be noisey underfoot and not very absorbent.